This weekend the Grammy Awards present the music side of insular industry self-celebration and back-patting. Trying to figure out who wins in the post-Esperanza Spalding years is as much about who the industry needs to ‘reward’ as anything else. But the folks at Spotify have used data gleaned from their streaming service over the last year to make predictions!
Here are the main predictions:
• Record of the Year: Radioactive, Imagine Dragons
• Album of the Year: The Heist, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
• Best New Artist: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
• Best Pop Solo Performance: Royals, Lorde
• Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: Get Lucky, Daft Punk Feat. Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers
They base their data on which music had the most streams, and their confidence on predictions from last year, saying:
The numbers don’t lie: in 2013, Spotify accurately projected that Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” would win the gilded gramophone for Record of the Year and that Mumford & Sons would take home the Album of the Year prize for “Babel”.
Spotify has also set up a Grammy playlist to enjoy as you get ready for the big show.
Take a look at the full list of nominees below and chime in with your thoughts on who the Grammy winners will be!
Me? I really have no thoughts … except that I would love to see the “Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album” award go to “Brooklyn Babylon” from Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society.
• Record of the Year
1. Radioactive, Imagine Dragons
2. Blurred Lines, Robin Thicke feat. T.I. and Pharrell
3. Locked out of Heaven, Bruno Mars
4. Royals, Lorde
5. Get Lucky, Daft Punk Feat. Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers
• Album of the Year
1. The Heist, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
2. Random Access Memories, Daft Punk
3. Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, Kendrick Lamar
4. Red, Taylor Swift
5. The Blessed Unrest, Sara Bareilles
• Best New Artist
1. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
2. Kendrick Lamar
3. Ed Sheeran
4. James Blake
5. Kacey Musgraves
• Best Pop Solo Performance
1. Royals, Lorde
2. Mirrors, Justin Timberlake
3. Roar, Katy Perry
4. When I Was Your Man, Bruno Mars
5. Brave, Sara Bareilles
• Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
1. Get Lucky, Daft Punk Feat. Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers
2. Blurred Lines, Robin Thicke feat. T.I. and Pharrell
3. Just Give Me a Reason, Pink feat. Nate Ruess
4. Suit & Tie, Justin Timberlake & Jay-Z
5. Stay, Rihanna feat. Mikky Ekko