2026 Final Grammy Picks & Predictions: Who Will Win vs. Who Should Win

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Grammy week is here, so I’m locking my final predictions before the votes are revealed.

In the first official episode of 2026, I break down my Grammy ballot across 12 categories, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. I also compare my picks against hundreds of listener submissions from my Grammy poll to see where the internet agrees with me and where it doesn’t.

This episode is all about how the Recording Academy actually votes, where narratives matter, and which categories are primed for upsets.

In this episode:

Final Grammy predictions across the Big FourWhy Album of the Year is a three-artist raceThe category I’m least confident aboutListener poll results vs my actual picksDark horses the Academy could surprise us with

The next episode will be a full Grammy recap reacting to the winners, performances, and biggest moments of the night. Make sure you're subscribed to the podcast to be notified when the next episode drops!

Chapters01:46 Predictions for Record of the Year

03:53 Album of the Year Contenders

07:55 Song of the Year Insights

18:19 Best New Artist Predictions

19:24 The Rise of Olivia Dean and Leon Thomas