Best Comedy Album
Lisa Lampanelli – Back to the Drawing Board
Wyatt Cenac – Brooklyn
Jay Mohr – Happy. And a Lot.
Craig Ferguson – Just Being Honest
Louis C.K. – Live at Madison Square Garden
Who Will Win: Louis C.K. – Live at Madison Square Garden
Who Should Win: Louis C.K. – Live at Madison Square Garden
For a long time, Louis C.K. has been reigning over the comedy world, and it doesn’t look like he’s about to hand his spot to someone else any time soon. Speaking his mind no matter the topic, his no-filter lifestyle has got him this far in the standup world, and hopefully (yet surely) even farther. Despite the huge talent present in this category, Louis C.K. is above the rest, and should get the Grammy, no contest.
Best R&B Album
Leon Bridges – Coming Home
D’Angelo and The Vanguard – Black Messiah
Andra Day – Cheers to the Fall
Jazmine Sullivan – Reality Show
Charlie Wilson – Forever Charlie
Who Will Win: Leon Bridges – Coming Home
Who Should Win: Leon Bridges – Coming Home
Two albums really stand out in this one: the veteran’s and the new kid’s. It’s really hard to pick the better one between Leon Bridges’ Coming Home and D’Angelo’s Black Messiah. The latter has been compared to Kendrick Lamar’s incredible To Pimp A Butterfly, and rightly so, as they are both true masterpieces. However, Coming Home has this special touch, unseen in a long time, which brings R&B back to its bare-naked essence, giving Leon Bridges this neatness and coolness that make him a guide in this trip down memory lane back to the 1950’s. Coming Home is one of the best debuts we’ve seen in 2015, and the judges would be right to give Bridges the nod.
Best Urban Contemporary Album
The Internet – Ego Death
Kehlani – You Should Be Here
Lianne La Havas – Blood
Miguel – Wildheart
The Weeknd – Beauty Behind the Madness
Who Will Win: The Weeknd – Beauty Behind the Madness
Who Should Win: Miguel – Wildheart
As a genre, it is often reduced as a subbranch of Pop, but this list should be enough to prove to anyone that urban contemporary music shouldn’t be overlooked. In what may be one of the most exciting categories this year, the level of talent is very, very high. In 2015, The Internet exploded (we’re talking about the band), Kehlani had our heads banging to heavy beats and great vocals, Lianne La Havas gave us incredible live performances, Miguel taught us smoothness and The Weeknd dominated the charts as well as our playlists. Of course, there can only be one winner. The popularity of Beauty Behind the Madness will certainly give it the win; and of course, this win would be well deserved. However, Wildheart gave us chills and a sexiness which was unequaled everywhere else.
Best Dance Recording
Flying Lotus ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Never Catch Me”
Galantis – “Runaway (U & I)”
Skrillex and Diplo ft. Justin Bieber – “Where Are Ü Now”
Above & Beyond ft. Zoe Johnston – “We’re All We Need”
The Chemical Brothers – “Go”
Who Will Win: Skrillex and Diplo ft. Justin Bieber – “Where Are Ü Now”
Who Should Win: Flying Lotus ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Never Catch Me”
The clash of two very different collaborations between very different sets of artists. If the idea of a Skrillex, Diplo and Bieber track sounds like it would dominate Dance music, FlyLo and K-Dot took on a genre which isn’t entirely theirs, and did pretty, pretty good. “Never Catch Me” is a sort of “Veni, Vidi, Vici” and it’s simply amazing. While The Chemical Brothers also gave us greatness through “Go”, the rightful winners can only be Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar. Unfortunately, the Grammys (even though it’s often denied) have a tendency to reward the most “popular” track, whatever that means.