Here Are Paul McCartney’s Likely Grammy Competitors for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

Paul McCartney may be headed for his 20th career win at the 2027 Grammy Awards, thanks to his well-received album The Boys of Dungeon Lane , but the category may surprise you — best traditional pop vocal album.

The pop legend first won in that category in 2013 with Kisses on the Bottom , which consisted primarily of covers of vintage traditional pop and jazz songs, such as “It’s Only a Paper Moon” and “The Glory of Love.” By contrast, McCartney wrote or co-wrote (with Andrew Watt) all of the songs on his current album.

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Elvis Costello & the Imposters’ Look Now won in 2020, followed by James Taylor’s American Standard the following year.

Bruce Springsteen’s Only the Strong Survive was nominated in 2024, followed by Elton John & Brandi Carlile’s Who Believes in Angels? last year. (See below for the official description of the category drawn from the 69th Grammy Rules & Guidelines handbook.) Albums by current pop/rock artists that were entered in this category include Charlie Puth ’s Whatever’s Clever! and Role Model ’s Chuck Timely & the Hourglass.

A total of 111 albums were entered in this category this year, vying for just five or six slots on the final ballot.

By way of comparison, there are 122 entries for best pop vocal album and 213 entries for best rock album.

Barry Manilow , who has received five nominations in the category, is likely to return with What a Time .

Manilow has been in the news frequently in the past year due to his serious health challenges.

Josh Groban , a three-time nominee in the category, is also likely to return thanks to Cinematic , a collection of film songs.

Four albums by artists who have been nominated twice in the category are on the entry list: Sarah McLachlan ’s Better Broken , Pentatonix ’s Christmas in the City , Carly Simon ’s Comes in Waves and Rufus Wainwright ’s I’m a Stranger Here Myself – Wainwright Does Weill , a live album recorded with Pacific Jazz Orchestra.

The latter album includes such Kurt Weill classics as “September Song” and “Mack the Knife.” Christina Aguilera is entered with Christmas in Paris (Live From the Eiffel Tower ).

The versatile Aguilera has been nominated twice for best pop vocal album and twice for best Latin pop album.