| USA TODAY
Grammy 2021: BTS reveals that they are more eager to act than to win
BTS talks to USA TODAY’s Fatima Farha about the success of “Dynamite” and the group’s performance at Sunday’s Grammy Awards.
Have a good time! USA TODAY
Believe it or not, the Grammy Awards is this weekend.
We would hardly blame you for forgetting: after all, the nominations were announced almost four months ago and the ceremony was moved from its original January date because – you guessed it – the pandemic. But now, here we are, and some kind of show is going to happen on Sunday at CBS (8 EST / 5 PST). “The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah will oversee the reinvented event, which will be held in five different phases in Los Angeles (one for presenters and four for performers like Taylor Swift, Cardi B and Billie Eilish).
Grammys 2021: Dua Lipa, BTS, Harry Styles, more options for “safely separated” presentations
Eilish dominated the four main categories at the 2020 awards, winning the best new artist, album of the year (“When we all fall asleep, where are we going?”) And disco and music of the year (“Bad Guy”). Who will reign victoriously this year? We divided the main races:
Women in music: Grammys in partnership with Berklee and ASU to study acting
Album of the year
- “Chilombo” – Jhené Aiko
- “Black Pumas (Deluxe Edition)” – Black Pumas
- “Everyday Life” – Coldplay
- “Djesse Vol. 3” – Jacob Collier
- “Women in music pt. III ”- Haim
- “Nostalgia for the Future” – Dua Lipa
- “Hollywood’s Bleeding” – Post Malone
- “Folklore” – Taylor Swift
You should win: Taylor Swift, “Folklore”
You will win: Dua Lipa, “Nostalgia for the Future”
It should have been named: Chloe vs. Halle, “Wicked Hour”
Taylor Swift had the best album of the year in the summer surprise “Folklore”, a melancholy and discreet return to form after the bold pop surprises of 2019 “Lover” and 2017 of “Reputation”. With her escapist narrative and emotional maturity, “Folklore” comfortably reinvents Swift as an independent folk-rock artist, and Grammy voters should want to take the next step in their evolution, after naming her album “1989” of the year to the synth-pop makeover in 2016.
But now with just 31 years and a long career ahead of us, does the Recording Academy really want to give Swift a third AOTY award anytime soon? (She also won for “Fearless” in 2010.) She would become the first female artist and only the fourth artist to win three, joining Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon. In addition, there is a chance that cynical voters will think that the “Folklore” sister album “Evermore”, released in December, somehow cheapens the power of its predecessor, or that they can simply honor Swift for both of them at the Grammy Awards. next year.
So we think that Dua Lipa could get in the way of the category. Her second-year stellar endeavor, “Future Nostalgia”, was everywhere last year, in part thanks to Lipa’s aggressive campaign through TV shows, magazine covers and luxury and remix albums. Although the Grammy does not go to pure pop in AOTY, “Future Nostalgia” is a throwback accessible to the 70’s record that could cause the same feeling for voters as Bruno Mars retro-funk “24K Magic”, which won AOTY in 2018. Lipa also recently won the Grammy for best new artist who made good use of her potential, and members of the academy never miss a chance to pat themselves on the back.
Record of the year
- “Black Parade” – Beyoncé
- “Colors” – Black Cougars
- “Rockstar” – DaBaby with Roddy Ricch
- “Say So” – Doja Cat
- “Everything I Wanted” – Billie Eilish
- “Don’t Start Now” – Dua Lipa
- “Circles” – Post Malone
- “Savage” – Megan Thee stallion with Beyoncé
You should win: Billie Eilish, “Everything I Wanted”
You will win: Beyoncé, “Black Parade”
It should have been named: The Weeknd, “Blinding Lights”
After making dirty “Lemonade” in 2017 with no victories in the main categories, the Grammy would be foolish to once again belittle Beyoncé, who leads this year’s nominations with nine. She has two worthy ROTY contenders in her swashbuckling remix “Savage” with Megan Thee Stallion and cheerful “Black Parade”, although we gave the latter the advantage for her magnificent production and timely celebration of black culture. If there is a spoiler, we could see the captivating top of Dua Lipa’s charts “Don’t Start Now” or the melancholy “Everything I Wanted” by Billie Eilish, given Lipa’s strong participation in this year’s nominations and Eilish’s victory in the 2020 awards.
Song of the year
- “Black Parade” – Beyoncé
- “The Box” – Roddy Ricch
- “Cardigan” – Taylor Swift
- “Circles” – Post Malone
- “Don’t Start Now” – Dua Lipa
- “Everything I Wanted” – Billie Eilish
- “I can’t breathe” – SHE
- “If the World Was Ending” – JP Saxe with Julia Michaels
You must and will win: Taylor Swift, “Cardigan”
It should have been named: Harry Styles, “Watermelon Sugar”
The record and song winners of the year have overlapped six times in the past decade, so there is a good chance if “Black Parade” wins a record, it will also take this one. That said, Taylor Swift’s “Folklore” is about showing her gift for evocative compositions, and no song does it better than her painfully beautiful “Cardigan”, which easily ranks among the best she has ever released. If Swift brings home only one major trophy this year, at least this is it.
Best new artist
- Ingrid Andress
- Phoebe Bridgers
- Chika
- Noah Cyrus
- D Smoke
- Doja Cat
- Kaytranada
- Stallion Megan Thee
You must and will win: Stallion Megan Thee
It should have been named: Rina Sawayama
The first and only rapper to win the Grammy for best new artist was Lauryn Hill in 1999, despite nominations for Nicki Minaj and Iggy Azalea in recent years. More than two decades later, that should change on Sunday with Megan Thee Stallion, whose combination of talent, grace and charisma make her an easy person to root for. No artist in any genre has risen faster and more deservedly than Megan last year, between her collaboration with Cardi B, “WAP”, and the self-confident debut album “Good News”. The only artist who can bring down the Houston MC in this category is Phoebe Bridgers, the favorite of the overwhelming guitar critic who also competes for three other awards, including best rock song (“Kyoto”).