Paul McCartney may be on for a sweep at the Grammy Awards as fans tip The Boys of Dungeon Lane to take home the major prizes. The Beatles and Wings member released his most recent album in May 2026 to rave reviews from fans and critics alike. McCartney could bag himself a few major awards with the album too, as fans suggest The Boys of Dungeon Lane is strong enough to grab an Album of the Year nomination.
Listeners took to the Paul McCartney subreddit and shared their thoughts on the album’s chances. One person wrote: “Prediction: The Boys of Dungeon Lane will garner an AOTY nomination and might even win it. It has been a thing of beauty to watch the building love and appreciation for Paul since the release of the Get Back documentary. It feels like it’s coming to a crescendo with the release of this new album, and the critical notices for it and fan reaction have been pronouncedly supportive and positive.
“This album is a grower, and I believe it’s going to continue to build support and is increasingly seen as a remarkable document, an exclamation point to one of the great careers ever assembled by a musician. It would not at all shock me to see Paul get an AOTY nomination for next year’s Grammys. And if he gets the nomination, I could see the goodwill and love mount enough for him to win it.”
One listener agreed, writing: “I think it fully deserves a nomination and to win. Not speaking out of emotion or sympathy. It is a good album. Filled with complex music beautiful stories and love songs some whimsical and some tormented. The Boys of Dungeon Lane has my vote. Yes there are plenty of good albums out there this year in many Genres. But 2026 belongs to Paul McCartney.”
Not all fans are convinced though as some point out it may be snubbed of an Album of the Year nomination. One fan replied: “I honestly doubt that. I do expect a Best Rock Album nomination, though. All top artists have their albums already released or coming out this year and the competition is through the roof for the 2027 Grammys. Also, the Stones have their album coming out in July this year, and their singles have blown up, so that’s some pretty tough competition even in the best rock album category.
“Hackney Diamonds won the best rock album in 2025, and they didn’t really have any competition that year, but there will be a Stones vs Paul competition this time. He’ll need to compete against the likes of Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Ella Langley, Morgan Wallen, Harry Styles, Madonna, The Rolling Stones, etc if he wants to bag the AOTY award, and I don’t see that happening.”
Others believe there are albums McCartney released in the past that should have bagged McCartney an Album of the Year win that fell well short of expectation. They wrote: “I think there’s a very real possibility this could happen. A lot of times, the most veteran act of the nominees ends up winning.
“That being said, there were a lot of times that I felt Paul had the potential to pull off an AOTY win and nomination (Memory Almost Full fresh off his AOTY-nominated Chaos and Creation, or Egypt Station, his first #1 album in decades), and I thought/hoped Now and Then was going to finally get the Beatles their first Record of the Year win (the only category in the Big 4 categories that they didn’t win), but that didn’t come into fruition.
“If there was more of a ‘Paul is overdue’ narrative being pushed (which eventually worked for artists like Beyonce, Robert Plant, Steely Dan, Bob Dylan), he could pull it off. If it was more known that he is (believe it or not) the only ex-Beatle who has not won Album of the Year outside of the Beatles (George and Ringo won for The Concert for Bangladesh, John won for Double Fantasy).
“He does benefit from the fact that the category has expanded the number of nominees (8 instead of 5), however, this hasn’t always resulted in a victory for vintage acts (Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga’s collaboration album lost to Jon Batiste, ABBA’s first new album in 40 years lost to Harry Styles).”
Discover more from Cult Following
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
