Everything to know about the 65th Annual Grammy Awards

The 65th Annual Grammy Awards, music’s biggest night, is taking place Feb. 5. The show will air live on CBS and stream live and on-demand on Paramount+.

With Beyoncé leading the nominations with 9 nods and confirmed performances by Bad Bunny, Lizzo and Harry Styles, here are some of the future headlines to look out for this Sunday.

Once again, Beyoncé and Adele battle for Album of the Year

Going into the ceremony, Beyoncé has tied with her husband, Jay-Z, as the most nominated artists of all time with 88 nods over her career. However, while she has earned 28 Grammys in her career, the superstar has never won Album of the Year before — her self-titled album lost to Beck in 2015, and Lemonade lost to Adele in 2017.

Beyoncé will now have one more chance to obtain the most prestigious award of the ceremony with Renaissance. However, she will once again have to face Adele, who’s nominated for her album, 30.

Adele, who has not lost any nomination since 2010, is instead looking to tie Taylor Swift, who holds the record as the only female singer to have won Album of the Year three times. Adele previously won for 21 and 25.

When it comes to awarding Album of the Year, the Recording Academy has had a long-standing history with Black artists. Jon Batiste, who won last year for We Are, is the 11th Black artist to have won the prize. The last Black female artist who won the award was Lauryn Hill in 1999 for her album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

Also nominated in this category are Harry Styles’ Harry’s House, Kendick Lamar’s Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti, Lizzo’s Special and more.

Will Taylor Swift win her first Song of the Year award?

Hailed as one of the most talented songwriters of her generation, Taylor Swift has yet to win one of the industry’s top prizes for songwriters: the Grammy Awards’ Song of the Year. Unlike Record of the Year, which goes to the artists, producers and engineers involved in a particular record, Song of the Year goes to only the songwriters themselves.

Swift is nominated in the category for the sixth time for “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (The Short Film).” The original version, released in 2012, was met with acclaim and was often claimed to be Swift’s best song. When re-recording her fourth studio album, Red, in 2021, due to controversies surrounding the master recordings to her songs, Swift released the 10-minute version of “All Too Well”, which contains the verses and melodies removed from the original version.

But between her and the award stands Adele’s “Easy on Me,” Harry Styles’ “As it Was,” Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul,” Lizzo’s “About Damn Time,” Kendrick Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5,” Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit,” Bonnie Raitt’s “Just Like That,” Gayle’s “abcdefu” and DJ Khaled’s “God Did.”

Kendrick Lamar may dominate the Rap categories

With 14 wins over eight years, Kendrick Lamar is one of the most accoladed hip-hop artists in recent history. With nominations in eight categories this year, Lamar emerges as a strong contender in the rap categories.

In his sixth nomination for Album of the Year, Lamar will face stiff competition against Bunny, Swift, Adele and Styles. However, Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5” will battle against DJ Khaled, Doja Cat and more in Rap Performance. He will also compete against Future, Jack Harlow, Pusha T and DJ Khaled in Best Rap Album.

Texas may have a big show out at the ceremony

With Houston-natives Beyoncé up for nine awards and Lizzo up for five, Texas artists are looking to have a big night at the ceremony. Gayle, who has a sole Song of the Year nomination, also comes from Plano.

In the country music categories, Lindale, Texas, singer Miranda Lambert is nominated across the board, most notably in Best Country Album for Palomino. Arlington-native Maren Morris is also nominated for three awards: Best Country Solo Performance, Best Country Song and Best Country Album. Austin legend Willie Nelson is also nominated for four awards.

@DangHLe

features-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu