Billboard updated its final Grammys 2027 predictions for record of the year and song of the year on Monday, sharpening the picture in two of the show’s biggest fields. The new look at the marquee categories keeps the race crowded, with 779 records chasing eight slots in one category and 923 songs chasing eight in the other.
The timing matters because the eligibility window for the 69th annual Grammy Awards ran from Aug. 31, 2025, through Aug. 28, 2026, and the nominations are now coming into focus. Billboard first previewed the marquee categories in July, then turned back to album of the year on Monday before moving to record and song, with best new artist next on Wednesday.
One song has become the clearest marker of how the two fields can split. In the 2026 ceremony, seven songs landed in both categories, even though five overlap is usually the more common outcome. That history helps explain why the current prediction list separates some contenders across the two races rather than treating them as a single pool.
Bruno Mars is trying that split again. Ten years after he won record of the year with “24K Magic” and song of the year with “That’s What I Like,” he is now being forecast with “I Just Might” for record and “Risk It All” for song. Taylor Swift is following the same path, with “The Fate of Ophelia” for record and “I Knew It, I Knew You” from Toy Story 5 for song. The updated list also lifts Tame Impala and Jennie’s “Dracula” into the top tier of record of the year, replacing Sienna Spiro’s “Die on This Hill” in that field while keeping it in song of the year.
There is a reason the predictions keep circling back to the artists rather than just the songs. Six of the eight likeliest record of the year nominees were produced or co-produced by the artists themselves, a sign of how much control the field often rewards. Olivia Dean’s “Man I Need” is tied to Zach Nahome, Olivia Rodrigo’s “the cure” is tied to Daniel Nigro, and Kahan could receive his first nomination in the category. The song that has drawn extra attention also ran in an extended Mastercard ad during the eligibility period.
Dean would become the third artist named Olivia to be nominated in the category, after Olivia Newton-John, who won in 1975 for “I Honestly Love You,” and Olivia Rodrigo, who has already been nominated twice and is likely to land a third nod this year. That is the kind of detail that shows how the field can feel both familiar and unsettled at once. The final lists are still not in hand, but the prediction update makes one thing plain: the Grammys 2027 race is already being shaped by split campaigns, crowded ballots and a short list of songs that could end up carrying both marquee categories.
