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2017’s Adele Vs Beyonce Faceoff Is Already Forming, Say Grammys Insiders

By Dustin Kemp
Published on: 18:38 PST, May 24, 2016

We’re not even midway through 2016 yet, but Chris Willman, a writer for Billboard and a decorated pop music guru, is already calling the 2017 Grammys as a standoff between Beyonce and Adele.

“It’s already easy to foresee a showdown between two clear single-monikered front-runners, both of whom happen to be on Columbia Records in the U.S. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s Adele vs Beyonce,” Willman writes in his analysis.

Willman is a longtime member of the pop music analysis scene, and his views on the music industry are very respected, but he talked to several of the actual Grammys voters to reinforce his “Adele vs Beyonce” stance.

“I would vote for Beyonce’s album, myself,” said the first interviewee, an unidentified member of the Grammys’ board of governors.

“For someone who’s not exposed herself much, it seems this one is opening up the curtain for her emotionally, because she always seemed to be so protective, and I appreciate that. I don’t feel Adele pushed as much, or maybe we’re just used to having her journal open. She sold such a huge amount of records, but I’m more excited about what she’s going to do on her next record than this one.”

The board member is not wrong that Beyonce’s latest album, Lemonade, was extremely personal, a point raised in virtually every in-depth review of the album on the internet.

[DISCLAIMER: THE VIDEO BELOW CONTAINS LANGUAGE THAT MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO SOME READERS]

He was also right that Adele did not exactly wander into new musical territory on 25, her latest album, as many critics agreed that the album was a predictable continuation of the content from Adele’s 2011 effort, 21.

Gold Derby points out that Beyonce is already the most nominated woman in Grammys history, so it is apparent that the Grammys committee does not hold any grudges against her.

Besides, Willman writes, Adele won big last time she produced an album, while none of Beyonce’s previous works have been recognized in the same way, a fact that could hurt Adele’s chances of coming out on top.

A source from Columbia Records’ Artists and Repertoire department, who also gets to vote for Grammys winners, disagreed and said that Adele seemed like a more likely victor than Beyonce.

“I feel like [Adele] will get some of the votes from other genres like classical and folk. Honestly, it could go either way, as Beyonce would get the votes from the R&B and rap genre voters. It’s going to be a tight race.”

Willman admits that Adele can be seen as a more Grammy-friendly artist than Beyonce.

“[Adele] continues to be the heroine of the ‘cut it out with the choreography and just sing’ crowd, which intersects the Grammy voter crowd to a huge degree,” Willman says.

He goes on that Beyonce’s Lemonade is very new-wave and experimental, more so than Adele’s recent work, alienating a large portion of older voters.

“Older or more conservative voters still favor singular singer/songwriters as the true auteurs of music, and won’t quickly give up their bias against material with as many co-writers and producers as Lemonade.“

He finishes that Adele’s 25 has sold many more copies than Lemonade has or probably ever will. Do numbers lie in this case?

Mitchell Cohen, a former Columbia executive, gave his prediction that Adele will clean up with “Hello,” but Lemonade will overcome opposition and take home album of the year.

“My hunch is Adele makes a series of walks to the stage for ‘Hello’ — Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Vocal — but Lemonade takes the last prize. Beyonce’s never won Album of the Year, and 25, which was a lock until a few weeks ago, feels to me more like a Success than an Event.”

Of course, Willman adds, there are four months left during which newly released music is eligible for the 2017 Grammys. During that time, there are several critically acclaimed artists, including Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen, Beck, U2, Paul Simon, and Alicia Keyes, who are slated to come out with albums. One of those albums may surprise us and threaten Adele and Beyonce’s joint domination of the 2017 Grammys, but major industry figures seem to doubt it.

Now, where’s that Beyonce-Adele duet we were promised?

[Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS]

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