Bruno Mars is the third most nominated artist at the 2018 Grammys with six bids including Record, Song, and Album of the Year, so chances are good that he’ll come away with an award or two, but can he win Record of the Year for “24K Magic” just two years after winning that same award for “Uptown Funk”? He would join an elite group of artists who have won the prize more than once, but it’s far from unheard of. In fact, 10 artists have done it.
Paul Simon claimed the award three times: “Mrs. Robinson” (1969) and “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (1971) as one half of Simon and Garfunkel, and “Graceland” (1988) as a solo artist. Nine others have won twice: Art Garfunkel, of course, as well as Henry Mancini (“Moon River” in 1962, “Days of Wine and Roses” in 1964), The Fifth Dimension (“Up, Up and Away” in 1968, “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” in 1970), Roberta Flack (“The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” in 1973, “Killing Me Softly with His Song” in 1974), Eric Clapton (“Tears in Heaven” in 1993, “Change the World” in 1997), U2 (“Beautiful Day” in 2001, “Walk On” in 2002), Norah Jones (“Don’t Know Why” in 2003, “Here We Go Again” in 2005), Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse‘s “Rehab” as a producer in 2008, “Uptown Funk” with Mars in 2016), and Adele (“Rolling in the Deep” in 2012, “Hello” in 2017).
You might think Mars would be at a disadvantage given how recently he won for “Uptown Funk.” Wouldn’t voters prefer to spread the wealth? It turns out the opposite is true: almost every repeat victory has happened within just a handful of years of the first, and Roberta Flack and U2 even won back-to-back. So we might be underestimating Mars, who ranks third in our predictions with 5/1 odds as of this writing. None of the Expert journalists we’ve polled or Editors who cover awards year-round for Gold Derby are betting on Mars. But he does have support from three of our Top 24 Users who got the highest scores predicting last year’s Grammy winners, and by one of our All-Star Top 24 who got the highest scores when you combine the last two years’ Grammy winners.
The current frontrunner is “Despacito,” the historic Spanish-language crossover hit by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, and Justin Bieber with 10/11 odds. “Humble” by Kendrick Lamar ranks second with 13/5 odds. But no Spanish-language song has won Record of the Year before, and neither has a rap song, so in that case you should especially keep your eyes on Mars for the upset.
Be sure to make your Grammy predictions so that Hollywood record executives and top name stars can see how their songs and albums are faring in our Grammy odds. Don’t be afraid to jump in now since you can keep changing your predictions until just before winners are announced on January 28. And join in the fierce debate over the 2018 Grammys taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our music forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
