2017 Grammy's Preview

It's been a great year in music, as we near the 2017 Grammy Awards. The race everyone will be looking at is a prospective showdown between Adele and Beyonce for 'album of the year', but there are a number of interesting categories out there. (sidenote: my Grammy predictions aren't always the best, so just enjoy the snippets representing some of the best music of this past calendar year).

Best Country Album:

Brandy Clark - Big Day In A Small Town

Loretta Lynn - Full Circle

Maren Morris - Hero

Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor's Guide To Earth

Keith Urban - Ripcord

This will probably come down to Sturgill Simpson and Maren Morris. Both had breakout years on the country scene, but I'm going to lean towards Sturgill Simpson.

Best R&B Performance:

BJ The Chicago Kid - "Turnin' Me Up"

Ro James - "Permission"

Musiq Soulchild - "I Do"

Rihanna - "Needed Me"

Solange - "Cranes In The Sky"

 Solange takes this Grammy Award.

Best Rock Album:

Blink-182 - California

Cage The Elephant - Tell Me I'm Pretty

Gojira - Magma

Panic! At The Disco - Death Of A Bachelor

Weezer - Weezer

Going out on a limb here and going with Gojira. You may not know them, but with crisp and clean vocals they really shine. Definitely a group to check out.

Best Pop Vocal Album:

Adele - 25

Justin Bieber - Purpose

Ariana Grande - Dangerous Woman

Demi Lovato - Confident

Sia - This Is Acting

What a loaded field. A pretty perfect collection of pop artists. While I wouldn't be shocked if Sia pulled this one off, its hard to bet against Adele.

Best Pop Solo Performance:

Adele - "Hello"

Beyonce - "Hold Up"

Justin Bieber - "Love Yourself"

Kelly Clarkson - "Piece By Piece" (Idol Version)

Ariana Grande - "Dangerous Woman"

Another loaded pop field, including Beyonce. I think it comes down to Adele, Beyonce and Kelly Clarkson. And you know what? I'm going with Kelly Clarkson for the upset here. That Idol version of "Piece By Piece" was just incredibly touching and moving.

Best New Artist:

Kelsea Ballerini

The Chainsmokers

Chance The Rapper

Maren Morris

Anderson Paak

I still think its a crime that Alessia Cara wasn't nominated. But in this field, I'm going with Chance The Rapper.

Song Of The Year:

Beyonce - "Formation"

Adele - "Hello"

Mike Posner - "I Took A Pill In Ibiza"

Justin Bieber - "Love Yourself"

Lukas Graham - "7 Years"

This likely comes down to Beyonce and Adele. Watch this space for "Record Of The Year", but for Song OTY, I'm going with Adele.

Record Of The Year:

Adele - "Hello"

Beyonce - "Formation"

Lukas Graham - "7 Years"

Rihanna ft/Drake - "Work"

Twenty One Pilots - "Stressed Out"

A few different entrees than in Song Of The Year, but again it comes to down to Adele and Beyonce in my book. And in this case, its a split, with Beyonce taking Record Of The Year.

Album Of The Year:

Adele - 25

Beyonce - Lemonade

Justin Bieber - Purpose

Drake - Views

Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor's Guide To Earth

Sturgill Simpson could sneak in here, but I have to go with none other than Beyonce. Lemonade just burst onto the scene, with Beyonce taking us down a path with a variety of different sounds and genres. It may sound cliche, but its what makes an artist.