\n<\/p>\n
\n\tLeading up to the Grammy nominations on Nov. 16, Rolling Stone is breaking down 11 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\tIf there\u2019s one through line for the likely 2027 Song of the Year nominees, it\u2019s that it\u2019s a wide-open field. \u201cThere isn\u2019t something like a \u2018Not Like Us,\u2019 the song that everyone is anointing as the<\/em> great song,\u201d says Tony Gervino, editor in chief of Tidal, citing 2025\u2019s big winner by Kendrick Lamar.<\/p>\n \n\tThat lack of a consensus pick makes for an anyone\u2019s-possible nomination process. \u201cThis is one of the most exciting batches of artists we\u2019ve had in a while for these categories,\u201d says Tiana Lewis, head of pop programming at Apple.<\/p>\n \n\tBoth Gervino and Lewis do expect Song of the Year nominees to trend much younger this year. But don\u2019t forget that this is a Big Four category prone to the utterly unpredictable (see Bonnie Raitt\u2019s 2022 win). \u201cIt\u2019s the Grammys,\u201d says Gervino. \u201cPredicting can be hazardous.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tBrandi Carlile<\/a>, \u201cReturning to Myself\u201d \n\tOlivia Dean, \u201cMan I Need\u201d<\/strong><\/em> \n\tElla Langley, \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas\u201d<\/em>\n\t\tSong of the Year \u2013 Our Predictions\t<\/h2>\n
Olivia Dean<\/a>, \u201cMan I Need\u201d
Ella Langley<\/a>, \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas\u201d
Bruno Mars<\/a>, \u201cI Just Might\u201d
Raye<\/a>, \u201cWhere Is My Husband!\u201d
Olivia Rodrigo<\/a>, \u201cThe Cure\u201d
Taylor Swift<\/a>, \u201cThe Fate of Ophelia\u201d
Don Toliver<\/a>, \u201cE85\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t\tWho Will Win?\t<\/h2>\n
It\u2019s hard not to bet on a song this<\/em> big by an artist this<\/em> traditionally Grammy-friendly. For one, Dean\u2019s song has been ubiquitous for the better part of two years. \u201cIt feels inevitable,\u201d says Gervino. He\u2019s not alone in that assertion. \u201cShe\u2019s a historically Grammy style artist, like H.E.R., Adele, and Alicia Keys,\u201d Lewis says. \u201cIt\u2019s always one of two ways with those types of artists: either you win everything or you go home empty-handed.\u201d The former seems more likely.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\t\tWho Should Win?\t<\/h2>\n
<\/strong>It\u2019s been 15 years since the Grammys awarded a country song either Record or Song of the year (Lady A\u2019s \u201cNeed You Now\u201d won both!). A win for Langley \u2014 inarguably the most popular song of the year and, by some metrics, the biggest song of all time \u2014\u00a0would be a win not only for her but a nod to some of Nashville\u2019s finest contemporary songwriters, Miranda Lambert and Luke Dick among them. That Langley\u2019s song has resonated to this extent without hardly any remixes or chart-boosting gimmicks makes the classic-meets-contemporary song all the more impressive. \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t be ignoring Ella Langley,\u201d Lewis says. \u201cIt\u2019s been so exciting to see her hold it down on her own. This is Ella\u2019s year, or even decade.\u201d<\/p>\n