The 2021 Grammys are tonight and some may be wondering the difference between the big categories given out.
The three categories that sometimes cause confusion are Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year, and the major differences between them.
If you don’t know, Record of the Year is awarded to both the performer of the song, as well as the recording engineers who took part in the production of the song. The Record of the Year highlights the performance and the production of the song.
Song of the Year, however, is awarded to the writer of the song, not the artist that sings the song.
Album of the Year used to go to the artist, however, now it goes to the artist and producers, sound engineers, mixers, and songwriters.
There you have it!
You can check out the full winners list, which we’re updating live throughout the evening!
Click inside to see who is nominated in the three categories this year…
Album of the Year
“Chilombo” — Jhené Aiko
“Black Pumas (Deluxe Edition)” — Black Pumas
“Everyday Life” — Coldplay
“Djesse Vol.3” — Jacob Collier
“Women in Music Pt. III” — HAIM
“Future Nostalgia” — Dua Lipa
“Hollywood’s Bleeding” — Post Malone
“Folklore” — Taylor Swift
Song of the Year
“Black Parade” — Denisia Andrews, Beyoncé, Stephen Bray, Shawn Carter, Brittany Coney, Derek James Dixie, Akil King, Kim “Kaydence” Krysiuk & Rickie “Caso” Tice, songwriters (Beyoncé)
“The Box” — Samuel Gloade & Rodrick Moore, songwriters (Roddy Ricch)
“Cardigan” — Aaron Dessner & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift)
“Circles” — Louis Bell, Adam Feeney, Kaan Gunesberk, Austin Post & Billy Walsh, songwriters (Post Malone)
“Don’t Start Now” — Caroline Ailin, Ian Kirkpatrick, Dua Lipa & Emily Warren, songwriters (Dua Lipa)
“Everything I Wanted” — Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
“I Can’t Breathe” — Dernst Emile II, H.E.R. & Tiara Thomas, songwriters (H.E.R.)
“If the World Was Ending” — Julia Michaels & JP Saxe, songwriters (JP Saxe Featuring Julia Michaels)
Record of the Year
“Black Parade” — Beyoncé
“Colors” — Black Pumas
“Rockstar” —DaBaby Featuring Roddy Ricch
“Say So” — Doja Cat
“Everything I Wanted” — Billie Eilish
“Don’t Start Now” — Dua Lipa
“Circles” — Post Malone
“Savage” — Megan Thee Stallion Featuring Beyoncé
