The 2024 Grammy categories that should be aired live
A look into which Grammy categories will be the most entertaining to make the main broadcast, and who will most likely walk away with the gold, as well as Harpsichord’s picks for who should win.
BY HARPSICHORD
JANUARY 28, 2024
The Grammys are considered a Super Bowl of sorts for music lovers. It’s a day full of unsuspected surprises happening in the middle of stiff competition. This year’s Grammys have a plethora of key superstars who are vying for their own storylines to add to their legacies.
While the Grammys pride themselves on showcasing music performances, the most exciting portion of each telecast will always be the announcement of award categories. Most of the awards are broadcast during the pre-telecast ceremony that doesn’t air live on CBS. This is the time where celebrities pose on the red carpet heading into the arena. Meanwhile, about 80 to 90 percent of the categories and the respective winners are announced. That leaves to about ten categories being determined during the live three and a half hours showing. Here is a wishlist of the categories that should be aired for millions of viewers to witness– as well as guesses of who will probably win, and who should win.
And Now The Categories That Should Be Televised For Entertainment Purposes
Best Pop Solo Performance
Awarded for new vocal or instrumental pop recordings that are tracks or singles only.
Nominees:
"Flowers" by Miley Cyrus
"Paint the Town Red" by Doja Cat
"What Was I Made For?" by Billie Eilish
"Vampire" by Olivia Rodrigo
"Anti-Hero" by Taylor Swift
Four out of five of these songs went No. 1 on the Hot 100, except for Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?”. This category is proving to be a stiff one for mainstream lovers of pop, featuring five big names that stayed in rotation and the music headlines.
What Will Probably Win: “Anti-Hero”
In addition to being a strong contender for the General Field categories, this song has collected multiple awards from other entities. It became one of Taylor’s biggest hits of all time, and will get her on the stage.
What Should Win: “paint The Town red”
Over the past few years, hip hop has gotten back into a place of being the main focal point and inspiration for pop. “Paint The Town Red” achieved success during a period where hip hop’s mainstream power was doubted in 2023. It would also be ironic that the most pop sounding song on ‘Scarlet’ is recognized for being just that. “Paint The Town Red” was inescapable for a plethora of demographics– where we had a performer rapping and singing.
Best R&B Song
Awarded to songwriters for a single or track that primarily is classified as rhythm and blues.
Nominees:
"Angel" by Halle Bailey
Halle Bailey, Theron Feemster & Coleridge Tillman, songwriters
"Back to Love" by Robert Glasper featuring Sir & Alex Isley
Darryl Andrew Farris, Robert Glasper & Alex Isley, songwriters
"ICU" by Coco Jones
Darhyl Camper Jr., Courtney Jones, Raymond Komba & Roy Keisha Rockette, songwriters
"On My Mama" by Victoria Monét
Dernst Emile II, Jeff Gitelman, Victoria Monét, Kyla Moscovich, Jamil Pierre & Charles Williams, songwriters
"Snooze" by SZA
Kenny B. Edmonds, Blair Ferguson, Khris Riddick-Tynes, Solána Rowe & Leon Thomas, songwriters
This is a category that has equal parts mainstream popular songs that infiltrated radio and social media discussion, as well as being structurally well written and produced songs that stay in line with the spirit of the genre. Halle Bailey’s nomination came as a surprise, and since she’s become a recent mother, a win will have a sentimental impact. SZA, Coco Jones, and Victoria Monét are some of the main attractions of this year’s Grammys, so viewers will be intrigued on who will be named top dog.
What Will Probably Win: “Snooze”
SZA managed to receive a groundbreaking hit that exemplified how R&B can provide love songs that crossover well into the mainstream. It became the backbone of ‘SOS,’ helping to show that the album could stand on more than just “Kill Bill.” Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds is respected by the Recording Academy, and a win for Leon Thomas will be a celebration for the new generation of emerging talent that’s put in work.
What Should Win: “On My Mama”
Although it smashed for R&B audiences, “On My Mama” is starting to climb into the realms of pop radio and appeal. Celebrating self-confidence with an anthem highly regarded by Black audiences, “On My Mama” subjectively became a more meaningful song for R&B audiences that blended traditional pop&B with what makes hip hop soul marketable.
Best Rap Song
Awarded to the songwriters of an exceptional track or single that contains primarily elements of rap and hip hop music.
Nominees:
"Attention" by Doja Cat
Rogét Chahayed, Amala Zandile Dlamini & Ari Starace, songwriters
"Barbie World" by Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice featuring Aqua
Isis Naija Gaston, Ephrem Louis Lopez Jr. & Onika Maraj, songwriters
"Just Wanna Rock" by Lil Uzi Vert
Mohamad Camara, Symere Woods & Javier Mercado, songwriters
"Rich Flex" by Drake & 21 Savage
Brytavious Chambers, Isaac "Zac" De Boni, Aubrey Graham, J. Gwin, Anderson Hernandez, Michael "Finatik" Mule & Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, songwriters
"Scientists & Engineers" by Killer Mike featuring André 3000, Future and Eryn Allen Kane
Andre Benjamin, Paul Beauregard, James Blake, Michael Render, Tim Moore & Dion Wilson, songwriters
This category has a wide range of what ruled rap music in 2023– from records led by the premiere female rappers in the field, to the memeable and danceable rap to one focusing on heavy bars and more traditionalist, golden aged technique.
What Will Probably Win: “Scientists & Engineers”
When the song dropped, it created buzz amongst the hip hop heads who appreciated the technique and its alignment with the traditional foundations of hip hop. Killer Mike is also adored by those individuals as well as CBS network (as he is often featured as a guest on their more news and talk show oriented programming). André 3000 is also held in the same regard, and has already won ‘Album of the Year’ with OutKast. Knowing that there is a secret committee that determines nominations (and possibly winners), it would make sense that they would gatekeep this category to celebrate more conservative views on where the genre should be heading.
What Should Win: “Attention”
Kicking off her Scarlet era, this song generated plenty of conversation. It expressed that Doja Cat can be a rapper’s rapper, while also maintaining intrigue from the pop audience she’s cultivated. It’s a sharp turn for a woman who raps– aligning with traditional boom bap, but also exemplifying progression in the genre. On “Attention” we’re getting Doja Cat, the storyteller. This win will surely be surprising and make a statement in the process.
Best Country Album
Awarded to albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new country recordings.
Nominees:
‘Rolling Up The Welcome Mat’ by Kelsea Ballerini
‘Brothers Osborne’ by Brothers Osborne
‘Zach Bryan’ by Zach Bryan
‘Rustin' In The Rain’ by Tyler Childers
‘Bell Bottom Country’ by Lainey Wilson
It’s standard fare to have a presentation of a country category at the Grammys, and the most interesting is the album one which features a battle of one album sweeping the competition at previous categories, and another pushing the buttons of critical acclaim.
What Will Probably Win: ‘Bell Bottom Country’
Lainey Wilson has been cleaning up at country award shows. It won ‘Album of the Year’ at the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards, as well as winning Album of the Year at the 57th Annual Country Music Association Awards. Wilson is being celebrated for being one of the only women on the scene for keeping in line with traditional country music, and generating No. 1 hits on Country Airplay charts (“Watermelon Moonshine” being one from this album).
What Should Win: ‘Zach Bryan’
The album is entirely self-produced by Zach Bryan and contains a bit more edge. It’s a personal body of work that took the country music scene by storm. It’s actually a journey that takes time to flesh out the songs, making for a rousing listen for country fans. There’s poetry and even an interpolation of the national anthem on “Overtime”– making for an immersive, personal presentation.
Best African Music Performance
Awarded as a "recogni[tion of] recordings that utilize unique local expressions from across the African continent, highlighting regional melodic, harmonic and rhythmic musical traditions."
The first of its kind, the Grammys included this award for 2024– therefore it needs to be presented inaugurally on the telecast. African music, genres, and artists were a main source of mainstream dominance. And the names nominated this year are those who lead the charge.
Nominees:
"Amapiano" by Asake & Olamide
"City Boys" by Burna Boy
"UNAVAILABLE" by Davido featuring Musa Keys
"Rush" by Ayra Starr
"Water" by Tyla
What Will Probably Win: “City Boys”
Burna Boy has already won a Grammy and has been nominated ten times. He has also been announced as a performer for the night, which almost seems like a guarantee for winning. However, “Water” would not be such a shocking win either, as that song became a breakout moment for Tyla and led the pack of African music that crossed over in the US and globally.
What Should Win: “City Boys”
Out of all the songs, this is subjectively the best sounding one and the most entertaining. Frankly speaking, editorial bias wants it to be the main winner.
Four of those Five aforementioned Nominations appear in this article:
Best Song Written For Visual Media
Awarded to the songwriters of songs written for films, television, video games or other visual media.
It’s an all out slugfest of Barbie songs up against Rihanna… Because Barbie was such a cultural staple, this can be a final hurrah before the Oscars happening in March. But wouldn’t it be nice if Rihanna surprises? It would have also been nice if Nicki Minaj finally earned her first Grammy as a dynamic character artist in a category other than rap– for visual media. However, because of her controversial antics with three-time Grammy award winning artist, Megan Thee Stallion, it seems unlikely that will be a reality at this point.
Nominees:
"What Was I Made For?" (from Barbie) by Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish O'Connell & Finneas O'Connell, songwriters
"Dance the Night" (from Barbie) by Dua Lipa
Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters
"Barbie World" (from Barbie) by Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice featuring Aqua
Isis Naija Gaston, Ephrem Louis Lopez Jr. & Onika Maraj, songwriters
"Lift Me Up" (from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) by Rihanna
Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, Robyn Fenty & Temilade Openiyi, songwriters
"I'm Just Ken" (from Barbie) by Ryan Gosling
Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters
What Will Probably Win: “What Was I Made For?”
It seems as though this song is the front runner for the Oscar, and since it’s nominated in both General Field categories, it might become one of the most winning songs of the night.
What Should Win: “Lift Me Up”
As her comeback single, after a five year hiatus, “Lift Me Up” does not sound like anything Rihanna’s done before. The song became one of the central focuses of the film, and proved Rihanna can not only deliver pop hits, but can offer cinematic masterpieces. It would also be exhilarating if it did shut out and stun the Barbie chatter.