(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DTMF")
BAD BUNNY: (Singing in non-English language).
AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
The 68th Grammy Awards take place tonight in Los Angeles. Big acts like Bad Bunny and Kendrick Lamar are expected to take home some heavy hardware. NPR Music's own Stephen Thompson is here to tell us what we have to look forward to. Stephen, thank you for joining us.
STEPHEN THOMPSON, BYLINE: Thanks for having me, Ayesha.
RASCOE: OK, so let's begin with album of the year. Bad Bunny, who we just heard, has some stiff competition, like Kendrick Lamar, Sabrina Carpenter, Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. What are your predictions?
THOMPSON: You know, one of the tricky things about the Grammys is they're combining all these different genres together. And how do you even compare a record like Kendrick Lamar's "GNX" to, you know, Bad Bunny's "Debi Tirar Mas Fotos" or Lady Gaga or - I do kind of think this is a two-horse race between Bad Bunny, who seems to have a lot of momentum, and Kendrick Lamar, who is a big Grammys favorite. He won five Grammys just last year, including record and song of the year.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SQUABBLE UP")
KENDRICK LAMAR: (Rapping) Woke up looking for the broccoli. High-key, keep a horn on me, that Kamasi.
THOMPSON: It feels like it might be time to coronate him for album of the year, which he's never won before, but it's also important to remember that the Grammys - you know, this is not actually a two-horse race. There's a whole bunch of nominees, and the Grammys often bypass hip-hop and Latin music in the general categories in favor of big pop records, which would portend well for somebody like Sabrina Carpenter or Lady Gaga.
RASCOE: There are several hip-hop albums, though, up for album of the year.
THOMPSON: Yeah.
RASCOE: Alongside Kendrick Lamar's "GNX," you also have Clipse with "Let God Sort Em Out."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LET GOD SORT EM OUT")
PUSHA T: (Rapping) Beware of my name, that there's delicate. You know I know where you're delicate. Crush you to pieces, I'll hum a breath of it. I will close your heaven for the hell of it. You think it'd be...
RASCOE: I saw them perform a Tiny Desk last year. Malice waved at me, which was very nice.
THOMPSON: (Laughter).
RASCOE: I'm sure he remembers that. But...
(LAUGHTER)
RASCOE: In addition to Clipse, there's Tyler, the Creator's "Chromakopia" that's also up for album of the year. As far as we can tell, a hip-hop album hasn't won since OutKast in 2004. Is this a significant moment for hip-hop?
THOMPSON: Ayesha, you and I could do a whole segment about, you know, Macklemore beating Kendrick Lamar. But this does feel like a little bit of a tipping point where you have three albums in this category. I think it helps that it's actually been a pretty quiet year for major pop stars. Taylor Swift's latest album didn't come out in time. Beyonce didn't put out a record. Harry Styles didn't put out a record. So we get a little bit more reach, I think, in the field because you don't have as many, like, gigantic pop star juggernauts taking up all the slots.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "APT.")
ROSE: (Singing) Apateu, apateu. Uh, uh-huh, uh-huh. Apateu, apateu.
RASCOE: Yeah, my kids love that song.
THOMPSON: (Laughter).
RASCOE: And so we have to talk about K-pop. Its influence this year cannot be denied. How are we seeing that show up in Grammy nominations?
THOMPSON: Well, you just played "APT." You know, that's Blackpink's Rose duetting with Bruno Mars.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "APT.")
BRUNO MARS AND ROSE: (Singing) Don't you want me like I want you, baby? Don't you need me like I need you now?
THOMPSON: That song is up for both record and song of the year, and it's definitely K-pop adjacent. Rose is a K-pop artist, but, you know, she's got Bruno Mars on the track. My dream, Ayesha, is that someday someone will love me as much as the Grammys love Bruno Mars.
RASCOE: (Laughter).
THOMPSON: Also you had "KPop Demon Hunters" last year, and "Golden" by Huntrix is up for song of the year.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOLDEN")
EJAE: (As Rumi, singing) We're going up, up, up. It's our moment. You know together we're glowing, going to be, going to be golden. Oh, oh, oh, up, up, up...
THOMPSON: That movie and that song have really brought K-pop even farther into the mainstream than it already was. I should also note that the group Katseye, which is up for best new artist - most of them are not from Korea, but it is very much a K-pop-style girl group.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GAMEBOY")
KATSEYE: (Singing) You're just a Gameboy, I ain't trying to play, boy. I ain't thinking about you...
THOMPSON: To see them in the best new artist field as well as the pop field does feel like growth in the Grammys' acceptance of K-pop music.
RASCOE: Well, speaking of best new artist, who is vying for it this time?
THOMPSON: This is considered an extremely competitive field. You know, Olivia Dean, who is totally Grammy's catnip - she's got this song "Man I Need" that, like, was made to win Grammys.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MAN I NEED")
OLIVIA DEAN: (Singing) Just come be the man I need. Tell me you got something to give, I want it. I kinda like it when you call me wonderful.
THOMPSON: In addition to Olivia Dean, you've got Katseye who I just mentioned, Addison Rae.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FAME IS A GUN")
ADDISON RAE: (Singing) Fame is a gun, and I point it blind. Crash and burn, girl, baby, swallow it dry.
THOMPSON: Alex Warren with his song "Ordinary," which was probably the most inescapable song of the last calendar year.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ORDINARY")
ALEX WARREN: (Singing) Something so out of the ordinary.
THOMPSON: And all the remaining contenders are also super successful. You've got Sombre, the Marias, Lola Young, and Leon Thomas, who has the most Grammy nominations of any artist in the best new artist field, and who I think is very likely to win, you know, a couple of Grammys in the R&B field.
RASCOE: Leon Thomas - NPR Music does have a small role to play with his nomination for best R&B performance of "Mutt" from when he performed at Tiny Desk early last year.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MUTT")
LEON THOMAS: (Singing) She said take your time, what's the rush? I said, baby, I'm a dog, I'm a mutt.
THOMPSON: This is going to sound corny. I don't know. It is a testament to the talent and hard work of our team. You know, you and me, Ayesha - we're just lucky we get to attend these things.
RASCOE: Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. It's quite the honor. That's NPR Music's Stephen Thompson. Stephen, thank you so much for the preview.
THOMPSON: Thank you, Ayesha.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MUTT")
THOMAS: (Singing) Vulnerable, so you can break my heart. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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