Grammy Predictions: The R&B Categories
By Paul Grein
Yahoo Music
Tamar Braxton, the younger sister of Toni Braxton, is nominated for three Grammys in the R&B field this year. She's the front-runner in two of those categories: Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance for her hit "Love And War." Toni Braxton took home two Grammys in both 1994 and 1997, and has won six in all.
Tamar Braxton co-wrote "Love And War" with Darhyl Camper, Jr., LaShawn Daniels and Makeba Riddick. The other nominees for Best R&B Song are Anthony Hamilton's "Best Of Me" (which he co-wrote with Jairus Mozee), PJ Morton's "Only One," Justin Timberlake's "Pusher Love Girl" (which he co-wrote with James Fauntleroy, Jerome Harmon & Timothy Mosley) and Fantasia's "Without Me" (which she co-wrote with Missy Elliott, Al Sherrod Lambert, Harmony Samuels & Kyle Stewart).
"How Many Drinks?" by Miguel featuring Kendrick Lamar is Braxton's strongest competition for Best R&B Performance. The track is from Miguel's "Kaleidoscope Dream," which was nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album last year. Lamar is nominated for seven Grammys this year, including Album of the Year. Miguel and Lamar were both big winners at the BET Awards in June. Miguel was named Best Male R&B Artist; Lamar won as Best Male Hip-Hop Artist.
The other nominees for Best R&B Performance are Anthony Hamilton's "Best Of Me," "Nakamarra" by Hiatus Kaiyote featuring Q-Tip and a cover of Lalah Hathaway's "Something" by Snarky Puppy with a guest turn by Hathaway.
Braxton's "Love And War" album is nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album, but the award will probably go to Rihanna's "Unapologetic." The album was Rihanna's first to reach #1 on The Billboard 200. Rihanna was crowned Best Female R&B Artist at the BET Awards.
The other nominees are Fantasia's "Side Effects Of You," Salaam Remi's "One: In The Chamber" and Mack Wilds's "New York: A Love Story."
Alicia Keys is likely to become the first artist to take home a Grammy for Best R&B Album three times. Keys is nominated for "Girl On Fire," which entered The Billboard 200 at #1 and spawned a big hit in the title track.
Keys took the award for her first two albums, "Songs In A Minor" and "The Diary Of Alicia Keys."
Or, though it's less likely, John Legend could be headed for his third win in the category. Legend is nominated for "Love In The Future." He previously won for "Get Lifted" and "Wake Up!," his 2010 collaboration with The Roots.
The other nominees in the category are Faith Evans' "R&B Divas," Chrisette Michele's "Better" and TGT's "Three Kings." (That all-star trio consists of Tyrese, Ginuwine and Tank).
(For the record, Beyonce won in a related category, Best Contemporary R&B Album, three times. That category has since been discontinued.)
Gary Clark Jr.'s "Please Come Home" is the front-runner for Best Traditional R&B Performance. It's from Clark's first major-label studio album, "Blak And Blu," which touches on a wide variety of traditionally black genres. The other nominees are Fantasia's "Get It Right," Maysa's "Quiet Fire," Gregory Porter's "Hey Laura" and Ryan Shaw's cover of the Beatles' "Yesterday."
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The Pop & Dance Categories
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Justin Timberlake's "The 20/20 Experience—The Complete Experience" was inexplicably passed over for an Album of the Year nomination, but Timberlake will probably take home a nice consolation prize—Best Pop Vocal Album. It would be Timberlake's second victory in the category. He previously won with his 2003 solo debut album, "Justified." A second win would put him in a tie with Kelly Clarkson for the most wins since the category was introduced in 1994. The other nominees are Bruno Mars' "Unorthodox Jukebox," Lana Del Rey's "Paradise," Lorde's "Pure Heroine" and Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines."
Timberlake is nominated in two other categories in the pop field, but probably won't win either one. "Mirrors" is nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance, but will probably lose to Lorde's "Royals." It's the front-runner to win for both Record and Song of the Year.
Bruno Mars's plaintive "When I Was Your Man" is also a strong contender. The other nominees are Sara Bareilles's "Brave" and Katy Perry's "Roar."
"Suit & Tie," a snazzy Timberlake/Jay Z collaboration, is nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, but will probably lose to "Just Give Me A Reason" by P!nk featuring Nate Ruess. The other three nominees are also collaborations: "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke featuring T.I. + Pharrell, "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers and "Stay" by Rihanna featuring Mikky Ekko.
Herb Alpert's "Steppin' Out" is the front-runner to win for Best Pop Instrumental Album. Alpert has been a Grammy favorite since 1965, when the zesty Tijuana Brass hit "A Taste Of Honey" took Record of the Year. The other nominees are Boney James' "The Beat," Earl Klugh's "Handpicked," Jeff Lorber Fusion's "Hacienda" and "Summer Horns" by Dave Koz, Gerald Albright, Mindi Abair and Richard Elliot.
As the front-runner to win for Album of the Year, Daft Punk's "Random Access Memories" is a lock to win for Best Dance/Electronica Album. It will be the duo's second win in the category, tying The Chemical Brothers and Skrillex for the most wins since the category was added in 2004. The other nominees are Disclosure's "Settle," Calvin Harris' "18 Months," Kaskade's "Atmosphere" and Pretty Lights' "A Color Map Of The Sun."
Daft Punk's smash "Get Lucky" was slotted in the pop field, which clears the way for "Sweet Nothing" by Calvin Harris featuring Florence Welch to win for Best Dance Recording. The other nominees are Kaskade's "Atmosphere" and three collaborations: "Clarity" by Zedd featuring Foxes, "Need U (100%)" by Duke Dumont featuring A*M*E & MNEK and "This Is What It Feels Like" by Armin Van Buuren featuring Trevor Guthrie.
Tony Bennett and Michael Buble are locked in a tight race for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. They are the two most frequent winners since the category was introduced in 1991. Bennett has won 11 times; Buble, three times. Buble beat Bennett four years ago when his live album beat a Bennett Christmas album. This time around, Buble is competing with "To Be Loved," a chart-topping studio album; Bennett with "Viva Duets," his third collection of duets (this time featuring Latin music stars).
It will be close, but I'll put my money on Buble.
Gloria Estefan, who is among the Latin music stars featured on Bennett's album, is competing with an album of her own, "The Standards." The other nominees are Cee Lo Green's "Cee Lo's Magic Moment" and Dionne Warwick's "Now."
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