The Nominees: Song Of The Year
Next general category up in our pre-Grammys preview: Song of the Year.
Just a refresher from the other day: Song of the Year is one of two awards to serve as a prize for a song in a general capacity, rather than a genre field (like Best Pop Performance, or Best Rap Song, etc.). The other, of course, is Record Of The Year. Annually, the inevitable question from reasonable people-- myself included --is, what is the difference between the two? To be honest, I've never really known a good answer, so, from the horse's mouth: "The Record Of The Year category recognizes the artist’s performance as well as the overall contributions of the producer(s), recording engineer(s) and/or mixer(s) if other than the artist. The Song Of The Year category recognizes the songwriter(s)." Essentially, I think what this is saying is that Record Of The Year is more a trophy for the general production of a song, while Song Of The Year is more about the bare-bones music and lyrics.
Most years, there are one or two tracks that get the double nom for Song and Record of the Year. This year, despite having an expanded field of nominees, there are proportionally WAY more double-dippers, with six of the eight nominees being nominated as well for Record of the Year. All that being said, here are the nominees for SOTY, in order from least to most likely to win, according to odds from GoldDerby.com.
"Boo'd Up" - Ella Mai
Odds: 19-2
Peak Chart Position (General): 15th
Daniel's Music Ranking: 8/10
Daniel's Lyrics Ranking: 4/10
One of the two nominees to not be nominated for Record of the Year, "Boo'd Up" is a nice surprise amongst this field. It was a constant radio presence, to be sure, but nowhere near the biggest smash of 2018. In addition, the fact that it came not from an established pop star but rather newcomer Ella Mai, who didn't even score a Best New Artist nomination speaks to the love song's accessibility. The lyrics are sweet, albeit simplistic, but Ella's smooth voice and the 90s-era slow-bop style make this a fun listen.
"The Middle" - Zedd, Maren Morris, and Grey
Odds: 9-1
Peak Chart Position (General): 8th
Daniel's Music Ranking: 5/10
Daniel's Lyrics Ranking: 4/10
As mentioned the other day in the Record of the Year preview, this song was released in a commercial during the Grammys last year. What doubly-nominated song will Target's ad produce on Sunday night? In all seriousness, though I really like Maren Morris and have a generally positive disposition towards Zedd, I'm surprised this saw any critical recognition. It's a fairly tired production, and though Morris' voice is strong, she can only do so much to cover lyrics that are far weaker than anything on her personal discography to date.
"In My Blood" - Shawn Mendes
Odds: 9-1
Peak Chart Position (General): 11th
Daniel's Music Ranking: 7/10
Daniel's Lyrics Ranking: 4/10
Shawn Mendes earns the other nomination not reserved for the Record of the Year nominees, which means the Top 5 odds-on favorites for this award are ones that are also in the running for the companion category. Mendes' words feel simple and angsty, but it's hard to critique the lyrics in "In My Blood" too much; knowing how personal it is to the artist, he probably didn't write it for anyone other than himself. What Mendes does well is sing and play the guitar, and both are in full display in the song's chorus especially, a rousing refrain that hits its central point home.
"God's Plan" - Drake
Odds: 8-1
Peak Chart Position (General): 1st
Daniel's Music Ranking: 7/10
Daniel's Lyrics Ranking: 6/10
Drake's first single from the oft-nominated Scorpion is not really a departure from anything the rapper/singer has done before, but it's perhaps a great example of what he does. An addicting beat, combined with a pleasant melody, and lyrics about believing in his own greatness even if nobody else does. It might be a formula, but in the case of "God's Plan," it's a fairly successful one.
"The Joke" - Brandi Carlile
Odds: 8-1
Peak Chart Position (General): n/a
Daniel's Music Ranking: 8/10
Daniel's Lyrics Ranking: 10/10
Seeing Brandi Carlile in the Record of the Year category. Carlile in Song of the Year field makes a little more sense, though, given her acclaim as a musician and songwriter. "The Joke" made many publications' year-end lists as one of the best tracks in 2018, and perhaps most impressively, was shouted out by President Obama. Hard for me to disagree with the President-- this is as much a warm hug as it is a call to arms, and Carlile's famously breaking crescendo conveys both sentiments beuatifully.
"All The Stars" - Kendrick Lamar and SZA
Odds: 13-2
Peak Chart Position (General): 7th
Daniel's Music Ranking: 9/10
Daniel's Lyrics Ranking: 6/10
"All The Stars" is the first of two nominees on this list from a movie soundtrack, and both are nominated not only for Record of the Year, but also Best Original Song at this month's Oscars. It's a splendid movie song, layered and evocative, but clearly, it's compelling enough to be a great standalone track as well. And even if the lyrics might be below the lofty standards that the two artists have set with their prior work, it fits the empowering theme of Black Panther perfectly.
"This Is America" - Childish Gambino
Odds: 11-2
Peak Chart Position (General): 1st
Daniel's Music Ranking: 7/10
Daniel's Lyrics Ranking: 9/10
Many outlets have pegged both Record of the Year and Song of the Year as Childish Gambino's to lose. "This Is America," released at the dawn of Summer 2018, took the country by storm with its incisive political message, but mostly with its profoundly groundbreaking music video. I'm personally not convinced. To be clear, "This Is America" is brilliant and wildly original; I don't know if I've heard anything like it. But its rapid, harsh cuts between trap and gospel don't render it the easiest listen, and the lyrics, however thoughtful are more accentuated by the remarkable music video than anything else. On merit, it's a deserving nominee, no question; whether voters can perceive its quality independently from the Grammy-nominated music video will be the question determining its chances at winning.
"Shallow" - Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga
Odds: 4-1
Peak Chart Position (General): 5th
Daniel's Music Ranking: 10/10
Daniel's Lyrics Ranking: 5/10
What a year for movie music. It seemed Black Panther's soundtrack was going to blow away the film score competition, but then right on the edge of the end of the Grammy eligibility year, this little ditty dropped in anticipation of the critical and commercial hit A Star Is Born. Should the favorite go on to win, it might reek of recency bias, but there's no denying the musical quality of "Shallow." Even if the lyrics read a bit like they were written by actors pretending to be folk artists rather than genuine folk artists, Lady Gaga's vocal prowess is on full display, and they meld effortlessly with Bradley Cooper's gruff harmonies.