Elton & Brandi, Laufey, Gaga, Barbra: Inside the Surprisingly Hot Grammy Race for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

One of the hottest contests successful the 68th yearly Grammy Awards is successful a class that seldom rates headlines – champion accepted popular vocal album. Tony Bennett was specified a dense favourite successful the class (14 wins from 17 nominations) that determination was small suspense successful this category.

But since Bennett died successful 2023, the class has go competitive. This year’s apical contenders see Laufey, who won 2 years agone for Bewitched; Lady Gaga, who shared 2 awards successful the class with Bennett for their duet albums; Barbra Streisand, who has yet to triumph successful the class contempt 13 nods; and Elton John & Brandi Carlile, who, among them, person won 16 Grammys.

Laufey is entered with A Matter of Time, her follow-up to Bewitched; Gaga with Harlequin, which includes alternate takes of songs from her film Joker: Folie à Deux, a box-office disappointment; Streisand with The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume 2, connected which the legendary prima teams with different singers (including Laufey); John & Carlile with their collab Who Believes successful Angels?

All 4 look definite to beryllium nominated, which conscionable leaves 1 unfastened slot. The medium that astir apt has the champion accidental to capable it is Seth MacFarlane’s Lush Life: The Lost Sinatra Arrangements. McFarlane has been nominated 3 times successful this category. Sinatra won successful this class successful 1996 with Duets II. (What’s more, Bennett and Willie Nelson some won with albums that paid tribute to the GOAT of accepted popular singers.)

No vacation medium has ever won successful this category, though galore person been nominated. Three vacation albums person a reasonably bully changeable astatine a motion this year: Jennifer Hudson’s The Gift of Love, Dan + Shay’s It’s Officially Christmas: The Double Album and Lea Salonga’s Sounding Joy – The Holiday Album.

Bennett’s girl Antonia Bennett is successful the premix with Expressions, arsenic are 2 movie actors who instrumentality their euphony earnestly – John C. Reilly (in his Mister Romantic persona with What’s Not to Love) and Jeff Goldblum (with Still Blooming, a collab with the Mildren Snitzer Orchestra).

Other contenders see Christina Aguilera’s The 25th Anniversary of Christina Aguilera Spotify Anniversaries Live, Stephen Bishop’s Think, Belinda Carlisle’s Once Upon a Time successful California, and Livington Taylor, BBC Concert Orchestra & Bill Elliott’s Symphonic Steps. Taylor’s older member James Taylor won successful this class successful 2021 with American Standard.

Ben Folds has 2 albums connected the introduction list, which whitethorn mean his enactment volition beryllium divided betwixt Ben Folds Live With the National Symphony Orchestra and Sleigher.

This class utilized to absorption connected caller recordings of the Great American Songbook, but successful caller years it has broadened to see compatible euphony from each eras. From the 68th Rules and Guidelines handbook: “This class recognizes excel...