Big Grammys questions: Will Olivia Rodrigo make a clear sweep? What will Ye do?

It’s anybody’s guess who will prevail on the Grammy Awards on Monday in Las Vegas, in a discipline that ranges from teen sensation Olivia Rodrigo to 95-year-old singer Tony Bennett and rapper Kanye West.

Rodrigo, 19, is nominated within the high 4 classes – album, tune and document of the 12 months and greatest new artist – on the music trade’s highest honours. Only two musicians in Grammys historical past have swept all 4 classes on the identical night time.

Experts say Olivia Rodrigo is near a lock-in for greatest new artist after her “drivers license” took off in January 2021, and that the viral hit is a powerful contender within the document and tune classes.

“Everybody thinks Olivia Rodrigo is going to take a significant number of awards,” mentioned Variety deputy music editor Jem Aswad. “She’s almost a shoo-in for best new artist.”

Album of the 12 months is tougher to name, Grammy watchers say. Rodrigo’s “Sour” is competing in opposition to West’s “Donda”, Jon Batiste’s “We Are” and Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga’s “Love for Sale”.

Justin Bieber’s “Justice” can also be within the race, together with Doja Cat’s “Planet Her”, Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever”, H.E.R.’s “Back of My Mind”, Lil Nas X’s “Montero” and Taylor Swift’s “Evermore”.

Kanye West, who has legally modified his identify to Ye, has a contentious historical past with the Grammys. Media retailers have quoted an unnamed consultant for the rapper saying West was advised he couldn’t carry out at this 12 months’s ceremony resulting from his current social media posts.

The rapper was suspended from Instagram for twenty-four hours this month after posting racial slurs about late-night host Trevor Noah, who will probably be internet hosting the Grammys.

Representatives for the Recording Academy, which presents the Grammys, and West didn’t reply to requests for remark.

West is an award nominee, so he might be seated within the viewers on Monday even when he doesn’t carry out. Viewers and attendees will probably be watching how he reacts, win or lose, within the 5 classes he’s nominated in, Aswad mentioned.

The rapper famously took the microphone from Taylor Swift as she was accepting a trophy on the MTV Video Music Awards in 2009.

“No one expects Kanye West to sit on his hands on Grammy night,” Aswad mentioned.

This 12 months’s Grammys have been pushed to April from January due to a Covid-19 surge at the start of the 12 months. The date swap compelled a change in venue from Los Angeles to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The awards will probably be broadcast dwell on CBS tv and Paramount+ within the US.

Okay-pop band BTS, which has but to win a Grammy, enters the night time with a single nod for top-selling single “Butter” and is among the many acts slated to carry out on the Grammys stage.

Nominee Bennett has Alzheimer’s illness and isn’t anticipated to attend.