Jill Scott & Kehlani Face Off In Crowded R&B Album Category at 2027 Grammys: Our Predictions
Categoria: Musica
A Philly v. Oakland showdown is brewing.
Por Billboard | 10/11/2026
At the 2026 Grammys, Leon Thomas emerged victorious in the best R&B album category, fending off fellow nominees GIVĒON ( Beloved ), Ledisi ( The Crown ), Teyana Taylor ( Escape Room ) and Coco Jones ( Why Not More? ). With a Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit (“Mutt”) and a near-perfect campaign under his belt, the award was practically Thomas’ to lose. But this year’s field is a lot more competitive. Related Why Ben Gibbard, Chris Young, Jill Scott, Ricardo Montaner & Bebe Rexha Went Indie: ‘My Creative Voice and My Vision Are Heard Better Now’ Kehlani’s Self-Titled Album: All 17 Tracks Ranked Masego Hits the Reset Button With Soul-Baring New ‘Fix Your Face’ Album: ‘I Was Mad at God for a Little Bit’ Three-time Grammy-winning R&B icon Jill Scott is the frontrunner for best R&B album at the 2027 Grammys. To Whom This May Concern , her first full-length offering in 11 years, debuted in the top 10 of seven different Billboard charts, spawned her first Adult R&B Airplay chart-topper in over a decade (“Pressha”) and gave way to an acclaimed headlining tour. Scott, who was inducted into Billboard’s R&B Hall of Fame earlier this year, will likely be nominated across the R&B field, with select album tracks having non-zero chances of showing up in the rap and American roots categories. She’s been incredibly visible this year — even reprising her iconic role of Sheila Jackson in Why Did I Get Married Again? — but, more importantly, Concern is one of the year’s best albums. In fact, Scott may well break into the general field with an album of the year nomination: At least one R&B album has made the lineup every year this decade except for 2025, and Scott fits the bill of a respected OG who delivered a project that met the moment with a career-redefining album. Kehlani, who won best R&B song and performance last year for her Hot 100 top 10 hit “Folded” (No. 6), is neck-and-neck with Scott for a nomination here. Her self-titled set reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Featuring icons like Brandy and Missy Elliott, the set also spawned the Usher-assisted hit “Shoulda Never,” which reached No. 10 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. The Oakland singer has re-established herself as a Grammy darling in recent years (she picked up three nods at the 2025 ceremony after a seven-year absence), and she’s also a frontrunner to win best melodic rap performance this year alongside Cardi B for “Safe.” PJ Morton is currently the male soloist with the most nominations in this category (four), and he’s poised to extend that lead with Saturday Night , the R&B side of his Juneteenth-released double album. Chris Brown could potentially become the male soloist with the second-most nods in this category if he makes the final lineup with Brown (The Chocolate Edition) . He w