The 67th annual Grammy Awards will take place on Sunday, Feb. 2 to celebrate and acknowledge figureheads in the music industry. Nominations were released in early November, causing music fans to examine the nominees and predict the winners of each category. Being a majority of the Lanthorn’s editorial staff is heavily tuned-in to the music scene, we have compiled a list of our Grammy predictions for the most notable categories, as well as who we truly want to win this year’s nominations.

Album of the Year

Album of the Year is a category that awards artists and featured songwriters for new material created and released in 2024. The nominations include “New Blue Sun” by André 3000, “COWBOY CARTER” by Beyoncé, “Short n’ Sweet” by Sabrina Carpenter, “BRAT” by Charli xcx, “Djesse Vol. 4” by Jacob Collier, “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” by Billie Eilish, “The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess” by Chappell Roan and “THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT” by Taylor Swift. These albums significantly impacted the music scene throughout 2024 with their popularity and musicality.

We predict this coveted award will go to Beyoncé with “COWBOY CARTER.” This album was not just a collection of songs– it was a statement. “COWBOY CARTER” has elements that transcend multiple genres, which will win over many different GRAMMY voters. An Album of the Year win for Beyoncé has also been long overdue. While “COWBOY CARTER” may not have been the most commercially successful album of the year, after losing out on this award with career peaks such as “Lemonade” and “RENAISSANCE,” the Grammy’s practically owe it to Beyoncé at this point.

STAFF FAVORITE PICKS:

Hailey Hentz (Editor in Chief): “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” by Billie Eilish

Megan Matthews (Associate Editor): “BRAT” by Charli xcx

Emma Armijo (News Editor): “THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT” by Taylor Swift

Ethan Outman (Sports Editor): “THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT” by Taylor Swift

Ayron Rutan (Multimedia Editor): “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” by Billie Eilish

Rachael Gage (Arts & Entertainment Editor): “Short n’ Sweet” by Sabrina Carpenter

Sara Bagley (Laker Life Editor): “Short n’ Sweet” by Sabrina Carpenter.

Song of the Year

Song of the Year is described as “A Songwriters Award,” and is given to the writer(s) of a song that demonstrates artistic excellence. Although it is commonly confused with the Record of the Year, this award has a particular focus on a song’s composition, rather than its production value. This year’s nominations include “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey, “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” by Billie Eilish, “Die With A Smile” by Lady Gaga feat. Bruno Mars, “Fortnight” by Taylor Swift feat. Post Malone, “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan, “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar, “Please Please Please” by Sabrina Carpenter and “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” by Beyonce.

Due to the popularity and cultural impact of each of these nominations, our editorial staff struggled to choose a prediction for this category. Ultimately though, we decided that “Please Please Please” by Sabrina Carpenter is the most likely to take home a Grammy from this category. Due to Carpenter’s extensive career and massive increase in popularity throughout 2024 from the release of her album “Short n’ Sweet,” we believe she deserves to take home the award.

STAFF FAVORITE PICKS:

Hailey Hentz (Editor in Chief): “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan

Megan Matthews (Associate Editor): “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan

Emma Armijo (News Editor): “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar

Ethan Outman (Sports Editor): “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan

Ayron Rutan (Multimedia Editor): “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar

Rachael Gage (Arts & Entertainment Editor): “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar

Sara Bagley (Laker Life Editor): “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar

Record of the Year

As previously mentioned, Record of the Year is also given out to a song that demonstrates artistic excellence. It differs from Song of the Year because it places a focus on the song’s production value and the contributions of producers and sound engineers. This year’s nominees include “Now and Then” by The Beatles, “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” by Beyonce, “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter, “360” by Charli xcx, “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” by Billie Eilish, “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar, “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan and “Fortnight” by Taylor Swift feat. Post Malone.

We predict that Billie Eilish will be adding another Grammy to her collection with “BIRDS OF A FEATHER.” It is clear that the Grammys love Eilish, with her sweeping all the major categories in her first Grammy appearance in 2020 at just 18 years old. “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” was also undeniably one of the biggest songs of the year, spending 36 weeks in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200, and was named the most streamed song of 2024 on Spotify. Eilish has already won this award twice for “Bad Guy” and “Everything I Wanted,” and she is certainly deserving of a third for “BIRDS OF A FEATHER.”

STAFF FAVORITE PICKS:

Hailey Hentz (Editor in Chief): Chappell Roan

Megan Matthews (Associate Editor): Chappell Roan

Emma Armijo (News Editor): Chappell Roan

Ethan Outman (Sports Editor): Chappell Roan

Ayron Rutan (Multimedia Editor): Doechii

Rachael Gage (Arts & Entertainment Editor): Sabrina Carpenter

Sara Bagley (Laker Life Editor): Teddy Swims

Best Rock Album

This year’s nominees for Best Rock Album include “Happiness Bastards” by The Black Crowes, “Romance” by Fontaines D.C., “Saviors” by Green Day, “TANGK” by IDLES, “Dark Matter” by Pearl Jam, “Hackney Diamonds” by The Rolling Stones and “No Name” by Jack White.

While we think this year’s category proved to be lackluster compared to previous lists, we predict the nod for Best Rock Album will go to Fontaines D.C. and their new album “Romance.” The album received widespread critical acclaim, and with an adjacent sound to previous winners such as “The New Abnormal” by the Strokes or “Social Cues” by Cage the Elephant, “Romance” is sure to snag this year’s award.

STAFF FAVORITE PICKS:

Hailey Hentz (Editor in Chief): “Romance” by Fontaines D.C.

Megan Matthews (Associate Editor): “Romance” by Fontaines D.C.

Emma Armijo (News Editor): “Romance” by Fontaines D.C.

Ethan Outman (Sports Editor): “No Name” by Jack White

Ayron Rutan (Multimedia Editor): “No Name” by Jack White

Rachael Gage (Arts & Entertainment Editor): Declined to pick

Sara Bagley (Laker Life Editor): “Hackney Diamonds” by The Rolling Stones

Best Rap Album

This year’s nominees for Best Rap Album include “Might Delete Later” by J. Cole, “The Auditorium, Vol. 1” by Common & Pete Rock, “Alligator Bites Never Heal” by Doechii, “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grace)” by Eminem and “We Don’t Trust You” by Future & Metro Boomin.

We predict the award for Best Rap Album will go to Future & Metro Boomin for their collab album “We Don’t Trust You.” The album gave rap fans a dream collaboration between two of the genre’s best producers, and certainly delivered on that front. While we as a group prefer the musical workings of Doechii, who’s also nominated for Best New Artist, we simply can’t deny the cultural impact that “We Don’t Trust You” had upon its release. The first half of the two-album series by the pair received monumental hype leading up to its release, complete with a movie-style trailer featured in its rollout. This, combined with the song “Like That” feat. Kendrick Lamar” kicking off the cultural phenomenon that was the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar beef, “We Don’t Trust You” is just too big of a project to ignore.

STAFF FAVORITE PICKS:

Hailey Hentz (Editor in Chief): “Alligator Bites Never Heal” by Doechii

Megan Matthews (Associate Editor): “Alligator Bites Never Heal” by Doechii

Emma Armijo (News Editor): “Alligator Bites Never Heal” by Doechii

Ethan Outman (Sports Editor): “Alligator Bites Never Heal” by Doechii

Ayron Rutan (Multimedia Editor): “Alligator Bites Never Heal” by Doechii

Rachael Gage (Arts & Entertainment Editor): “Might Delete Later” by J. Cole

Sara Bagley (Laker Life Editor): “Alligator Bites Never Heal” by Doechii