Grammys 2023: Michael Buble, Kelly Clarkson & More Artists Who Are Vying for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

Michael Bublé, a four-time Grammy winner for best traditional pop vocal album, is in the running for another nomination in the category for his latest studio album, Higher. This would be Bublé’s ninth nomination in the category, a total surpassed only by Tony Bennett (17 nods) and Barbra Streisand (13 nods).

First-round voting closed on Sunday (Oct. 23). Nominations in this and 90 other categories will be announced on Nov. 15.

The Recording Academy introduced this category in 1991 as a way to honor the music that by that point had a hard time competing in the pop categories. The first winner was a single, Natalie Cole’s “Unforgettable,” a duet with her late father Nat King Cole, but all subsequent winners have been full-length albums.

Here’s the description of the category from the current Grammy rules and guidelines booklet: “This category is for performances of a type and style of song that cannot properly be intermingled with present forms of pop music. This includes older forms of traditional pop such as the Great American Songbook, created by the Broadway, Hollywood and Tin Pan Alley songwriter of the period between the 1920s and the end of World War II, as well as cabaret/musical theater-style songs and previous forms of contemporary pop. This would also include contemporary pop songs performed in a traditional pop style – the term ‘traditional’ being a reference, equally, to the style of the composition, vocal styling and the instrumental arrangement, without regard to the age of the material.”

A total of 78 albums are vying for nominations in this category this year. There will be five nominees (except in the event of a tie).

Here are 10 albums that are thought to be most likely to receive a nomination, listed in descending order of their perceived likelihood of being nominated — followed by a quick listing of eight more albums that could surprise us with a nomination.

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