L
eading up to the Grammy nominations on Nov. 10, Rolling Stone is breaking down 16 different categories. For each, we’re predicting the nominees, as well as who will (and who should) win on Grammy night.
The academy has a tough decision that ultimately comes down to Karol G’s history-making accomplishments or Tainy’s sprawling production genius. Both artists are familiar to Grammy voters: Karol cinched her first nomination in 2022, for her album KG0516, while Tainy won last year thanks to his credits on the Bad Bunny blockbuster Un Verano Sin Ti. Despite Karol G’s momentum, the surprises on Data and Tainy’s reputation as a go-to producer might prove enough to pull the album ahead in this race: “It’s really interesting and really musical,” says Apple Music’s Latin-music programmer Jerry Pullés of Data, noting the range of inspirations from across genres and decades. “We’re talking about visionaries,” Albina Cabrera, KEXP’s Latin partnerships and editorial manager adds. “And it seems to me that this is like an elaboration, another level up, in production.”
Tainy
Data
SHOULD WIN
Tainy started out as a teen prodigy working alongside the Dominican production duo Luny Tunes in the early aughts. Since then, he’s become the mastermind behind some of the biggest urbano albums of the past few decades — but on Data, he steps out from behind the scenes and shows the full range of his abilities. The album is an unexpected, eclectic journey, where no one does what you think they’re gonna do: There’s Bad Bunny singing over Eighties synths, Sech belting out over jagged rock guitars, Rauw Alejandro curling his voice around a Four Tet sample. “He’s one of the architects of the sound and he’s not stuck in what he was doing 20 years ago — he’s still moving the genre forward,” says Pullés. “Tainy has a lot of different musical influences, and he did a really good job of sneaking it all in.”
Myke Towers
La Vida Es Una
Myke Towers has been turning heads from the moment he began uploading heavy-duty raps and uninhibited freestyles on SoundCloud in the early 2010s. He’s been an in-demand guest on albums for everyone from Selena Gomez and Enrique Iglesias to Bad Bunny and J Balvin. Two years ago, his major-label debut, LYKE MIKE, was a proud ode to hip-hop that proved him to be one of the best lyricists in the game. Still, he tests out a more commercial approach on his follow-up, La Vida Es Una. Across the album, he softens his sound and reminds people of the success he’s found on some of his previous pop-oriented collaborations with artists like Anitta, Karol G, and Ozuna. He turns to breezy dance beats on tracks like “Más Allá” and “Sábado,” which all show off a smoother side of the spitter. The tactic clearly worked: His single “LALA” has been a ubiquitous summer hit that blew up on TikTok and then moved up the charts, landing him his first solo entry on the Billboard 100, where it climbed to Number 43.
Karol G
Mañana Será Bonito
WILL WIN
This was Karol G’s year, thanks to the success of her record-shattering album Mañana Será Bonito, which the Colombian superstar released in February. The LP is easily her most personal: A collection of carefree, tenderly built tracks chronicle her split from the Puerto Rican rapper Anuel AA with a mix of vulnerability and spontaneity. “Being so exposed in my music was very psychologically heavy,” she told Rolling Stone. “Imagine something like this happening, and you have to tell millions of people what happened to you.” It didn’t just resonate emotionally; Mañana Será Bonito was a commercial behemoth that made Karol the first woman to reach Number One on the Billboard 200 with an album entirely in Spanish. “This was a crowning moment for Karol G,” says Cabrera. “There’s a story it stitches together, with each track becoming a world of its own and a piece of her personal diary at the same time.”
Rauw Alejandro
Saturno
Reggaeton’s leading showman — known for lighting up stadiums with fleet-footed dance moves and intricate choreography — took listeners somewhere new on Saturno. He envisioned the album as an otherworldly trip to uncharted urbano territory, packing the ride with club beats, disco touches, and hints of Latin freestyle. With production from Tainy, Mr. NaisGai, and Rauw himself, the project is a lively, nonstop party in outer space, boosted by hits like the Baby Rasta-assisted perreo remake “Punto 40” — and one that’s completely different from his racy R&B-tinged EP Trap Cake Vol. 2, which earned him a Grammy nomination in this category last year.
Eladio Carrión
3MEN2 KBRN
Eladio Carrión has been one of the most prolific Spanish-speaking rappers in the industry. The former comedian, who was born in Missouri but raised in Puerto Rico, constantly puts out lengthy projects that flaunt his clever bars and amusing wordplay. Still, 3MEN2 KBRN, which debuted at Number 16 on the Billboard 200, might be his strongest effort yet. He flexes his skills over daring trap beats — and even gets hip-hop icons like Lil Wayne and Future in on the action. “It just feels much more organic, authentic, and real than what’s been done before, and I just think it’s a really big moment for rappers and hip-hop and Spanish,” Pullés says. A moment big enough to land Carrión his first Grammy nomination.
This story is adapted from Rolling Stone’s fourth annual Grammy Preview issue, released ahead of the start of first-round voting on Oct. 13th. We featured SZA on the cover, spoke to some of the year’s biggest artists about the albums and singles that could earn them a statue come February, made our best predictions for the nominees in the top categories, and more, providing a full guide to what to watch for in the lead-up to the 2024 awards.