THE FIRST IN A 10-PART SERIES
| Over the course of the next five weeks, our resident Grammy seer, Paul Grein, will preview various "genre album" categories. We’re introducing the series with Grein’s takes on two Pop categories plus Contemporary Instrumental. |
| Best Pop Vocal Album As likely finalists in the overall Album of the Year category, Sam Smith’s In the Lonely Hour and Ed Sheeran’s x are sure things here. Ariana Grande’s My Everything, Coldplay’s Ghost Stories and Katy Perry’s PRISM will probably round out the field. Coldplay has had an interesting Grammy history. The band’s first two studio albums won for Best Alternative Music Album. Its fourth album, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, won for Best Rock Album. Now its sixth album is vying for a nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album. Has the band’s music changed that much, or has the music scene shifted around it? Miley Cyrus’ image-changing Bangerz will definitely get some votes. Lady Gaga won in this category for 2010’s The Fame Monster. She’s a contender this year with ARTPOP. The media quickly labeled the album a flop, but some voters may want to show their support. (Even if Gaga falls short here, she and Tony Bennett are certain to be nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Cheek to Cheek.) Kelly Clarkson is the only artist ever to win twice in this category (which dates to 1994). She’s a contender this year with her holiday album, Wrapped in Red. If enough voters let their kids fill out their ballots, 5 Seconds of Summer’s eponymous album and One Direction’s Midnight Memories might have a chance. (That may help explain how Justin Bieber’s My World 2.0 got a nomination in this category four years ago.) Other top contenders include Maroon 5’s V, Lana Del Rey’s Ultraviolence, Stevie Nicks’ 24 Karat Gold—Songs From the Vault, Pentatonix’s PTX Vol. 3, Sia’s 1000 Forms of Fear, Andrea Bocelli’s Love in Portofino and Shakira’s Shakira. Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Barbra Streisand hasn’t won a Grammy since she took the 1986 award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female for The Broadway Album. Her current album, Partners, is a smash hit, but to win it has to get past the Tony Bennett/Lady Gaga collaboration, Cheek to Cheek. Bennett has won 11 times in this category (which was introduced in 1991). Bennett and Streisand have gone head-to-head five times in this category. Bennett has come out on top every time. Gaga is also a Grammy favorite. She was the first artist since The Beatles to receive Album of the Year nominations three years running. While Partners and Cheek to Cheek both debuted at #1, Streisand’s album has been a substantially bigger hit. Both albums are sure to be nominated. But which will win? (With all the attendant drama, this category belongs on TV this year.) Annie Lennox’s Nostalgia is also a sure-fire nominee. The collection of standards is marred only by a title that sells the album short. A great singer singing timeless songs is more than mere nostalgia. Battling for the two remaining slots: Betty Buckley's Ghostlight, which was produced by T Bone Burnett; Barry Manilow's Night Songs and four holiday albums: Seth MacFarlane's Holiday For Swing, Johnny Mathis's Sending You A Little Christmas, Susan Boyle's Home For Christmas and Dave Koz & Friends' The 25th Of December. Other contenders include Il Divo’s A Musical Affair, Steve Lawrence’s 60th Anniversary Celebration: When You Come Back to Me Again and a Various Artists album, From Broadway With Love: A Benefit Concert for Sandy Hook. |
