Your 2017 Grammys Crib Sheet
Faced with the unenviable task of summing up an entire year in a huge art form, “Music’s Biggest Night” is often music’s awkwardest night. The 59th Grammy Awards may be even weirder than usual: Some stars are sitting it out for “irrelevance,” and Donald Trump’s culture-warrior presidency has made events like this feel more fraught than ever.
Nevertheless, the Grammys command an audience of millions for good reason: The show can deliver great performances, kick off fascinating conversations, and expose new talents to a wide audience. Below are thoughts on the four general awards categories, a few of the genre-specific categories of particular note this year, and the likely trends of the night’s performances.
The Big Four Awards
Adele, ; Beyoncé, ; Justin Bieber, ; Drake, ; Sturgill SimpsonTaylor Swift, The conventional wisdom says that this year’s ceremony is a clash between two recent Grammy titans, Adele and Beyoncé—and that Adele’s is a safer bet than Beyonce’s provocative But watch for Sturgill Simpson. Though the relatively unfamous alt-country singer seems like an underdog, as the sole white guy with a guitar he may benefit from a split vote among the four commercially minded radio stars, recalling when Beck beat Beyoncé’s self-titled release in 2014.
