The GRAMMY Awards are one of the most prestigious musical accomplishments with artists featured in 84 different categories, showcasing the diverse artistic expressions developed throughout the past year. Of the 84 categories, the most followed are the General Field Nominations where the GRAMMY experts decide on the record of the year, album of the year, song of the year, and the best new artist. This year the public has been praising the GRAMMYs on the diversification of their nominee choices, as the General Field Nominations include artists of many different backgrounds and unique music styles. The Recording Academy president and CEO Neil Portnow comments on how the GRAMMYs nominations are, “a wonderful reflection on our organization and how relevant and in touch and savvy our voting members are.”

Battlefield is home to many who frequently explore the vast amounts of music records and artists available throughout multiple platforms, integrating time to listen to their favorite tracks into their daily routines. Some students even take steps to become one of these artists, perfecting their own twists on the art. One such student is sophomore Kailee Dishmon, a singer/songwriter found performing at Open Mic Nights and Park Valley Church functions, typically accompanied by her brother, Ryan Dishmon. Analyzing the general categories, Dishmon used her personal experiences within the musical world to determine who she believes will win.

For record of the year, Dishmon believes the winner will be, “24K Magic because I feel like it’s a song that makes everyone happy and the sound is very uplifting.” She points out record of the year, unlike song of the year, puts more emphasis on the way the song is presented, not necessarily applauding a track for any lyrical accomplishments. This eliminates certain songs on the list, as they may have lyrics containing importance, but the sound of the music itself may not be as revolutionary.

Regarding lyrics, Dishmon then believes the winner of song of the year will be, “1-800-273-8255 because the lyrics are relatable to so many people, and songs in general help people overcome hard times, but this one specifically does.” Many songs in that category do not appear to hold as high of a regard towards the song’s message, and the way Logic was able to provide exposure to such an important problem prevalent in society is one of the deciding factors in why she believes 1-800-273-8255 should be song of the year. She explains how she personally finds song of the year to be the award with the highest regard, as it is, “extremely hard to get nominated for that award… [and] is something so special to the artists, and cool as an audience member knowing how much that award can mean to someone and their supporters,” thus causing her to be most excited for the turnout of that particular award.

One of the artists featured in 1-800-273-8255, Khalid, is who Dishmon believes is most deserving of best new artist because, “he’s so young, he can relate to many teenagers within his songs, for example Young, Dumb, & Broke can accurately describe many people in our generation.” A category with diverse competition, Dishmon describes how Khalid’s ability to embody such individuality in his style while appealing to the masses edges out his competition, but if Alessia Cara had created an album in 2016 as opposed to 2015 her music could pose as more of a threat for this year’s award.

Finally, Dishmon thinks the winner of album of the year will be, “Melodrama because the songs that Lorde creates have lyrics so different from many other artists and I think she should be recognized for that,” an opinion that differs from many of her peers, but she still stands behind. She reiterates how album of the year needs to take into account how the songs need to have an apparent cohesiveness to tie the work together while still giving each track a recognizable uniqueness that prevents them from blending together. Lorde’s album is already different from competition, and the songs themselves still contain a sense of distinctness.

Another Battlefield musician who is invested in this year’s GRAMMYs is sophomore Chris Williams. He is the Bass Trombonist in the Wind Assemble for the Battlefield band program who spends his time enjoying a variety of music. Williams does believe that even with its 84 categories, the GRAMMYs does fail to showcase all of the year’s accomplishments, explaining, “Bryce Vine has created some fantastic songs that when you truly listen to what he’s saying you can really feel what he’s been through. But he also creates some just fun songs, like Sour Patch Kids, that are great to listen to while knocking out some homework or hanging with friends.” Even with this in mind, Williams still supports many of the artists nominated for the general category awards, particularly Childish Gambino, Logic, and Julia Michaels, and with an awards show covering a topic of such vast proportions he acknowledges it is bound to miss out on certain creators.

Williams encourages classmates to follow the entirety of the awards show, as there are so many genres that may delve into someone’s unexplored interests, but if he could only watch one category, it would be electronic because, “so many new artists are popping up and they all have different styles and the songs will just be endless and it’s truly exciting.” He notices how electronic music does not receive the largest following, as it is a more modern form of music, but he believes that just because it is not solidified in tradition does not mean it is not a powerful or relatable variation in the art.

The GRAMMYs are going to be aired live on CBS from the Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sunday, January 28. The voting on the winners will be running from December 7 to 21, deciding out the five nominees (if any more than five nominees there was a tie in the original votes) who should win the award. Countless Battlefield students have heard the songs showcased throughout the event, but with the help of fellow students experienced in music they may be able to evaluate the nominees on a more educated level.