There are five categories dedicated to R&B in the fields of R&B, rap and spoken word poetry at the 67th annual Grammy Awards. Here, we preview three of them — Best R&B Performance, Best R&B Song, and Best Traditional R&B Performance. We'll preview the other two — Best R&B album and Best Progressive R&B album — later this week.
Best R&B Performance
Although a version of the category has existed since the first Grammy ceremony in 1959, Best R&B Performance boasts a particularly tumultuous history. The award was given annually until 1968, when additional gender-separated categories were introduced. Females and males would compete in separate R&B performance categories until a major revision before the 2012 ceremony that combined the existing categories of Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and the best urban/alternative performance.
Since Best R&B Performance was optimized and relaunched in 2012, just three artists have won twice: Beyoncé (2015 and 2021), Bruno Mars (2018 and 2022) and Anderson .Paak (2020 and 2022). This year six artists have the opportunity to join this club, including the defending champion Coco Jones, Muni Long, Enter, Corinne Bailey Rae, Lalah Hathaway and HER
Earlier this year, Jones triumphed with her Bulletin board chart topper “ICU”, which spent four weeks atop Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (chart dated May 27, 2023). For the current Grammy cycle, she's in contention with a pair of tracks: her signature take on BJ the Chicago Kid's “Spend the Night” and her own “Here We Go (Uh Oh).” According to the 2025 Grammy Rules, an artist can only receive one Best R&B Performance nomination, so Jones won't be able to pull double duty here. Either way, her chances are strong. BJ is a seven-time nominee, while “Here We Go” became her second song to reach the top 10 on Adult R&B Airplay (No. 8).
Usher is another artist who will suffer from the “one nomination per artist” rule. A previous winner for “Climax” in 2013, he's back in contention with three songs: his guest appearance on Victoria Monét's “SOS (Sex On Sight”). Color Purple HER duet “Risk It All” and his Pheelz-assisted “Ruin”. Considering Monét's three Grammys at the 2023 ceremony and the top airplay streak of “Risk It All,” each of these two tracks are the A-Town icon's strongest shots yet. Likewise, HER could make a nod to either “Risk It All” or Lila Iké's “He Loves Us Both,” but the former is her best bet.
Corinne Bailey Rae (2012) and Lalah Hathaway (2014) were the first two women to win this category since the 2012 restructuring. Bailey Rae could earn a bid for “Fly Away” (with Eric Benét ), while Hathaway could earn a nod for “So in Love.” And then there was Muni Long. The 2023 winner of that category — for her hit “Hrs & Hrs” — is in contention with a live version of one of the year's biggest R&B crossover hits, “Made for Me,” which reached No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 .
Several artists could earn their first nerve in this category this year, including Tems (“Burning”), Leon Thomas (“Mutt”), Tinashe (“Nasty”), Ravyn Lenae (“One Wish”), Blxst (“Dancing With” the Devil”), October London (“She Keeps Calling”), Partynextdoor (“No Chill”) and Normani (“All Yours”).
Some past Grammy winners and nominees to watch out for: SZA (“Saturn”), NxWorries and Thundercat (“Keep Her”), Mary J. Blige and Fabolous (“Breathing”), Childish Gambino (“In the Night”), Chris Brown (“Residuals”), Chlöe and Halle (“Want Me”), Ledisi (“Good Life”), Lucky Daye (“HERicane”), PJ Morton (“Please Be Good”), Terrace Martin, Alex Isley and Robert Glasper (“I Left My Heart In Ladera”), Bryson Tiller (“Persuasion”), Marsha Ambrosius (“One Night Stand”) and Jeymes Samuel, D'Angelo and Jay-Z (“I Want You Forever”) .
Our fearless prediction
There is a possibility that the entire 2024 lineup will be repeated, but we predict: “Residuals” (Chris Brown), “SOS (Sex On Sight)” (Victoria Monét & Usher), “Saturn” (SZA), “Made for Me — Live on BET” (Muni Long) and “Keep Her” (NxWorries & Thundercat).
Best R&B Song
For the past five Grammy ceremonies, the nominations for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance haven't overlapped much. In fact, the 2022 ceremony is the only time this decade that three or more songs won nods in both categories. As a reminder, Best R&B Song goes to the songwriter, while Best R&B Performance goes to the Recording Artist.
Aside from the aforementioned tracks, here are a few more songs to look out for. Halle made a surprise nod with “Angel” last year and could do so again with the RAYE-penned “Because I Love You.” SZA triumphed here with “Snooze” last year, and both she (“Saturn”) and co-writer Leon Thomas (“Mutt”) are in contention this year. Beyoncé is the songwriter with the most awards (five) in this category and could earn her 10th nod here with the Dolly Parton-assisted “Tyrant.” It's worth noting that since Parton isn't a songwriter on “Tyrant,” she won't receive a nomination if the song makes it to the bottom five. Bruno Mars has won here twice before (2018 and 2022) and could earn a third nomination in this category thanks to Lucky Daye's chart-topper “That's You,” which he co-wrote with Daye and the six times Grammy D' Miley winner.
Since live versions are only eligible in performance categories, Muni Long argues here with “Ruined Me,” her latest single Revenge album. This song has already become her fifth consecutive Top 10 hit on Adult R&B Airplay and is gaining traction on social media. Like Long, Tinashe had an R&B crossover hit this year with “Nasty,” which could earn her the first Grammy nod of her career.
Some other names to look out for: Mavis Staples (“Worthy”), Brittany Howard (“I Don't”), Meshell Ndegeocello (“Love”), Sampha (“Only”) and Gary Clark Jr. & Stevie Wonder (” What about the children?”
Our fearless prediction
We predict: “Saturn” (SZA), “Because I Love You” (Halle), “That's You” (Lucky Daye), “Nasty” (Tinashe) and “Tyrant” (Beyoncé & Dolly Parton).
Best Traditional R&B Performance
Since Best Traditional R&B Performance — a category that honors recordings that follow classic R&B/soul sonic influences as opposed to more contemporary approaches to the genre — was first awarded in 1999, two artists have emerged as the all-time winners.
Beyoncé and Lalah Hathaway each have three wins in this category. While Queen Bey doesn't have a song to claim this year, Hathaway could pick up her fourth win if the Michael McDonald-assisted “No Lie” gets the nod. There are plenty of high-profile duets to watch here, including Eric Benét and Tamar Braxton (“Something We Can Make Love To”), Chlöe and Ty Dolla $ign (“Might As Well”), Clark Jr. & Wonder (“What About the Children”), Keyon Harrold and PJ Morton (“Beautiful Day”), Kamasi Washington and BJ The Chicago Kid (“Together”) and Louis York and Tamia (“Three Little Words”). The Benét-Braxton team-up got a lot of love in R&B circles, and the Chlöe-Ty connection underscores the persistence of traditional R&B among the younger generation of crooners.
Muni Long's name is sure to pop up all over R&B this cycle, and “Make Me Forget,” which became her first adult R&B Airplay topper in August, is her entry into that category. Last year's winners — PJ Morton and Susan Carol (“Good Morning”) — could return with solo songs of their own. Morton struggles with “I Found You”, while Carol enters “Karma”.
Some other names to watch out for: Brittany Howard (“I Don't”), Marsha Ambrosius (“Wet”), Jacob Collier, John Legend and Tori Kelly (“Bridge Over Troubled Water”), Kenyon Dixon (“Can I Have This Groove”), Meshell Ndegeocello (“Love”), Lucky Daye (“That's You”), NxWorries, Snoop Dogg & October London (“FromHere”) and Usher (“Please U”).
Our fearless prediction
Nothing Goes Here: “That's You” (Lucky Daye), “FromHere” (NxWorries, Snoop Dogg & October London), “Make Me Forget” (Muni Long), “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (Jacob Collier, John Legend & Tori Kelly) and “No Lie” (Lalah Hathaway & Michael McDonald)
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/2025-grammys-predictions-best-rb-song-performance-sza-coco-beyonce-victoria-usher-1235807781/
