Variety taps Kendrick for Record of The Year
Record of the Year
Kendrick Lamar
Photo : Kendrick Lamar, YouTube
“Now and Then,” the Beatles
“Texas Hold ‘Em,” Beyoncé
“Espresso,” Sabrina Carpenter
“360,” Charli XCX
“Birds of a Feather,” Billie Eilish
“Not Like Us,” Kendrick Lamar
“Good Luck, Babe!,” Chappell Roan
“Fortnight,” Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone
Will win: “Not Like Us”
Could win: “Birds of a Feather”; “Good Luck, Babe!”
Hip-hop has sadly been a non-starter in this category, but a win has happened before for Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” five years ago, so there’s precedent (barely). If the genre is ever going to prevail here again — still a big if! — it will be for a single as culturally ubiquitous as Lamar’s. Huge numbers of voters who feel a significant stake in rap being represented at the Grammys can and will coalesce behind it… even if some Academy members who are less invested in that representation might be docking it for being a diss track. A progressive mindset would also favor Roan’s song since it would become the first single with an overt LGBTQ+ theme to win record of the year, not to mention it just having that great, dog-whistle hook. Then again, how could you rule out recurring Grammy queen Eilish for a sing-along that has commercially surpassed all of her previous award winners to become her biggest single to date? It’s easy to see this one going any of those three ways. Or five ways, since Beyoncé and Carpenter are the other candidates that can’t completely be counted out.
variety.com
Record of the Year
Kendrick Lamar
Photo : Kendrick Lamar, YouTube
“Now and Then,” the Beatles
“Texas Hold ‘Em,” Beyoncé
“Espresso,” Sabrina Carpenter
“360,” Charli XCX
“Birds of a Feather,” Billie Eilish
“Not Like Us,” Kendrick Lamar
“Good Luck, Babe!,” Chappell Roan
“Fortnight,” Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone
Will win: “Not Like Us”
Could win: “Birds of a Feather”; “Good Luck, Babe!”
Hip-hop has sadly been a non-starter in this category, but a win has happened before for Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” five years ago, so there’s precedent (barely). If the genre is ever going to prevail here again — still a big if! — it will be for a single as culturally ubiquitous as Lamar’s. Huge numbers of voters who feel a significant stake in rap being represented at the Grammys can and will coalesce behind it… even if some Academy members who are less invested in that representation might be docking it for being a diss track. A progressive mindset would also favor Roan’s song since it would become the first single with an overt LGBTQ+ theme to win record of the year, not to mention it just having that great, dog-whistle hook. Then again, how could you rule out recurring Grammy queen Eilish for a sing-along that has commercially surpassed all of her previous award winners to become her biggest single to date? It’s easy to see this one going any of those three ways. Or five ways, since Beyoncé and Carpenter are the other candidates that can’t completely be counted out.
Grammy Predictions, From Beyoncé to Kendrick Lamar: Who Will Win? Who Should Win?
2025 Grammys Awards Predictions in 50 categories include Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Chappell Roan, Billie Eilish, Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande and more.
variety.com