Who deserves the best album of the year? Who seems like the biggest flop? Seniors Carli Troutman, Alicia Bush, Tarleshia Jean Pierre, Arsheen Kour, and Sophia Mackey, juniors Sarah Sutley, A.J. Hairston, Melissa Hines discuss their picks for winners at the Grammy Awards on February 8 at 8 PM.

RECORD OF THE YEAR:

Nominees: “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea, “Chandelier” by Sia, “Stay With Me” (Darkchild Version) by Sam Smith, “Shake It off” by Taylor Swift, “All About That Bass” by Meghan Trainor

Sarah: “All About That Bass.” The song is cute and catchy, but also has an empowering message so I am voting for Meghan Trainor.

Carli: “Stay With Me,” is so amazing and pulls at your heart strings. I love it. Everytime I hear it, I want to cry (in a good way).

Sophia Mackey: “Shake It Off,” hands down. This song bursts with positivity, something the kids could use more of.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR:

Nominees: Morning Phase by Beck, Beyonce by Beyonce, X by Ed Sheeran, In The Lonely Hour by Sam Smith, Girl by Pharrell Williams

Sarah: X by Ed Sheeran for sure! Each song has its own unique style to it.

Alicia: I absolutely love Pharrell Williams, and I own his album Girl. But I also have Beyonce’s CD, and that album jams! Queen Bey, you win my vote.

Arsheen: Definitely X by Ed Sheeran. Each of his songs contain meaning and it would be a shame if he didn’t win.

SONG OF THE YEAR:
Nominees: “All About That Bass” by Meghan Trainor (& Kevin Kadish), “Chandelier” by Sia (& Jesse Shatkin), “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift (& Max Martin, Shellback), “Stay With Me” by Sam Smith (& James Napier, William Phillips), “Take Me to Church” by Hozier

Melissa: I am going to have to go with Hozier’s song “Take Me to Church”. It is an amazing song portraying a often used metaphor in a new and creative way.

Sophia Mackey: Hozier’s dreamy voice mixed with intense lyrics on social issues definitely deserves a grammy.

Tarleshia: In this category, I believe Sam Smith should win song of the year, because many people love this song and its R&B vibe tells a heartfelt story.

BEST NEW ARTIST:

Nominees: Iggy Azalea, Bastille, Brandy Clark, Haim, Sam Smith

Carli: Bastille, I have a little place in my heart for them and they just seem so sweet and everything they have released this year has been so catchy and I love it.

Sophia Mackey: Haim mix rock and pop in a way that makes you feel like a cool queen in a leather jacket. Their impressive sound should get them an award.

Arsheen: Sam Smith. Although his songs are way overplayed, his voice is amazing and he definitely deserves a Grammy for the fame he’s earned this year.

BEST POP SOLO PERFORMANCE:

Nominees: “All Of Me” (Live) by John Legend, “Chandelier” by Sia, “Stay With Me” (Darkchild Version) by Sam Smith, “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift, “Happy” (Live) by Pharrell Williams

Sarah: “Chandelier” by Sia because nothing can even compare to her voice.

Alicia: “All of Me” John Legend always produces masterpieces. He’s it, man.

Tarleshia: Taylor Swift should win best solo pop performance, because she knows how to entertain the masses. You can’t help but dance along with her.

BEST POP DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE:
Nominees: “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX, “A Sky Full of Stars” by Coldplay, “Say Something” by A Great Big World with Christina Aguilera, “Bang Bang” by Jessie J & Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj, “Dark Horse” by Katy Perry ft Juicy J

Sarah: “Dark Horse” because it combines Katy Perry’s typical pop song with a unique rap aspect… plus I know all the words.

Melissa: I loved the combination of Jessie J’s soulful and raspy voice with Ariana’s sweet strong voice and another fantastic wrap by Nicki. “Bang Bang” wins my vote.

Sophia Mackey: Although “A Sky Full of Stars” isn’t Coldplay’s best work, I still appreciate the band as a whole for their creativity and sound. Honestly, anyone but Iggy Azalea could win and I would be fine.

BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM:

Nominees: Ghost Stories by Coldplay, Bangerz by Miley Cyrus, My Everything by Ariana Grande, Prism by Katy Perry, X by Ed Sheeran, In The Lonely Hour by Sam Smith

Alicia: Is “Baby” on My Everything by Ari? If so, give that girl an award! That’s my jam.

AJ: Ignoring Miley, Ariana has a great voice and deserves to win.

Arsheen: Ghost Stories by Coldplay fo shoooooo. They’re perfect.

BEST ROCK SONG:
Nominees: “Ain’t It Fun” by Paramore (Hayley Williams & Taylor York), “Blue Moon” by Beck, “Fever” by The Black Keys (The Black Keys), “Gimme Something Good” by Ryan Adams, “Lazaretto” by Jack White

AJ: Though this is not their best song, The Black Keys will always have my vote.

Arsheen: “Ain’t It Fun” is hardly even rock, but I love Paramore so….

Tarleshia: I agree with Arsheen. Paramore is life.

BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM:
Nominees: This is All Yours by Alt-J, Reflektor by Arcade Fire, Melophobia by Cage The Elephant, St. Vincent by St. Vincent, Lazaretto by Jack White

Carli: Alt-J has a killer album and I am all for it. All of the albums in this category deserve some recommendation, but Alt-J deserves this win.

Sophia Mackey: Alt-J is a completely unique band. “This is All Yours” is a work of art worthy of all awards possible.

Arsheen: Alt-J for sure, no one can compete with their music.

BEST R&B SONG:

Nominees: “Drunk in Love” by Beyonce ft. Jay Z, “Good Kisser” by Usher, “New Flame” by Chris Brown ft Usher & Rick Ross, “Options” (Wolfjames Version) by Luke James ft. Rick Ross, “The Worst” by Jhene Aiko

Sarah: Yes… Finally some Sarah music. Definitely New Flame because it makes me feel “some type of way” Sorry Beyonce, you’re still Beyonce.

BEST RAP ALBUM:
Nominees: The New Classic by Iggy Azalea, Because The Internet by Childish Gambino, Nobody’s Smiling by Common, The Marshall Mathers LP2 by Eminem, Oxymoron by Schoolboy Q, Blacc Hollywood by Wiz Khalifa

Sarah: The New Classic. Iggy is basically a goddess.

Alicia: Childish Gambino represents, man. Give him an award.

Arsheen: The Marshall Mathers LP2 by Eminem definitely. I’m not a rap fan but Eminem slayed. He is literally a “rap god.”

BEST RAP SONG:

Nominees: “Anaconda” by Nicki Minaj (Ernest Clark, Jamal Jones, Onika Maraj, Marcos Palacios & J. Solone-Myvett), “Bound 2” by Kanye West & Charlie Wilson (Mike Dean, Noah Goldstein, Malik Jones, Che Pope, Elon Rutberg, Sakiya Sandifer, John Stephens, Kanye West, Charlie Wilson, Ernest Wilson, & Cydel Young), “I” by Kendrick Lamar (K. Duckworth & C. Smith), “We Dem Boyz” by Wiz Khalifa (Maurice Brown, Kemion Cooks, N. Fisher, & C. Thomaz), “0 To 100/The Catch Up” by Drake (A. Feeney, Aubrey Graham, A. Hernandez, P. Jefferies, M. Samuels, & Noah Shebib)
Alicia: “I” by Kendrick makes me feel good. Drake, I still love you. But Kendrick deserves this one.

Tarleshia: “0 to 100/ The Catch Up” by Drake.  No questions asked!

BEST COUNTRY SONG:

Nominees: “American Kids” by Kenny Chesney (Rodney Clawson, Luke Laird & Shane McAnally) , “Automatic” by Miranda Lambert (Nicolle Galyon, Natalie Hemby & Miranda Lambert), “Give Me Back My Hometown” by Eric Church (Luke Laird and Eric Church), “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” by Glen Campbell (Glen Campbell and Julian Raymond), “Meanwhile Back At Mama’s” by Tim Mcgraw ft. Faith Hill (Tom Douglas, Jaren Johnston & Jeffrey Steele)

Sarah: “Automatic” because I love the words and meaning behind it.

Carli: “Give Me Back My Hometown” is beautiful. I love that song so much and there is so much emotion and story in it. So Eric Church definitely deserves this win.

Melissa: Miranda Lambert’s song “Automatic” wins my vote.

BEST COUNTRY ALBUM:

Nominees: Riser by Dierks Bentley, The Outsiders by Eric Church, 12 Stories by Brandy Clark, Platinum by Miranda Lambert, The Way I’m Livin’ by Lee Ann Womack

Carli: Once again Eric Church. He is such an amazing performer and I am so impressed by his work this year. His music really moved me and I am so in love with his music.

Melissa: Again, I respect Miranda Lambert because she is an amazing songwriter. Her album wins to me.

BEST COMPILATION SOUNDTRACK FOR VISUAL MEDIA:

Nominees: American Hustle by Susan Jacobs & David O. Russell, Frozen by Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Tom MacDougall, & Chris Montan, Get On Up: the James Brown Story by Peter Afterman & Harry Weinger, Guardians Of The Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 by James Gunn, The Wolf Of Wall Street by Robbie Robertson

Melissa: Guardians of The Galaxy hands down has the best compilation soundtrack.

Alicia: Get On Up because who doesn’t like James Brown? And plus, I love Chadwick Boseman, so it seems appropriate.

AJ: The Wolf of Wall Street, as it has the best party soundtrack of all.

Arsheen: Definitely Frozen. I mean, you can’t go wrong with “Let It Go.”