Opening Odds for The 63rd Grammy Awards – Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa Dominate Nominations
By JJ De La Torre in Entertainment
- 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, BeyoncĂ© 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 –Â Post Malone | +650 |
| Everyday Life – Coldplay | +1300 |
| Black Pumas (Deluxe Edition) –Â Black Pumas | +2100 |
| Chilombo – JhenĂ© 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. JhenĂ© 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.
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:Â 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.
Throughout their musical careers, #TaylorSwift has received a total of 41 #GRAMMYs nominations, and #Beyonce now has a total of 79 nominations. ✨ pic.twitter.com/mTWZveIiRs
— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) November 28, 2020
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 BeyoncĂ© | +400 |
| “Black Parade” – BeyoncĂ© | +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 BeyoncĂ© 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.
Song of the Year Odds
| Song | Odds |
|---|---|
| “Cardigan” – Taylor Swift | -125 |
| “Don’t Start Now” – Dua Lipa | +350 |
| “Black Parade” – BeyoncĂ© | +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.
.@taylorswift13 is the seventh-most nominated female artist in #GRAMMYs history with 41 nominations: https://t.co/NHC3hhTW6U ✨ pic.twitter.com/gs3TFt2BhC
— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) December 1, 2020
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)
Entertainment Writer
As an active entertainment aficionado, the former Editor-in-Chief for the Capilano Courier, JJ also co-founded Lords of Dogwood, a Vancouver-based entertainment site in 2013. His writing has been found in ION Magazine, the North Shore News, and The Strand.
