We’re just days away from the announcement of the nominations for the 68th annual Grammy Awards. The big reveal is set for Friday Nov. 7 at 11 a.m. ET/ 8 a.m. PT. In recent days, we’ve predicted the eight most likely nominees for best new artist and album of the year. Today, we turn our attention to record of the year, where we could see some history-making nominations.
HUNTR/X and ROSÉ could become the first K-pop artists to receive record of the year nods. HUNTR/X is competing with “Golden,” the globe-conquering hit from KPop Demon Hunters; ROSÉ with “APT.,” her smash collab with Bruno Mars.
Kendrick Lamar and SZA are vying to become the first occasional duet partners to receive two record of the year nominations. They were nominated seven years ago for “All the Stars” and are strong contenders this year for “Luther.”
Doechii’s “Anxiety” could become the first single that prominently samples a previous record of the year winner to be nominated in the category. Doechii’s hit samples “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye featuring Kimbra, which won the prize in 2013.
Leon Thomas’ “Mutt (Live From NPR’s Tiny Desk)” and Myles Smith’ “Stargazing (Live at Eventim Apollo)” could become the first alternative versions of hits to receive record of the year nominations. (The original versions of those hits were released in the previous eligibility year and weren’t eligible.)
To be sure, all of these things are not likely to happen. Some voters may dock “Anxiety” for leaning so heavily on a very well-known hit from the recent past.
And voters tend to bypass alternative versions of songs in this category. If the studio version of “Mutt” had been eligible, it would almost certainly be nominated. Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open” won in this category (as well as song of the year) in 2022, showing the love many Grammy voters have for hits that evoke the glory of 1970s R&B. But many voters probably haven’t heard the live version of “Mutt,” and they may be reluctant to vote for something for record of the year that they haven’t even heard.
(Lola Young’s “Messy” and Gigi Perez’s “Sailor Song” were also released in the previous eligibility year, yet those original studio versions are entered for record of the year.)
Billie Eilish may very well return to the finals with “Wildflower.” It would be her sixth nod in this category in the past seven years. Like Eilish’s previous single, “Birds of a Feather,” “Wildflower” was a fixture on the Hot 100 for more than a year. But “Wildflower” had a hard time emerging from the shadow of “Birds of a Feather,” which was nominated for record and song of the year and which Eilish and her brother/collaborator FINNEAS performed on the Grammys in February.
sombr is entered with “Back to Friends.” The 20-year-old is the sole writer and producer on this song, one of two concurrent hits from his debut album, I Barely Know Her. Such pros as Taylor Swift and Ryan Tedder have proclaimed that they are sombr fans.
Tyla’s “Push 2 Start” is entered for both record of the year and best African music performance, a category she in which the South African singer won two years ago with “Water.”
All eight likely album of the year nominees will get a close look in this category. Sabrina Carpenter, Lady Gaga and Lamar (with SZA) are also expected to be nominated for record of the year. The other five likely album of the year nominees may fall short in record of the year – Elton John & Brandi Carlile for “Who Believes in Angels?,” Tyler the Creator for “Sticky” (featuring GloRilla, Sexyy Red & Lil Wayne); Clipse, Pusha T, Malice for “Birds Don’t Sing” (featuring John Legend and Voices of Fire); The Weeknd for “Timeless” (featuring Playboi Carti); and Bad Bunny for either “Baile Inolvidable” or “DtMF.” (The fact that two Bunny records are entered for record of the year may mean Bunny will split his votes here. C’mon, Team Bunny, that’s Grammy 101 – Don’t Compete With Yourself.)
Other singles, not already mentioned, that are strong record of the year contenders include Gracie Abrams‘ “That’s So True,” Chappell Roan‘s “The Subway,” Alex Warren‘s “Ordinary,” Tate McRae’s “Sports Car,” Justin Bieber’s “Daisies,” Ariana Grande’s “twilight zone,” Conan Gray’s “Vodka Cranberry,” Laufey’s “Lover Girl,” Jessie Murph’s “Blue Strips,” Shaboozey’s “Good News” and Teddy Swims’ “Bad Dreams.”
Here are the eight singles most likely to be nominated for record of the year. They are listed in alphabetical order by artist, as they will appear on the official Grammy nominations list. We show you how many record of the year nominations the artist has previously received and how high this record placed on the Billboard Hot 100.
