LL Cool J, himself a two-time Grammy winner, will host the 58th annual edition of the Grammy Awards on Monday, February 15 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. This will be his fifth straight year presiding over the music industry’s biggest kudos event. The ceremony will be broadcast on CBS, where LL Cool J is also a star of the drama series “NCIS: Los Angeles.”
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In a statement, recording academy president Neil Portnow said of the host, “His unique expertise, both as a Grammy-winning recording artist and accomplished actor, allows him to connect with both his musical peers and the fans at home, and his dynamic personality and charismatic energy set the perfect tone for our show.”
We’re currently predicting the top four Grammy categories – Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist – with more to be added in the coming weeks.
According to our current predictions, Taylor Swift is out front for Album (“1989,” 9/4 odds) and Song (“Blank Space,” 21/10 odds), while Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars have the edge for Record (“Uptown Funk,” 21/20 odds). With Hozier unexpectedly snubbed for Best New Artist, we’re now betting on James Bay (5/2 odds) to take that prize.
Take a look at our complete odds below (current project winners in gold), but there’s plenty of time to make or update your predictions. Our official odds are derived from the predictions of our Editors who cover music awards year-round and hundreds of our readers, as well as the Top 24 Users who scored highest predicting last year’s Grammy winners.
Any changes you make will affect the overall racetrack odds, so if you think we’re dead wrong about who’s ahead to win, hurry and predict.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
“1989,” Taylor Swift – 9/4
“To Pimp a Butterfly,” Kendrick Lamar – 9/2
“Sound and Fury,” Alabama Shakes – 5/1
“Beauty Behind the Madness,” The Weeknd – 18/1
“Traveller,” Chris Stapleton – 18/1
RECORD OF THE YEAR
“Uptown Funk,” Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – 21/20
“Blank Space,” Taylor Swift – 13/2
“Thinking Out Loud,” Ed Sheeran – 16/1
“Can’t Feel My Face,” The Weeknd – 18/1
“Really Love,” D’Angelo and the Vanguard – 22/1
SONG OF THE YEAR
“Blank Space,” Taylor Swift – 21/10
“Thinking Out Loud,” Ed Sheeran – 4/1
“Alright,” Kendrick Lamar – 8/1
“See You Again,” Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth – 12/1
“Girl Crush,” Little Big Town – 25/1
BEST NEW ARTIST
James Bay – 5/2
Sam Hunt – 7/2
Meghan Trainor – 5/1
Tori Kelly – 18/1
Courtney Barnett – 25/1
Grammy nominations: Prediction contest champ dishes Hozier snub, Taylor Swift noms
Make your Grammy predictions beginning with Album of the Year to the right or below. You can also predict the New Artist, Record, and Song categories with many more to be added soon. Just log into your Gold Derby account (or you can register for a free account via Facebook, Twitter or Google) and then start casting your votes.
You’ll compete to win a $100 Amazon gift certificate as well as a place of honor on our leaderboard and a starring role in next year’s Top 24 Users (the two dozen folks who do the best predicting this year’s Grammy nominations). Be sure to read our contest rules.
Gold Derby readers just like YOU often turn out to be our smartest prognosticators, so it’s important that you give us your predictions. You can continue to update and change your forecasts, just click “Save Predictions” when you’ve settled on your choice.
LL Cool J photo credit: Jim Smeal/BEI/REX
