Everything to expect from the long awaited 2021 Grammys today

The Grammys will join the rest of the award show season tonight as it goes virtual for the first time ever. Originally set for January 31, the awards got pushed back six weeks as COVID-19 spiked again in Los Angeles and will now take place today, on March 14, with many of the top nominees set for an in-person audienceless performance. Beyoncé leads the nominations with nine, but the stars of the evening are set to be Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa, both of whom are nominated in six categories, including Album of the Year and Song of the Year, and favourites to win.

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Swift is returning to the Album of the Year category for the first time since 2016’s 1989 album. Despite being a steady winner of Grammys earlier in her career, she hasn’t won any since her 2016 single Bad Blood featuring Kendrick Lamar. This year is being seen by commentators and fans as Swift’s year, as she recorded two widely acclaimed albums this year during the Covid-19 pandemic.

She is also in the process of re-recording her first six albums after acquiring her previous manager Scooter Braun acquired the rights to them in 2019. Braun recently sold them to a private equity firm called Shamrock Capital, landing a deal that—on top of netting him a reported $300 million—will likely see him continue to profit from Swift’s music going forward.

The showdown of the night will be between Swift and Grammy darling-in-waiting Lipa, who compete against each other in five of their six categories. But don’t count out Lipa, whose Future Nostalgia made waves as one of the first big pop albums of the pandemic, helping to usher in a disco revival that reverberated throughout pop in 2020. Lipa made it into the Record of the Year nominations while Swift missed out but landed a nomination in Best Song for Visual Media with her song “Beautiful Ghosts”.

However, Grammy snubs were especially glaring this year: the Weeknd, a three-time winner whose album “After Hours” held the Billboard 200′s top slot for four consecutive weeks, seemed to make as many headlines as the nominees. The singer accused the Grammys of being “corrupt” after noting his absence from the nominees announced in November.

In terms of performances, the full lineup for the Grammys this evening is Bad Bunny, Black Pumas, Cardi B, BTS, Brandi Carlile, DaBaby, Doja Cat, Billie Eilish, Mickey Guyton, Haim, Brittany Howard, Miranda Lambert, Lil Baby, Lipa, Malone, Chris Martin, John Mayer, Megan Thee Stallion, Maren Morris, Ricch, Harry Styles and Taylor Swift.

The Grammys nominations for the main categories are as follows:

Album of the Year

Chilombo, Jhené Aiko

Black Pumas (Deluxe Edition), Black Pumas

Everyday Life, Coldplay

Djesse Vol. 3, Jacob Collier

Women in Music Pt. III, Haim

Future Nostalgia, Dua Lipa

Hollywood’s Bleeding, Post Malone

folklore, Taylor Swift

Record of the Year

“Black Parade,” Beyoncé

“Colors,” Black Pumas

“Rockstar,” DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch

“Say So,” Doja Cat

“everything i wanted,” Billie Eilish

“Don’t Start Now,” Dua Lipa

“Circles,” Post Malone

“Savage,” Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé

Best New Artist

Ingrid Andress

Phoebe Bridgers

Noah Cyrus

Chika

D Smoke

Doja Cat

Kaytranada

Megan Thee Stallion

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical

Jack Antonoff

Dan Auerbach

Dave Cobb

Flying Lotus

Andrew Watt

Best Pop Solo Performance

“Yummy,” Justin Bieber

“Say So,” Doja Cat

“everything i wanted,” Billie Eilish

“Don’t Start Now,” Dua Lipa

“Watermelon Sugar,” Harry Styles

“cardigan,” Taylor Swift

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

“Un Dia (One Day),” J Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny, and Tainy

“Intentions,” Justin Bieber featuring Quavo

“Dynamite,” BTS

“Rain on Me,” Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande

“exile,” Taylor Swift featuring Bon Iver

Best Dance Recording

“On My Mind,” Diplo and Sidepiece

“My High,” Disclosure, Aminé, and Slowthai

“The Difference,” Flume featuring Toro y Moi

“Both of Us,” Jayda G

“10%,” Kaytranada featuring Kali Uchis

Best Dance/Electronic Album

KiCk i, Arca

Energy, Disclosure

Planet’s Mad, Baauer

Bubba, Kaytranada

Good Faith, Madeon

Best Rock Performance

“The Steps,” Haim

“Stay High,” Brittany Howard

“Not,” Big Thief

“Shameika,” Fiona Apple

“Kyoto,” Phoebe Bridgers

“Daylight,” Grace Potter

Best Metal Performance

“Bum-Rush,” Body Count

“Underneath,” Code Orange

“The In-Between,” In This Moment

“Bloodmoney,” Poppy

“Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe) — Live,” Power Trip

Best Rock Song

“Kyoto,” Phoebe Bridgers

“Lost in Yesterday,” Tame Impala

“Not,” Big Thief

“Shameika,” Fiona Apple

“Stay High,” Brittany Howard

Best Rock Album

A Hero’s Death, Fontaines D.C.

Kiwanuka, Michael Kiwanuka

Daylight, Grace Potter

Sound & Fury, Sturgill Simpson

The New Abnormal, the Strokes

Best Alternative Music Album

Fetch the Bolt Cutters, Fiona Apple

Hyperspace, Beck

Punisher, Phoebe Bridgers

Jaime, Brittany Howard

The Slow Rush, Tame Impala

Best Rap Performance

“Deep Reverence,” Big Sean featuring Nipsey Hussle

“BOP,” DaBaby

“Whats Poppin,” Jack Harlow

“The Bigger Picture,” Lil Baby

“Savage,” Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé

“Dior,” Pop Smoke

Best Melodic Rap Performance

“Rockstar,” DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch

“Laugh Now Cry Later,” Drake featuring Lil Durk

“Lockdown,” Anderson .Paak

“The Box,” Roddy Ricch

“Highest in the Room,” Travis Scott

Best Rap Song

“The Bigger Picture,” Lil Baby

“The Box,” Roddy Ricch

“Laugh Now Cry Later,” Drake featuring Lil Durk

“Rockstar,” DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch

“Savage,” Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé

Best Rap Album

Black Habits, D Smoke

Alfredo, Freddie Gibbs and the Alchemist

A Written Testimony, Jay Electronica

King’s Disease, Nas

The Allegory, Royce Da 5’9”