Billie Eilish tear-jerker ‘What Was I Made For?’ could be her 3rd Record of the Year at the Grammys

Jaime Rodriguez
·4 min read
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The Grammy for Record of the Year is one of the most important awards at the event. Honoring the craft of performing, engineering and producing our favorite tunes, the award has historically gone to some of the most legendary songs of all time, ranging from Henry Mancini‘s “Moon River” to Celine Dion‘s “My Heart Will Go On.” This year we have a genuine race full of huge contenders, including acclaimed indie singer-songwriters, blockbuster pop smashes, and a couple industry favorites with a lot of love this year.

Perhaps the least likely winner is Victoria Monét’s “On My Mama,” based on the fact that there’s a much higher-profile R&B hit here that will likely take the most support from that voting bloc, not to mention that the song isn’t as ubiquitous as some of the others here. Similarly, while I think Jon Batiste stands a chance just due to being Jon Batiste (he did, after all, win five times the last time he was at the Grammys), his “Worship” might not be his best shot at a win, especially with no nominations in any genre category.

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For the past few years there has been a tendency for this award to go to either uplifting (Lizzo‘s “About Damn Time,” Bruno Mars‘s “24k Magic”) or emotionally impactful songs (Adele‘s “Hello,” Billie Eilish‘s “Everything I Wanted”). That, paired with the fact that she is probably winning a couple other awards anyway, makes me think this won’t be the place for a Taylor Swift win for “Anti-Hero.” Then there’s Olivia Rodrigo, whose “Vampire” was a big hit, but not the biggest here. “Vampire” might also be hurt by the relative underperformance of Rodrigo’s “Guts” era and the fact that there’s no real rush to award her; she has already won three, and she’ll have many more chances to win in the future.

One could argue that Boygenius has a shot here because they will have all the alternative and rock voters on their side. While that is likely true, it’s been a while since rock has won in the general field. The strongest precedent for a Boygenius win would be Beck‘s Album of the Year victory for “Morning Phase” in 2015 — when pop and R&B acts split votes, and Beck likely had the support of alternative, rock and maybe even a few Americana voters. Still, it’s hard to predict a song that’s not a mainstream hit, although we’ve had a couple such winners in Song of the Year this decade.

SEEWho had the strongest Grammy campaign? Jon Batiste, Olivia Rodrigo among artists who were out in force

Ultimately, the award might come down to three women. SZA’s “Kill Bill” could win just like Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” did last year with a potential combination of pop and R&B support. SZA will also probably monopolize the rap votes too, since there’s no rap song nominated this year. Still, “Kill Bill” doesn’t fit the uplifting/emotionally-wrenching trend, and Monét’s presence here pulling some R&B support away from her might genuinely be an issue.

That isn’t the case for Miley Cyrus’s “Flowers,” which is the biggest hit here and an anthem of self-love amidst divorce that will likely resonate with older voters in the academy. And of course, Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” is total Grammy bait: an emotional piano ballad most people have likely cried to during the “Barbie” movie. It’s hard to think Billie will lose here given how much love “What Was I Made For?” has gotten (including an Oscar nom and five Grammy noms), especially knowing how much the Grammys love to award her (she has won this award twice already). Still, keep an eye out for Cyrus and SZA.

Will win: Billie Eilish, “What Was I Made For?”
Could win: Miley Cyrus, “Flowers”
Dark horse: SZA, “Kill Bill”

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