The biggest awards show in music, the Grammy Awards, air at 7 p.m. today on CBS.

By Girindra Selleck
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Amid the media frenzy caused by this year’s famously white field of Academy Award nominees, it is easy to overlook that the Oscar’s other half is looking surprisingly good this year.

The Grammy awards, airing at 7 p.m. today on CBS, will feature performances from Adele, Rihanna, the cast of Hamilton, and many others, but for the first time in years, the awards themselves might — and I say this with a great deal of hesitation — steal the show.

The usual suspects still make their appearance (Taylor Swift is nominated for album of the year again, her third appearance in the category she has won once), but there are noticeable improvements to the usually standard field of nominees.

The most evident of those improvements is Kendrick Lamar, who received universal praise from critics for his sophomore effort To Pimp a Butterfly and now leads the pack of honorees with a whopping 11 nominations, which include nods in the album and record of the year categories. 

Other notable nominations include D’Angelo in the record of the year category for his stunning “Really Love” and British post-punk songstress Courtney Barnett for best new artist.

While it would be foolish to get our hopes up too high, this year certainly shows promise. Below are my predictions for some of the night’s biggest categories.

Record of the Year

Will win: “Uptown Funk” — Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars

Should win: “Really Love” — D’Angelo and the Vanguard

Also nominated: “Thinking Out Loud” — Ed Sheeran, “Blank Space” — Taylor Swift, “Can’t Feel My Face” — The Weeknd

Album of the Year

Will win: To Pimp a Butterfly — Kendrick Lamar

Should win: To Pimp a Butterfly — Kendrick Lamar

Also nominated: 1989 — Taylor Swift, Beauty Behind the Madness — The Weeknd, Traveller — Chris Stapleton, Sound and Color — Alabama Shakes

Song of the Year

Will win: “Thinking Out Loud” — Ed Sheeran

Should win: “Alright” — Kendrick Lamar

Also nominated: “Blank Space” — Taylor Swift, “Girl Crush” — Little Big Town, “See You Again” — Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth

Best New Artist

Will win: Meghan Trainor

Should win: Courtney Barnett

Also nominated: James Bay, Sam Hunt, Tori Kelly

Best Pop Solo Performance

Will win: “Can’t Feel My Face” — The Weeknd

Should win: “Can’t Feel My Face” — The Weeknd

Also nominated: “Blank Space” — Taylor Swift, “Thinking Out Loud” — Ed Sheeran, “Love Me Like You Do” — Ellie Goulding, “Heartbeat Song” — Kelly Clarkson

Best R&B Song

Will win: “Coffee” — Miguel

Should win: “Really Love” — D’Angelo

Also nominated: “Earned It” — The Weeknd, “Shame” — Tyrese, “Let it Burn” — Jazmine Sullivan

Best Rap Song

Will win: “Alright” — Kendrick Lamar

Should win: “Alright” — Kendrick Lamar

Also nominated: “All Day” — Kanye West featuring Theophilus London, Allan Kingdom, and Sir Paul McCartney, “Trap Queen” — Fetty Wap, “Energy” — Drake, “Glory” — Common and John Legend

Be sure to follow @DailyIowanArts on Twitter for live Grammy’s coverage tonight.