The 2024 Grammy Awards are this weekend, and the ceremony will feature some significant rock representation.

Three legendary rock acts have been confirmed for the ceremony. Joni Mitchell is going to be performing at the Grammy Awards for the first time ever. The iconic singer-songwriter is nominated for Best Folk Album for her 2023 live album, Joni Mitchell At Newport.

Billy Joel is also going to be performing at the Grammy Awards this year. The Piano Man will perform his new single, “Turn The Lights Back On.” It’ll be the first time Joel has taken to the Grammy stage since 1994. Back then, he famously stopped during his performance of “River of Dreams” as a mini-protest against Grammy producers. Shortly before Joel’s performance, producers cut Frank Sinatra’s Grammy Legend Award speech short and went to commercial, thus, cutting off the Chairman of the Board’s speech.

Finally, U2 has been confirmed for the 2024 Grammys. The band’s performance will take place at the Sphere in Las Vegas, which will be the first time a performance will be broadcast from the new venue.

In addition to the performances, there’s some stiff competition in the rock/metal/alternative field.

Among the rock/metal/alternative field, boygenius led the way with four nominations. The female power trio was also nominated for Record of the Year and Album of the Year in the General Field categories. Meanwhile, Foo Fighters, Metallica and Arctic Monkeys received three nominations in the rock/metal/alternative field.

So, who is going to take home these rock/metal/alternative Grammy Awards this year? I have made my choices below and listed my reasons why.

The 2024 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 66th GRAMMY Awards, will air live (8:00-11:30 PM, LIVE ET/5:00-8:30 PM, LIVE PT) on CBS and will stream on Paramount+. (Live and on-demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers.)

• Best Rock Performance

  Nominees
  Arctic Monkeys – “Sculptures Of Anything Goes”
  Black Pumas – “More Than A Love Song”
  boygenius – “Not Strong Enough”
  Foo Fighters – “Rescued”
  Metallica – “Lux Æterna”

  Prediction
  Personally, I think Metallica should win Best Rock Performance for “Lux Æterna.” It’s one of their strongest singles in decades. However, boygenius is a critical darling. The band has five nominations at the 2024 Grammys. Among them is Record of the Year for “Not Strong Enough.” While I can’t see them winning Record of the Year, I could see them winning Best Rock Performance as a sort of “consolation,” if you will.

• Best Metal Performance

  Nominees
  Disturbed – “Bad Man”
  Ghost – “Phantom Of The Opera”
  Metallica – “72 Seasons”
  Slipknot – “Hive Mind”
  Spiritbox – “Jaded”

  Prediction
  The Recording Academy has been a bit all over the place when it comes to Best Metal Performance. In recent years, they’ve tended to honor more seasoned legacy acts. Past winners have been Ozzy Osbourne (2023), Dream Theater (2022), Body Count (2021) and Tool (2020). With that in mind, I think Metallica is going to win out for Best Metal Performance. They’ve truly had a great year supporting 72 Seasons, which was also well-received by critics and fans.

• Best Rock Song

  Nominees
  “Angry” – Mick Jagger, Keith Richards & Andrew Watt, songwriters (The Rolling Stones)

  “Ballad Of A Homeschooled Girl” – Daniel Nigro & Olivia Rodrigo, songwriters (Olivia Rodrigo)

  “Emotion Sickness – “Dean Fertita, Joshua Homme, Michael Shuman, Jon Theodore & Troy Van Leeuwen, songwriters (Queens Of The Stone Age)

  “Not Strong Enough – “Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers & Lucy Dacus, songwriters (boygenius)

  “Rescued” – Dave Grohl, Rami Jaffee, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett & Pat Smear, songwriters (Foo Fighters)

  Prediction
  Best Rock Song recognizes songwriters. With that in mind, many factors make this a tight race. The aforementioned boygenius have a strong case for themselves as songwriters and the critical reach they’ve had with “Not Strong Enough.” Foo Fighters will undoubtedly have a ton of emotional support on their side with “Rescued,” which was the first single they released after the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins.

  However, I think Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Andrew Watt are going to win this one for “Angry.” Despite their legendary status, The Rolling Stones have only been nominated for 12 Grammy Awards and have won only three: Best Music Video, Short Form for “Love Is Strong” in 1994; Best Rock Album for Voodoo Lounge in 1994; and Best Traditional Blues Album for Blue & Lonesome in 2017. The Recording Academy often likes to honor legends, and frankly, “Angry” was a really great, fun rock song and one of the Stones’ best in the past few decades.

• Best Rock Album

  Nominees
  Foo Fighters – But Here We Are
  Greta Van Fleet – Starcatcher
  Metallica – 72 Seasons
  Paramore – This Is Why
  Queens Of The Stone Age – In Times New Roman…

  Prediction
  This is another tough category, which is a good thing for the rock genre overall to see such solid competition. With that in mind, I think this is the best opportunity for the Foo Fighters to take home another Grammy. They’ve been a favorite of the Recording Academy for years. So far, they have 34 nominations and 15 wins. Considering the overarching theme of But Here We Are and the band’s journey back after the sudden death of Taylor Hawkins, I have a hard time not seeing the Recording Academy get behind the Foos for Best Rock Album.

• Best Alternative Music Performance

  Nominees
  Alvvays – “Belinda Says”
  Arctic Monkeys – “Body Paint”
  boygenius – “Cool About It”
  Lana Del Rey – “A&W”
  Paramore – “This Is Why”

  Prediction
  As far as the alternative music categories go, this is really where boygenius and Lana Del Rey are primed for battle. Both artists are nominated in the general field categories: boygenius is up for Record of the Year and Album of the Year, and Del Rey is up for Album of the Year and Song of the Year. I think it’ll shake out where the two will split the alternative Grammy Awards, with Del Rey taking the honors for Best Alternative Music Performance for “A&W.” The track likely won’t win Song of the Year thanks to competition from Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus and Billie Eilish. However, Del Rey’s latest work was incredibly well-received. Plus, this would be her first Grammy win in 11 nominations.

• Best Alternative Music Album

  Nominees
  Arctic Monkeys – The Car
  boygenius – The Record
  Lana Del Rey – Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
  Gorillaz – Cracker Island
  PJ Harvey – I Inside The Old Year Dying

  Prediction
  Best Alternative Music Album feels like it’s boygenius’ to lose. While The Record is also nominated for Album of the Year, the band faces steep competition from Jon Batiste, Miley Cyrus, Janelle Monáe, Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, SZA and the aforementioned Lana Del Rey. Since they’re a longshot for Album of the Year, I think they’ll win Best Alternative Music Album as a “consolation,” similar to my prediction for Best Rock Performance.

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