Steve Lacy’s “oh yeah?” (L-M/RCA), which saw a massive streaming boost from its inclusion on the Spider-Man: Brand New Day soundtrack; 6LACK’s Love is the New Gangsta (LVRN/Interscope); Anderson .Paak’s “Can’t Get Enough” (Capitol); and Beyoncé’s surprise release “MORNING DEW (DONK)” (Parkwood/Columbia) helped R&B thrive throughout the year. So did Kehlani, who delivered another banger of an album with her self-titled Atlantic set, further enhanced by contributions from fellow Grammy winners Leon Thomas, Cardi B, Clipse, Missy Elliott, USHER, Lil Wayne, Brandy, Lil Jon and T-Pain.

Best R&B Album

Needless to say, this category is going to be stacked. In addition to Kehlani and 6LACK’s Love is the New Gangsta, Masego’s Fix Your Face (Capitol), Ari Lennox’s Vacancy (Dreamville/Interscope), Ella Mai’s Do You Still Love Me? (10 Summers/Interscope), Chloe and Timbaland’s Resurrection (Columbia), TEMS’ Love Is a Kingdom (Since ’93/RCA) and Summer Walker’s Finally Over It (LVRN/Interscope) painted the R&B landscape with vivid storytelling and smooth, soulful production.

We also saw Before the World Blows: The Abi and Alan Experiment (Control Freaq/Young) from Erykah Badu and producer The Alchemist. It’s the neo-soul singer’s first album in more than a decade and first since departing Motown. Guest vocals from Lacy, DRAM, Thundercat, Westside Gunn and Earl Sweatshirt give the record depth while illustrating Badu’s penchant for hazy, psychedelia-tinged production and spoken-word poetry.

Thundercat’s Distracted (Brainfeeder) features a delectable mix of players ranging from Tame Impala and A$AP Rocky to Beck and Willow. He even managed to get a posthumous verse from Mac Miller cleared by the Miller estate, a nod to his close friendship with the late artist.

Best Progressive R&B Album

Leon Thomas’ PHOLKS (EZMNY/Motown) is high on the list of contenders in this competitive category. The seven-track offering blends contemporary R&B and soul with ’70s–’80s funk and psychedelic rock, showing off Thomas’ range in the process. THE-DREAM’s LOVE/HATE IT (Republic), Daniel Caesar’s Son of Spergy (Republic), 6LACK’s Love is the New Gangsta and Halle’s love?…or something like it (Columbia) are also in the running.

Best R&B Song

Bruno Mars is a likely shoo-in here. His single “Dance With Me” (Atlantic) arrived in February as part of The Romantic album but only recently got a music video, with KAROL G co-starring. Still, it’s another Mars special that will probably net him some more hardware for his collection.

6LACK’s “All That Matters” f/Leon Thomas and AZ Chike, Lennox’s “Soft Girl Era,” Coco Jones’ “Love Me Through” (Def Jam), FRIDAYY’s “Death Do Us Part” f/Mariah the Scientist (Def Jam), Leon Bridges’ “Talk It Over” (Columbia) and Justin Bieber’s “Petting Zoo” (Def Jam) also feel like safe bets. But with so many high-quality singles released during the eligibility period, this category is tough to call.

Best Traditional R&B Performance

Another loaded category. Jones’ “Luva Girl,” FLO’s “I Can’t Be High Around You Anymore” (Republic), THE-DREAM’s “Bring That Body,” Walker’s “1-800-Heartbreak,” Mai’s “100,” Bruno Mars’ “Dance With Me” and Miles Caton’s “Don’t Hate Me” (Columbia) all have strong shots at walking away with the gilded gramophone.

Best R&B Collaboration or Duo/Group Performance

This category, which appears for the first time since 2011, has some enticing choices too. Teyana Taylor delivered “Bed of Roses” f/Wale (Def Jam), Jessie Reyez gave us “Ain’t U Tired” f/Muni Long (Island), Bieber pumped out “I Think You’re Special” f/TEMS (Def Jam) and newcomer Ebony Riley (Riley Montana Inc./Interscope) teamed up with Skilla Baby for “You Better Know.” Other selections include Chloe and Timbaland’s “Talking Dirty,” Leon Bridges’ “All Day All Night” f/Lydia Kitto, THE-DREAM’s “Tampa” f/USHER and Halle’s “Know About Me” f/GloRilla (Columbia).

Best R&B Solo Performance

Following the reinstatement of Collaboration or Duo/Group Performance, this category has been renamed—and it’s bursting at the seams. Mars’ “Why You Wanna Fight?,” Masego’s “Heaven,” Thomas’ “Just How You Are,” Kehlani’s “Out the Window,” Lennox’s “Soft Girl Era,” Mai’s “Might Just” and Walker’s “Finally Over It” have all the right ingredients to earn nominations. Toss in Riley’s “Only You,” Imani Imani’s “On Demand” (pgLang/Interscope) and Jordan Ward’s “Themselves” and you’ve got some healthy competition from the new class.