Who's Canada's Best Hope at the 2020 Grammys?
We checked out the latest Vegas betting odds to find out.
Image via Getty/Alexandra Milani
By my math, a grand total of eight Canadian artists were nominated for Grammy Awards in 2020. And while some are already mainstays on the Grammy circuit—looking at you, Drake and Bublé—the 62nd annual Grammy Awards will see up-and-coming Canuck artists like Jessie Reyez (receiving her first-ever nomination) and Daniel Caesar (defending his 2019 Best R&B Performance title) duking it out for Grammy glory with heavy faves like Lizzo, Billie Eilish, and Lil Nas X. And regardless of whether it’s their first time or Drake’s 44th, it’s always an honour just to be nominated—even if, let’s be real, the voters get these things wrong way more often than they get them right.
Still, winning a Grammy means something dammit. So which Canadians have the best shot Sunday night? We’ve handicapped the major races using the latest betting odds via Gold Derby.
Drake
Best Rap Song: +450
Best R&B Song: +450
Drake didn’t release a solo album last year, yet still managed to pick up two Grammy nods anyway: one for Best Rap Song (with Rick Ross for “Gold Roses”), the other for Best R&B Song. And even though it may seem like two shots to win is better than one, the 6ix God is a major longshot for both, so don’t expect to be serving chips with the dip at your Grammy party. Don’t blame the Drake curse though; dude’s already won four Grammys. Still, going by the odds, mentally, he should already be on next year.
Daniel Caesar
Best R&B Performance: +450
Marking the fourth career Grammy nomination for Caesar, the Ontario-born artist went from winning a trophy alongside H.E.R. to competing with, well, her for this year’s Best R&B Performance honours. And while things are certainly looking good for a repeat, it likely won’t be for Caesar, who’s sitting a distant fourth behind H.E.R., Lizzo, and Anderson .Paak in the latest odds. At this point, betting on “Love Again” is about as wise an investment as going to Ja Rule for tax prep advice.
Jessie Reyez
Best Urban Contemporary Album: +390
Easily one of Canadian music’s rising stars, the Toronto-born Reyez followed up a Juno for Best R&B/Soul Recording for her 2018 EP Being Human in Public with her first-ever Grammy nomination—and she’s currently pulled about even with Lizzo’s Cuz I Love You for Best Urban Contemporary Album. With fellow Grammy nominees like Billie Eilish in her corner, plus the potential for voters to decide to reward Lizzo’s breakout year in any of the seven(!) other categories she’s nominated in, this one feels like a definite possibility for Canada to steal a W. Plus, if there’s anything 2019 taught us, it’s to stop sleeping on Reyez.
Shawn Mendes
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: +400
Despite becoming one of 2019’s definitive songs of summer (thanks, Obama), “Senorita” is well behind two other fellow summer contenders here: “Old Town Road” and Post Malone and Swae Lee’s “Sunflower.” And regardless of what you think of Lil Nas X deserving an Album of the Year nod, this category feels like his to lose. Which means Mendes and Camila Cabello are just going to have to settle for besting the Georgia rapper and Billy Ray for the (slightly less coveted) title of 2019’s Most Streamed Song on Spotify, unless they can somehow manage to pull off yet another upset.
Michael Bublé
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: +340
Some things in life are inevitable: death, taxes, and Canada’s preeminent crooner receiving a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. (He’s already been nominated in the category eight times—and won four of them.) He’s basically the Meryl Streep of the Grammys at this point, is what I’m trying to say. Despite some big-name competition this year (John Legend, Elvis Costello, Barbra-freakin’-Streisand), the smart money is still—as always—on Bublé.