What's the difference between Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the Grammys?
Every year, the Grammy Awards confuse viewers over categories with similar titles -- especially in an age where more music fans download or stream singles, instead of buying "records" or "albums." So here's Record of the Year vs. Song of the Year, explained:
Record of the Year goes to the performer, but recipients can include the singer, producers, engineers and other team members that created the recording.
Song of the Year, on the other hand, goes to the songwriter. The performers sometimes write or co-write their biggest hits, but sometimes the songwriter or writers are someone else entirely and you may not recognize their names.
Both Grammys are for a single song, while the Album of the Year prize goes to a collection of songs traditionally released on a CD or vinyl record. Album of the Year goes to the performer, producers and engineers of an entire album. For artists that use multiple producers for an album, that can mean lots of friends on stage for an acceptance speech.
Often artists nominated in one category will be nominated in the other, but not always; Jay-Z and Bruno Mars are the only artists up for all three major awards. Here's a look at the 2018 nominees for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year:
Album of the Year
Awaken, My Love! -- Childish Gambino
4:44 -- Jay-Z
DAMN. -- Kendrick Lamar
Melodrama -- Lorde
24K Magic -- Bruno Mars
Record of the Year
"Redbone" -- Childish Gambino
"Despacito" -- Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber
"The Story Of O.J." -- Jay-Z
"HUMBLE." -- Kendrick Lamar
"24K Magic" -- Bruno Mars
Song of the Year
"Despacito" -- Ramon Ayala, Justin Bieber, Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd, Erika Ender, Luis Fonsi & Marty James Garton, songwriters (Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber)
"4:44" -- Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters (Jay-Z)
"Issues" -- Benny Blanco, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Julia Michaels & Justin Drew Tranter, songwriters (Julia Michaels)
"1-800-273-8255" -- Alessia Caracciolo, Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, Arjun Ivatury & Khalid Robinson, songwriters (Logic Featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid)
"That's What I Like" -- Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip, songwriters (Bruno Mars)