Grammy Awards Betting Odds, Preview & 2021 Predictions

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Ready for Awards Season? Then step right up and place your bets, beginning with the 2020 Grammy Awards at 8 p.m. ET Jan. 26, one week ahead of Super Bowl 54.

The 62nd Grammy Awards should have some underdog value. The trick is that unlike in sports betting, you’re not evaluating the nominees on their own merit or skill. It’s all about what stands out to Recording Academy members in the voting process.

Bookmakers Unibet and Paddy Power are offering odds currently. Specials betting is becoming increasingly popular in Europe unlike in the US where states are more reluctant to offer odds on such things as reality television shows, awards shows and political betting.

Here are the nominees and UniBet betting odds for Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist ahead of the 2020 Grammy Awards.

Album of the Year

Billie Eilish is the heavy favourite as a Grammys rookie, landing six nominations for her debut album. The 17-year-old captured both critical and commercial success with her first effort and won New Artist of the Year at the 2019 American Music Awards.

The concern is that only four people have ever won Album of the Year and Best New Artist in their Grammys debut. Norah Jones was the last to do so in 2002. Same logic applies to Lizzo, who’s up for both awards as well.

Lana Del Rey offers some value for bettors at a tempting 5/2 for Album of the Year

There could be value here on Lana Del Rey, whose “Norman (Expletive) Rockwell” generally received the best reviews of the bunch. That makes 5/2 a tempting price for the powerful star with a brand of pop that’s tough to pigeonhole by genre. Bruno Mars’ “24K Magic” scored an upset win for Album of the Year with odds around 7/2 in 2018.

Record of the Year

Looking at past Record of the Year winners, it tends to swing toward the catchier, radio-heavy choices more so than Album of the Year. Recent winners include “24K Magic,” “Uptown Funk,” “Get Lucky,” “Rolling in the Deep,” “Use Somebody,” etc. You get the picture. Songs that’ll be playing on radio 18 months after they’re released.

The three betting favourites here all fit that bill. “Bad Guy” (23/20) is one of those songs you hear five times a day without even realising it, like during a college basketball broadcast half-time segue. “7 Rings (3/1) was on a similar level for a while.

“Old Town Road” (6/4) took off like crazy and was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 list from April 13 to August 1. We’d be shocked if the winner isn’t one of these three nominees. Songs like “Talk” and “Hey, Ma” just don’t fit the profile.

Song of the Year

Song of the Year is different than Record of the Year in that it focuses more on the actual words and melody, as opposed to the overall production. Artists can win both in the same year, as was the case in 2019 with Childish Gambino’s “This is America.” So, while “Bad Guy” and “Truth Hurts” are the favourites again, “Old Town Road” is absent. It got the people going but wasn’t exactly a lyrical masterpiece.

This is the only major category that includes Taylor Swift, with “Lover” listed at 3/1. The 10-time Grammy Winner has gone 0-for-3 on Song of the Year nominations in her career, but Paddy Power lists 4/1 odds for “Lover” if you believe this is the year she ends the streak. The song has definitely gained steam in the weeks since Swift’s October 5 Saturday Night Live performance.

Look out for Lizzo for Song of the Year, but Best New Artist might be a tougher get.

We love “Truth Hurts” at 6/4 here. Great melody and the lyrics are undeniably smart and catchy. The odds also suggest this is Lizzo’s best shot at one of the four major awards.

Best New Artist

Pretty clearly down to Billie Eilish and Lizzo here. Eilish spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with her debut album, “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” She also took home New Artist of the Year at the 2019 American Music Awards.

However, the AMA New Artist of the Year has not won Best New Artist at the Grammys since Carrie Underwood took both in 2007. Lizzo got shut out at the AMAs but earned serious praise for her on-stage performance.

Still, Eilish is the safe bet here. The betting favourite has won this category every year since 2012, when Bon Iver upset Nicki Minaj with odds around 5/2.