\n<\/p>\n
\n\tLeading up to\u00a0the Grammy nominations on Nov. 7, Rolling Stone is breaking down 10 different categories. For each, we\u2019re predicting the nominees, as well as who will (and who should) win on Grammy night.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tThis past eligibility season saw young, hot stars like Leon Thomas, Giv\u0113on, and Coco Jones put a distinctly old-school touch on their music that\u2019s likely to land them in the general Best R&B Album category. It makes the race one of the most exciting in years. \u201cR&B, in both its traditional form and its progressive iterations, reminds us that it\u2019s not only here to stay but about steering culture forward,\u201d says Alaysia Sierra, Head of R&B Editorial at Spotify. \u201cThe genre continues to shape today\u2019s sound, whether leading directly or flowing through pop heavyweights like Justin Bieber, Teddy Swims, and Bruno Mars. Its influence remains undeniable and enduring.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe umbrella is consistently wide when talking about rhythm and blues \u2014 a heavily racialized genre that has historically informed the work of a diverse swath of the world\u2019s biggest pop stars, including Bieber, who has advocated for the Grammys to categorize his R&B-leaning work as just that. With his subversive, surprise LP Swag<\/em>, he may finally score a nod in an R&B category, too.<\/p>\n \n\tMary J. Blige, Gratitude<\/em> \n\tLeon Thomas, Mutt<\/em><\/strong> \n\tLeon Thomas, Mutt<\/em><\/strong> \t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n \t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n \n\tAgain, Thomas\u2019 potential and deserved win is not for a lack of real competition. Mary J. Blige\u2019s Gratitude<\/em> is some of her pioneering hip-hop soul at its recent best, Teyana Taylor\u2019s Escape Room<\/em> was a welcome musical resurgence (following a four-year retirement) from the multi-hyphenate, and Coco Jones\u2019 vocals and creative range are only growing more powerful with each release. However, Snead notes that Giv\u0113on has a strong case for taking home the Gramophone, too. Beloved<\/em>, his testament to the luxury and longing of 1960s and 1970s R&B still feels timely and true to his distinct voice and impact in the modern landscape. (It earned a four-star review at Rolling Stone<\/em> from this writer, too.)<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt\u2019s easily one of the most compelling R&B albums of the year, and another one I haven\u2019t been able to step away from since its release,\u201d Snead says. \u201cThe lush production, the intimate and captivating storytelling, and the sheer control and agility of his vocals remind us why Giv\u0113on has become such a defining voice of my generation. If he takes this win, it would feel more than justified. Shoutout to whoever broke his heart, because we definitely got a classic.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Leading up to\u00a0the Grammy nominations on Nov. 7, Rolling Stone is breaking down 10 different categories. For each, we\u2019re predicting the nominees, as well as who will (and who should) win on Grammy night.\u00a0 This past eligibility season saw young, hot stars like Leon Thomas, Giv\u0113on, and Coco Jones put a distinctly old-school touch on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[299,15370,15371,3944],"class_list":{"0":"post-25436","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-album","9":"tag-grammys","10":"tag-nominees","11":"tag-predictions"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n\t\tBest R&B Album \u2013 Our Predictions\t<\/h2>\n
Leon Thomas, Mutt<\/em>
Teyana Taylor, Escape Room<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>
Coco Jones, Why Not More<\/em>
Giv\u0113on, Beloved<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t\tWho Will Win?\t<\/h2>\n
\u201cA win for Leon wouldn\u2019t just feel deserved \u2014 it would feel inevitable,\u201d says Yan Snead, who heads R&B programming at Pandora. \u201cIf he takes this home, there\u2019s nothing to question or critique.\u201d Granted, the Grammys are not necessarily known for uncontroversial wins, particularly when it comes to Black music, but Thomas\u2019 impact over the past three years \u2014 and the last year in particular \u2014 is undeniable. The former Nickelodeon star (he played a talented musician alongside one Ariana Grande on the hit show Victorious<\/em>) has been building a grown-up name for himself for some time, but became a breakout star for his Grammy-winning, behind-the-scenes contributions to SZA\u2019s \u201cSnooze\u201d (paired with R&B legend Babyface, too) from late 2022\u2019s long-dominating SOS<\/em>. Then came his own smash \u201cMutt,\u201d a sexy, smoky R&B number, which was certified platinum this spring after catching fire across the internet and IRL, too. Another Grammy favorite, Ledisi, even put Thomas on the phone with the legendary Stevie Wonder, who surprised Thomas with his own rendition of the track. \u201cMutt\u201d slightly predated Thomas\u2019 album of the same name, filled with more slick, earnest R&B about life and love in the fast lane.<\/p>\n\n\t\tWho Should Win?\t<\/h2>\n
\u201cThis album, from top to bottom, is a masterclass in taking R&B and making it your own,\u201d says Spotify\u2019s Sierra. While there\u2019s a lot of heat that could light up this category, Thomas\u2019 ability to simultaneously capture the zeitgeist, reinvest fans in the genre, reel in new ones, and reinvigorate the sound is pretty one-of-one here. Mutt<\/em> is the only album of our predicted nominees to still be sitting on the Billboard 200 today, after peaking at No. 35 in June \u2014 three months to a year after its release. \u201cFrom critically acclaimed performances to a wave of collaborations that showcased his versatility and musicality, he\u2019s evolved from someone with everything to prove into an artist who has arrived and is fully in his element,\u201d adds Snead from Pandora.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n
\n
\n\t\tForecasting the Field\t<\/h2>\n