59th Annual Grammy Nomination Predictions: Look for Adele, Bieber to Lead

When the 59th annual Grammy nominations are announced on Tuesday, Dec. 6, two very different artists, Adele and Justin Bieber, are likely to be in the running for the three highest-profile awards — Album, Record, and Song of the Year. Adele won all three of these awards five years ago, but Bieber has never even been nominated in any of these categories.

Beyoncé and two members of the Danish pop group Lukas Graham are each likely to be nominated in two of the top three categories.

Here are the likely nominees — and a few runners-up — in each of these categories, as well as Best New Artist. I’m listing the contenders in descending order of their perceived likelihood of landing a nomination. (That’s not necessarily the same as their likelihood of winning when the Grammys are presented next February. The nominees in the so-called “Big Four” categories are selected by a committee of Grammy insiders. The winners will be determined by rank-and-file voting members of the Recording Academy.)