This upcoming January, the 64th annual Grammy Awards will be held to celebrate artists in the music industry. With over 80 different categories, thousands of artists and producers have a chance to be nominated to receive a prestigious award that acknowledges their unparalleled creative talent.

BEST R&B SONG
“Good Days” by SZA

This song definitely deserves a spot as a nominee for the “Best R&B Song” category. It is full of life and promotes the idea of “good days” coming soon, something the majority of listeners definitely needed in the COVID-19 era. The production of the song was perfect and every little detail, even the birds in the background, contributed to making this song a work of art.

SZA’s team’s ability to produce a song with so much love and self value is incredible and very helpful to the public. Encouraging people to know that living their life on their own terms is not always a bad thing will really help elevate their perspective on life. The lyrics “All the while, I’ll await my armored fate with a smile” display her understanding of her own worth to this world. The overall sound of this song is unlike any other: it has a very in-tune, atmospheric sound to it that not many people are able to achieve. It is a nice song to listen to when you need to brighten up your day.

BEST RAP ALBUM
“Certified Lover Boy” by Drake

All nominated albums had a variety of amazing songs and features, but the one that had the best presentation was “Certified Lover Boy”. Starting off strong with “Champagne Poetry,” Drake uses samples from Masego to give the song a warm, heartfelt feeling. He later transitions into “Girls Want Girls” featuring Lil Baby, which explains the hardships that he endeavors while looking for a relationship.

Throughout the album, Drake experiments and adds some new sounds to his palette all while staying true with his signature style. With inspiration from Michael Jackson and his own previous albums, Drake manages to use all of those different genres to create a project that he was proud to share with the world. His song “Way 2 Sexy” which features Young Thug was an instant hit around the world, exuding a feeling of arrogance that has been rather controversial. “So sexy, it hurts” is just one of the many lines that show how narcissistic one can be and why it is a good thing. Drake closes off the album with a song that reminds him of his childhood friends and how he could never thank them enough for everything they have done for him called “The Remorse”.

This is an overall good album that can appeal to a wide range of people because of its musical diversity. Whether fast-paced or slow all of the different types of songs help bring together the project. Throughout all 21 tracks, “Certified Lover Boy” tells a captivating story about Drake’s life and refers to many of his past works. It has exemplary qualities to it too, inspiring other artists to follow their music careers all over the world. “Certified Lover Boy” was the perfect nominee for the 2022 Grammy Best Rap Album award.

"Happier Than Ever" Skyrockets to the Top of Music Charts

“Drake has a really good ability to tell stories through his music. That’s why his album is one of my top albums of this year,” freshman Billy Saleh said.

SONG OF THE YEAR
“Kiss Me More” by Doja Cat feat. SZA

Another hit featuring the world renowned female artist SZA has made it to the nominations list in the 2022 Grammys. This time, it is for the “Song of the Year” title. This song has a playful sound to it. All around the world, you will see this song being played at school events, kids parties and even adult gatherings. Being able to reach such a large crowd of people from all sorts of places is a big accomplishment.

With this song being released on Apr. 9, it has had some time to make its way up the charts. “Kiss Me More” is a very thoroughly thought-out song in regards to the target audience, the sound and the lyrics. Nowadays, the music industry mostly focuses on love and physical touch, which this song portrays, but the producers made it in such a way where anyone listening can enjoy.

Ultimately, this year’s music selection has been very diverse, with hundreds of different artists dropping every month. However Drake, Doja Cat and SZA all took the cake when releasing these songs. Along with a handful of other artists, they made a huge impact on the music industry this year and allowed people to spend their days listening to something new. All of these projects’ high positions on music ranking lists also helps give them the upper hand at the award show. Hands-down, these three world-renowned artists deserve to take home the gold at the Grammys this year.