Will the Grammys on Sunday be smart and relevant like last year’s awards, or revert to their traditional ho-hum conservative ways?

The newly changing membership in the Recording Academy could affect the results.

More than 3,800 new Grammy voters have joined the academy this year. The demographics are: 50% are under age 40, 58% are people of color and 35% identify as women.

Moreover, the Recording Academy invited all members of the 28-year-old Latin Recording Academy — about 4,000 — to join. That could explain why 28% of the new members identify as Hispanic or Latin.

What does this influx of 25% new voters mean?

“Making sure the voting body is representative of music gives us a chance that we’re more relevant,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. told USA Today this month.

All 15,000 voters are eligible to weigh in on the Big Four categories — album, record and song of the year as well as best new artist.

Last year, the voters went with the much deserved if controversial choices of Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” for album of the year, Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” for record and song of the year, and Chappell Roan for best new artist.

Relevant, indeed.

Will the 68th annual Grammys go relevant and favor Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter and Kendrick Lamar or go safe and honor Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars once again?

So let’s go to the predictions for Sunday’s top Grammy Awards.

Album of the year

Bad Bunny, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos”; Justin Bieber, “Swag”; Sabrina Carpenter, “Man’s Best Friend”; Clipse, Pusha T & Malice, “Let God Sort Em Out”; Lady Gaga, “Mayhem”; Kendrick Lamar, “GNX”; Leon Thomas, “Mutt”; Tyler, the Creator, “Chromakopia.”

While there are three finalists from hip-hop (Clipse, Lamar and Tyler), surprisingly, there is no contender from country music. Nashville juggernaut Morgan Wallen declined to enter his blockbuster “I’m the Problem,” the biggest selling album released in the eligibility period (Aug. 31, 2024, to Aug. 30, 2025; hence Taylor Swift’s massive “Diary of a Showgirl” was not eligible). Artists and their record labels can submit nominations; Recording Academy officials do not choose the nominees.

The safe or conservative choice for top album would be Gaga’s “Mayhem,” an impressive return to form.

With “GNX,” the always acclaimed Lamar has momentum after last year’s five-Grammy prominence, while the endlessly clever Carpenter is similarly gaining steam with “Man’s Best Friend,” after collecting two trophies last year.

Bieber’s remarkable “Swag” deserves a shoutout, a mature R&B album that felt like a course correction for his dubious reputation.

But it’s going to be Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny’s year.

His album is ambitious, deep, stylistically diverse with multiple subgenres — and deserving. Add three other factors: 1) he’s enjoyed a surge in popularity (he is the most streamed artist on Spotify) and visibility (he hosted “Saturday Night Live” in October); 2) the significant addition of Latin and new voters, and 3) the diss from the White House and other conservatives over his Super Bowl halftime assignment might create a backlash in his favor.

All this suggests that Bad Bunny will be the first winner for an album exclusively in Spanish.

Record of the year

“DtMF,” Bad Bunny; “Manchild,” Sabrina Carpenter; “Anxiety,” Doechii; “Wildflower,” Billie Eilish; “Abracadabra,” Lady Gaga; “Luther,” Kendrick Lamar, featuring SZA; “The Subway,” Chappell Roan; “APT.,” Rosé & Bruno Mars.

All the nominees are worthy with this caveat: For my money, the record of the year didn’t even make the finals. “Golden” by Huntr/x from the Netflix animated sensation “KPop Demon Hunters” movie is unquestionably the record — or single — of the year. Catchy, clever, ubiquitous and marketed in a whole new way, “Golden” captivated generations of listeners and viewers, resulting in 18 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100.

This category isn’t about popularity but rather creativity. “Anxiety” certainly would fit the zeitgeist of the past year, so it’s easy to see why it would garner support. I’ll predict that “Luther” wins and deservedly so, as Lamar triumphs in this category for the second consecutive year.

Song of the year

“Abracadabra,” Lady Gaga; “Anxiety,” Doechii; “APT.,” Rosé & Bruno Mars; “DtMF,” Bad Bunny; “Golden,” Huntr/x; “Luther,” Kendrick Lamar, featuring SZA; “Manchild,” Sabrina Carpenter; “Wildflower,” Billie Eilish.

Remember, this is a songwriter’s prize. Here is where “Golden” will get its flowers, but don’t be surprised if Mars wins this trophy for a record fourth time.

Best new artist

Olivia Dean, Katseye, the Marías, Addison Rae, Sombr, Leon Thomas, Alex Warren, Lola Young.

Each of these artists — who will be showcased in a lengthy best new artist performance segment during the telecast — had a noteworthy breakthrough year. Some may end up being one-hit wonders, some may have enduring careers.

British songbird Dean seems destined for a long run. She is a strikingly soulful singer with an attractive pop/soul/jazz voice as well as a solid songwriter meditating about romance. Her album, “The Art of Loving,” was one of the best of 2025, and her No. 2 song, “Man I Need,” was all over the radio — and she performed on “SNL” — during the voting period.

Dean is the one that this Grammy needs.

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The Grammy Awards

When: 8 p.m. ET Sunday, Feb. 1

Where: CBS and Paramount+

Host: Trevor Noah

Performers include: Justin Bieber, Sabrina Carpenter, Clipse, Olivia Dean, Katseye, the Marías, Addison Rae, Sombr, Leon Thomas, Alex Warren, Pharrell Williams, Lola Young.

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