The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards are held in 2021, but the eligibility period for these kudos celebrating the best in music actually started on September 1, 2019, ending on August 31, 2020. So who will win Album of the Year?

This eligibility period is new for the Grammys. The recording academy moved up their calendar in 2020 in response to the Oscars, which moved their ceremony up to early February, which was when the Grammys usually aired. So the Grammys shifted their telecast to early January and adopted an eligibility calendar that ended a month earlier.

But that’s not the only change the Grammys have undergone in recent years. For the 61st annual event held in 2019, the academy expanded its top four general field categories (Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist) from five nominees to eight in part as a response to criticisms over a lack of diversity among the nominees and winners.

Has it worked? Since then, two women in a row have won Album of the Year (Kacey Musgraves for “Golden Hour” and Billie Eilish for “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?”) and Childish Gambino‘s “This is America” made history as the first hip-hop song to win Record and Song of the Year.

But the Grammys didn’t escape criticism even with those acclaimed victors. After a brief stint as president and CEO of the recording academy, Deborah Dugan was fired in 2020 and subsequently alleged misconduct within the academy, including questionable voting practices. The nominees in the top categories, including Album of the Year, aren’t decided strictly by a popular vote of academy members. Nomination review committees make the final decisions, and Dugan claimed conflicts of interests led to vote-rigging.

So where do the Grammys go from here? And who will take top honors? See some of the major contenders below. Check back often as new albums are announced and released.

UPDATED: August 28, 2020

Leading Contenders

“After Hours” by The Weeknd

Label: XO/Republic

Released: March 20, 2020

“Chromatica” by Lady Gaga

Label: Streamline/Interscope

Released: May 29, 2020

“Fetch the Bolt Cutters” by Fiona Apple

Label: Epic

Released: April 17, 2020

“Fine Line” by Harry Styles

Label: Columbia/Erskine

Released: December 13, 2019

“Folklore” by Taylor Swift

Label: Republic

Released: July 24, 2020

“Future Nostalgia” by Dua Lipa

Label: Warner Records

Released: March 27, 2020

“Gaslighter” by The Chicks

Label: Columbia

Released: July 17, 2020

“The Highwomen” by The Highwomen

Label: Elektra

Released: September 6, 2019

“Hollywood’s Bleeding” by Post Malone

Label: Republic

Released: September 6, 2019

“Jaime” by Brittany Howard

Label: ATO

Released: September 20, 2019

“Manic” by Halsey

Label: Capitol

Released: January 17, 2020

“Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial” by Roddy Ricch

Label: Atlantic/Bird Vision

Released: December 6, 2019

“The Slow Rush” by Tame Impala

Label: Modular/Island Australia/Interscope/Fiction/Caroline

Released: February 14, 2020

“3.15.20” by Childish Gambino

Label: RCA

Released: March 22, 2020

Strong Contenders

“Alicia” by Alicia Keys

Label: RCA

Released: May 15, 2020

“Bigger Love” by John Legend

Label: Columbia

Released: June 19, 2020

“Changes” by Justin Bieber

Label: Def Jam/RBMG

Released: February 14, 2020

“Dark Lane Demo Tapes” by Drake

Label: OVO/Republic

Released: May 1, 2020

“Everyday Life” by Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Released: November 22, 2019

“Eternal Atake” by Lil Uzi Vert

Label: Generation Now/Atlantic

Released: March 6, 2020

“Father of All Motherf*ckers” by Green Day

Label: Reprise

Released: February 7, 2020

“Ghosteen” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Label: Ghosteen/Bad Seed

Released: October 4, 2019

“High Road” by Kesha

Label: RCA/Kemosabe

Released: January 31, 2020

“Hot Pink” by Doja Cat

Label: Kemosabe/RCA

Released: November 7, 2019

“Hyperspace” by Beck

Label: Capitol

Released: November 22, 2019

“Magdalene” by FKA Twigs

Label: Young Turks

Released: November 8, 2019

“Map of the Soul: 7” by BTS

Label: Big Hit/iriver/Columbia/Virgin/Sony Music Germany

Released: February 21, 2020

“My Turn” by Lil Baby

Label: Capitol/Motown/Wolfpack/Quality Control

Released: February 28, 2020

“Never Will” by Ashley McBryde

Label: Warner Music Nashville

Released: April 3, 2020

“Notes on a Conditional Form” by The 1975

Label: Dirty Hit/Polydor

Released: May 22, 2020

“Rare” by Selena Gomez

Label: Interscope

Released: January 10, 2020

“Romance” by Camila Cabello

Label: Epic/Syco

Released: December 6, 2019

“Rough and Rowdy Ways” by Bob Dylan

Label: Columbia

Released: June 19, 2020

“RTJ4” by Run the Jewels

Label: Jewel Runners/BMG

Released: June 3, 2020

“Sound and Fury” by Sturgill Simpson

Label: Elektra

Released: September 27, 2019

“Suga” by Megan Thee Stallion

Label: 1501 Certified/300 (Warner)

Released: March 6, 2020

“What You See is What You Get” by Luke Combs

Label: River House Artists/Columbia Nashville

Released: November 8, 2019

“Wildcard” by Miranda Lambert

Label: RCA Nashville/Vanner

Released: November 1, 2019

“Women in Music Pt. III” by Haim

Label: Polydor/Vertigo Berlin/Columbia

Released: June 26, 2020

“YHLQMDLG” by Bad Bunny

Label: Rimas

Released: February 29, 2020

Possible Contenders

“Blame It on Baby” by DaBaby

Label: Interscope/Billion Dollar Baby

Released: April 17, 2020

“Born Here Live Here Die Here” by Luke Bryan

Label: Capitol Nashville/Row Crop

Released: August 7, 2020

“Circles” by Mac Miller

Label: Warner

Released: January 17, 2020

“Colores” by J Balvin

Label: Universal Latin

Released: March 19, 2020

“Gigaton” by Pearl Jam

Label: Monkeywrench/Republic

Released: March 27, 2020

“Heartache Medication” by Jon Pardi

Label: Capitol Nashville

Released: September 27, 2019

“Heartbreak Weather” by Niall Horan

Label: Neon Haze/Capitol/SBK

Released: March 13, 2020

“Jesus is King” by Kanye West

Label: GOOD/Def Jam

Released: October 25, 2019

“Legends Never Die” by Juice WRLD

Label: Grade A/Interscope

Released: July 10, 2020

“Music to Be Murdered By” by Eminem

Label: Shady/Aftermath/Interscope

Released: January 17, 2020

“The New Abnormal” by The Strokes

Label: Cult/RCA

Released: April 10, 2020

“Nightfall” by Little Big Town

Label: Capitol Nashville

Released: January 17, 2020

“Ocean” by Lady A

Label: BMLG

Released: November 15, 2019

“Over It” by Summer Walker

Label: LoveRenaissance/Interscope

Released: October 4, 2019

“Pray 4 Love” by Rod Wave

Label: Alamo Records

Released: April 3, 2020

“Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon” by Pop Smoke

Label: Victor Victor/Republic

Released: July 3, 2020

“Smile” by Katy Perry

Label: Capitol

Released: August 28, 2020

“Southside” by Sam Hunt

Label: MCA Nashville

Released: April 3, 2020

“That’s How Rumors Get Started” by Margo Price

Label: Loma Vista Recordings

Released: July 10, 2020

Untitled by Sam Smith

Label: Capitol

Released: 2020

“Your Life is a Record” by Brandy Clark

Label: Warner

Released: March 6, 2020