Most years the spoken word category ranks pretty low in the races to watch.
In recent years the biggest drama has been whether Stephen Colbert would ruin the chances of Pete Seeger earning one last Grammy. (Yes, in 2014.) Might Val Kilmer pull off an upset over Betty White and Tina Fey? Nope, Betty White won the 2012 trophy.
This year, however, a different sort of drama may be the focus: A book by author and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson earned a nomination. In recent weeks, Tyson has been defending himself against multiple allegations of sexual harassment, and assault. As read by actor Courtney B. Vance, Tyson's book with Avis Lang, "Accessory to War," is on the slate. Tyson has denied the allegations.
Whether this will play into Grammy voters' decisions is an open question. Officially, Vance is the nominee for reading Tyson's work. Regardless, he'll face some Nobel Peace Prize-winning competition: Former President Jimmy Carter seems to have lived 94 scandal-free years, and got his ninth nomination in the category for his reading of "Faith: A Journey for All."
They'll compete against drummer and "The Late Show With Jimmy Fallon" bandleader Questlove and his reading of "Creative Quest"; comedic actress Tiffany Haddish's retelling of her "The Last Black Unicorn"; and David Sedaris' reading of his book "Calypso."
