Album of The Year is considered one of the most prestigious awards out of all the Grammy’s. This year we were given five great albums to choose from and Adele is the victor!
25 by Adele was one of the best-selling albums of 2015 and as of June 2016 has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. The album spawned “Hello,” a strong contender for both Record and Song of the Year, which helped Adele become the first artist of the decade with two diamond-certified albums (10 million in sales or equivalent from streaming).
Beyoncé‘s Lemonade was one of the most-talked-about albums of 2016 following her decision to release it through streaming service Tidal, completely avoiding Spotify in the process. The album’s nomination is one of nine for Beyoncé, which makes her the most-nominated artist of this year’s awards.
Purpose by Justin Bieber is an album quite familiar to dance music fans due to numerous features and productions by EDM community staples Skrillex, Diplo, Benny Blanco, and Steve James among others. The single “Love Yourself” is also in contention for two Grammy’s of its own.
Everybody’s favorite rapper, Drake, returns with his first ever solo Album of The Year nod for Views following features appearances on two other nominated albums – Rihanna’s Loud and Beyoncé’s self-titled album. A certified quadruple platinum album, Views was the also the first LP to accumulate one billion streams on Apple Music, spawning singles “Hotline Bling” and “Pop Style” which have been nominated for three Grammy’s between them.
Finally, we have A Sailor’s Guide to Earth by Sturgill Simpson. Though not as big a name as the other four artists, Sturgill Simpson has come to life as a major force within the country/soul world with three Grammy nominations this year and last. A Sailor’s Guide to Earth is his major label debut and third LP, which earlier tonight won him the coveted Best Country Album of The Year.
