Rodrigo, Dean Lead 2027 Grammy Album of the Year Race — SkimNews
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- Olivia Rodrigo's "You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love" and Olivia Dean's "The Art of Loving" are positioned as the two leading Album of the Year contenders, with the piece framing it as a possible "Dean vs. Rodrigo smackdown" through the Feb. 7 ceremony
- Taylor Swift's "The Life of a Showgirl" nomination is called "nearly a foregone conclusion," though the columnist speculates voters may hold her record four prior AOTY wins against her in awarding a fifth — and notes Swift's narrative actually lives in Record and Song of the Year, where she has never won
- Bruno Mars is described as "practically a lock" for a nomination with "The Romantic," though the album lacked the broad popular consensus of his previous "24K Magic," and he may stand a better chance in Record or Song
- BTS and Drake are both out of this Grammy cycle — BTS withdrew in protest over the addition of an Asian pop category, and Drake continues not to submit himself, leaving Don Toliver as hip-hop's only viable nominee
- Recording Academy voting opens Oct. 12 and closes 10 days later, with the eight AOTY nominations announced Nov. 16 (pared down from a prior field of 10) and the ceremony set for Feb. 7, 2027
- Only Brandi Carlile, Rodrigo, and Swift among the top 20 picks have been nominated with both of their past two solo albums — and only Swift and Mars have ever won the category twice
- The columnist predicts no man will win any of the top four Grammy categories this year, citing the near-total absence of mainstream male pop contenders beyond Noah Kahan, Bruno Mars, and Harry Styles
Why it matters: The 2027 Grammy Album of the Year race is crystallizing into a generational moment: the two leading contenders share a first name, the all-time winningest artist (Swift, with four AOTYs) faces a potential voter-fatigue ceiling, and the category is projected to crown a woman for the second consecutive year in a cycle where BTS and Drake have removed themselves from contention entirely.
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