Upcoming Match-ups

Opening Odds for The 63rd Grammy Awards – Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa Dominate Nominations

JJ De La Torre

by JJ De La Torre in Entertainment

Updated Dec 2, 2020 · 2:04 PM PST

Taylor Swift at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles, left, and Dua Lipa at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 26, 2020. Swift, Dua Lipa and Roddy Ricch each earned six Grammy nominations on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020. (AP Photo)
  • The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards will be presented on January  31, 2021 at Los Angeles’ Staples Center
  • Beyoncé is the most nominated artist, followed by Dua Lipa, Roddy Ricch, and Taylor Swift
  • See odds and best bets on the big four categories of album, song, record, and new artist of the year

The upcoming 63rd annual Grammy Awards are only two months away. This year, the nominations themselves were a bit out shadowed by those who weren’t nominated. Amidst a flurry of controversies surrounding The Weeknd’s now-notorious snub, the show must go on.

With nine nominations, Beyoncé is the most nominated artist. But as we’ve seen in years of Grammys past, it’s anyone’s game. So let’s unpack the nominees for this year’s big four categories. The Grammy Awards odds are favoring Swift and Lipa in most of the categories.

Album of the Year Odds

Album Odds
Folklore – Taylor Swift -255
Future Nostalgia – Dua Lipa +350
Hollywood’s Bleeding – Post Malone +650
Everyday Life – Coldplay +1300
Black Pumas (Deluxe Edition) – Black Pumas +2100
Chilombo – Jhené Aiko +2100
Djesse Vol. 3 – Jacob Collier +2200
Women in Music Pt. III – Haim +2200

All odds as of Dec. 2

2020 has been an interesting year filled with new and exciting sounds in the world of music. Dua Lipa made a unique spin of past, present, and future with her album. Jhené Aiko’s Chilombo finally made her a household name with its unique genre-bending blend. And Post Malone showed up once again pushing the SoundClound rap vibe to the front of the line.

YouTube video

And then there’s Taylor Swift. The Grammy darling is one of the most decorated artists in history. Folklore showed she can turn out a simple acoustic album and still have critics lose their minds over whatever she does. While she certainly doesn’t deserve to win the award (that should go to Dua Lipa), she will most likely take home the prize once again and become the only woman to win this award three times in her career.

Pick: Folklore – Taylor Swift (-255)

Best New Artist Odds

Artist Odds
Megan Thee Stallion -400
Doja Cat +500
Phoebe Bridgers +500
Ingrid Andress +1400
Noah Cyrus +1400
Kaytranada +1600
D Smoke +2500
Chika +3300

It’s going to come down to the battle everyone has been watching all year: Megan Thee Stallion versus Doja Cat. While “Say So” certainly elevated the idea of a TikTok song into the charts and radio airplay, Megan Thee Stallion out-edges Doja with an edgier, more poignant message.

Bringing in elements of sexiness, politicism, and giving Nicki and Cardi a run for their money, Megan is the one to watch in the race to Best New Artist.

Pick: Megan Thee Stallion (-400)

Record of the Year Odds

Record Odds
“Don’t Start Now” – Dua Lipa -275
“Savage” – Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé +400
“Black Parade” – Beyoncé +800
“Everything I Wanted” – Billie Eilish +1000
“Circles” – Post Malone +1200
“Rockstar” – DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch +1400
“Say So” – Doja Cat +1400
“Colors” – Black Pumas +2500

Dua Lipa quite literally did a “full 180” as she described it on “Don’t Start Now”. It was the song you couldn’t escape throughout the greater part of 2020.

Coming up behind Lipa for a tight race is “Savage”. The Megan Thee Stallion track made the song’s namesake in vogue once again, and the Beyoncé remix gave it an assist to the top of the charts.

But “Savage” isn’t all that innovative and may not be as accessible or resonate with the Grammy voters. “Don’t Start Now”, on the other hand, packs a well-needed punch of fun while still dabbling between eras and genres to make it an easy sell.

Pick: “Don’t Start Now” – Dua Lipa (-275)

Song of the Year Odds

Song Odds
“Cardigan” – Taylor Swift -125
“Don’t Start Now” – Dua Lipa +350
“Black Parade” – Beyoncé +500
“I Can’t Breathe” – H.E.R. +700
“Everything I Wanted” – Billie Eilish +900
“Circles” – Post Malone +1000
“The Box” – Roddy Ricch +1200
“If The World Was Ending” – JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels +1600

Culminating in the battle of the other categories, Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift are going head to head in Song of the Year. This category is presented to the songwriter rather than the artist.

In terms of sheer songwriting properties, we’ve seen “Cardigan” before, but Grammy voters do love the singer-songwriter vibe as much as they love Swift.

It’s really a shame Taylor will likely take this category as there is so much more in this category in terms of great songwriting. Roddy Ricch’s punchy “The Box”, Post Malone’s catchy yet downtempo “Circles”, and H.E.R.’s passionate and moving George Floyd tribute “I Can’t Breathe” would all be more worthy winners.

But you can’t deny The Grammys’ big love for Taylor Swift. Seeing her through as a bet will most definitely pay off.

Pick: “Cardigan” – Taylor Swift (-125)

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