2022 Grammys: Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Jon Batiste Eye Big Win, But What About Dark Horses?

After a months-long delay prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, the 64th Grammy Awards is taking place Sunday in Las Vegas instead of the scheduled January show in Los Angeles.

It looks like the 2022 Grammys could see a clash of the world's two darlings: Billie Eilish, who secured the ceremony's Big Four in 2020, and Olivia Rodrigo, a first-time nominee with an impressive list of 2021 music accomplishments heading to reap the Big Four herself this year.

However, this year's ceremony is far from just being a competition between Eilish and Rodrigo, as they are not even the leaders when it comes to the number of nominations.

Here is a quick look at some of the main Grammy favourites of 2022.

Big Four Standoff

The Big Four embraces the main categories such as Record, Song, and Album of the Year, along with Best New Artist. Rodrigo has garnered massive success after the release of her mega-hit "drivers license" and album "Sour". On Spotify, she boasts some 42,000,000 monthly listeners, with "drivers license" streamed more than 1 billion times - a number that made it the top streamed song in 2021, both in the United States and wordlwide.

Rodrigo is nominated in seven categories, and so is Billie Eilish. The Big Four winner of 2020, Eilish is Rodrig's main rival armed with her recent album "Happier Than Ever", along with the eponymous song, when it comes to Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year.

Billie Eilish arrives at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Sunday, March 14, 2021

© AP Photo / Jordan Strauss

With Eilish and Rodrigo appearing to be the bookmakers' favourites, according to BetUS, there are also other artists breathing down their necks. This year's Grammy nominations leader is multi-genre musician Jon Batiste, who competes in 11 categories, with Record and Album of the Year among them. The majority of his nods are for his album "We Are". A victory in six categories will tie Batista with figures like Michael Jackson and rock band Santana for the record.

Rodrigo is not the only first-time nominee this year: she is joined by the iconic Swedish band, ABBA, that, believe it or not, has never been nominated for a Grammy. The band will compete for Record of the Year with their single "I Still Have Faith in You" from their comeback album "Voyage". Many believe that the Swedes could be the surprise victor in the category, standing out from the relatively mainstream contestants like Eilish and Rodrigo. Additionaly, some observers think their Grammy victory is long overdue, given the history of how the Grammys ignored the band throughout their legendary career.

Among other nominees within the Big Four are pop veteran Justin Bieber, extravagant rapper Lil Nas X, audacious R&B artist Doja Cat, folk and pop mastodon Taylor Swift, and scandalous rapper Kanye West. The latter, despite his album "Donda" being nominated, has been banned from the show due to his concerning online behaviour.

Rap and R&B

Several prominent figures, like rappers Drake and The Weeknd, decided not to take part in the Grammys at all. In the rap and R&B categories, among the main contestants are Doja Cat, Lil Nas X, and Cardi B, with Kanye West clashing with veterans like Tyler, the Creator, Nas, and J Cole in the fight for Best Rap Album.

When it comes to Best R&B album, Jon Batiste is set to lock horns with H.E.R., whose eponymous album won in this category three years ago, along with Snoh Aalegra's "Temporary Highs in the Violet Skies", "Heaux Tales" by Jazmine Sullivan, and Leon Bridges' "Gold-Diggers Sound".

Cardi B and Meghan Thee Stallion have their own fight, competing for the title of the first woman to win best rap performance as a solo artist. Cardi is nominated with her song "Up", while Stallion is challenging her with "Thot S***".

New Faces & Production

With Rodrigo being a darling in Best New Artist, she is set to compete with The Kid Laroi (you might still be humming his and Bieber's bop "Stay"), Glass Animals (who gained in popularity after their viral hit "Heat Waves"), Billie Eilish's brother and producer FINNEAS, along with Arlo Parks, Saweetie, Baby Keem, Arooj Aftab, Jimmie Allen, and Japanese Breakfast.

When it comes to production, Jack Antonoff, Rogét Chahayed, Mike Elizondo, Hit-Boy, and Ricky Reed are crossing swords as nominees for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, with everyone having a Grammy-nominated album or track in their portfolios.

Hosts and Performers

With Trevor Noah returning as the Grammys host, the ceremony expects a handful of big names and nominees to hit the stage, among them Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, BTS, Chris Stapleton, Lil Nas X, Jon Batiste, H.E.R., and many others.

Joining Kanye West among those who are not to be expected to perform, the Foo Fighters, who are nominated for three Grammys this year, have called off their performance in the wake of the band's drummer Taylor Hawkins passing away earlier in March.

The show is due to take place on Sunday, 3 April, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. You can check out the full list of this year's Grammys nominations here.

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