When the Grammy Awards' 2016 nominees are announced Monday morning, you'll no doubt hear some familiar names. Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar, for example, are expected to pop up in high-profile categories such as Album Of The Year — for last year's 1989 and this year's To Pimp A Butterfly, respectively.
But there'll still likely be as many surprises in the nominations as there are quirks in the process, starting with the fact that the Grammys' eligibility period — from Oct. 1, 2014, to Sept. 30 of this year — disqualifies current hits like Adele's 25 from awards consideration, while making room for long-in-the-tooth titles like Swift's 1989. In a recent conversation with All Things Considered's Lynn Neary, Stephen Thompson of NPR Music breaks down the process while offering up a few predictions.
Those guesses may well look foolish by the time Monday morning rolls around, but Thompson foresees stronger-than-anticipated showings for the rock band Alabama Shakes and country singer Sam Hunt, both of whom he sees as the kind of year-in-year-out standard-bearers the Grammys love to celebrate. But he also notes that the awards' biggest surprises often involve upsets that favor older, safer and more established artists. Hear more of their conversation at the audio link.
Copyright 2025 NPR