The Grammy Awards are coming up again, and nominations have been released today. There have been some predictable choices (Adele, Foo Fighters, Lady Gaga) as well as some surprises (Bon Iver, Mumford & Sons, the Black Keys). Here are the nominations, as well as (in italics) our predictions. Who do you think will win? Were we right, or do you disagree? Let us know in the comments!
Album Of The Year:
21— Adele
Wasting Light— Foo Fighters
Born This Way— Lady Gaga
Doo-Wops & Hooligans — Bruno Mars
Loud — Rihanna
Foo Fighters are unlikely, as is Bruno Mars. Born This Way just wasn’t very good, despite a few great singles, and suffered from uneven production and terrible editing compared to Gaga’s last effort, the Fame Monster EP. We’re predicting a Grammy for Rihanna or, more likely, Adele, whose old-timey aesthetic might go over better with the people who still watch this stuff on TV and might actually remember the Northern Soul artists she’s ripping off paying homage to.
Record Of The Year:
“Rolling In The Deep” — Adele
“Holocene” — Bon Iver
“Grenade” — Bruno Mars
“The Cave” — Mumford & Sons
“Firework” — Katy Perry
If Adele doesn’t win Album of the Year, she’ll win this for “Rolling In The Deep.” Otherwise, probably “Firework,” or maybe a stab at authenticity by picking Bon Iver or Mumford & Sons (probably the latter).
Best New Artist:
The Band Perry
Bon Iver
J. Cole
Nicki Minaj
Skrillex
Nicki Minaj – she’s not nominated on any other big list, and while she might not have been a new artist this year (she started releasing music in 2007 and was signed to Young Money in 2009), neither was anyone else.
Song Of The Year:
“All Of The Lights” — Jeff Bhasker, Malik Jones, Warren Trotter & Kanye West, songwriters (Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie)
“The Cave” — Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, Marcus Mumford & Country Winston, songwriters (Mumford & Sons)
“Grenade” — Brody Brown, Claude Kelly, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Bruno Mars & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Bruno Mars)
“Holocene” — Justin Vernon, songwriter (Bon Iver)
“Rolling In The Deep” — Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth, songwriters (Adele)
This could go anywhere – except for “Grenade,” which didn’t get that much airplay, and “All Of The Lights,” because Grammy voters hate Kanye. Probably “Rolling In The Deep.” It’s a genuinely great pop song – something that doesn’t come around too often.
Best Pop Solo Performance
“Someone Like You” — Adele
“Yoü And I” — Lady Gaga
“Grenade” — Bruno Mars
“Firework” — Katy Perry
“Fuckin’ Perfect” — Pink
We’re going with “Yoü and I,” just because Lady Gaga is probably going to win something and this is a nice, easy category. Also, Grammy voters might not want to have to give an award to a song they’ll have to bleep on-air.
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:
“Body And Soul” — Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse
“Dearest” — The Black Keys
“Paradise” — Coldplay
“Pumped Up Kicks” — Foster The People
“Moves Like Jagger” — Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera
Amy Winehouse is dead – and nobody racks up awards like dead artists. She was also, despite her personal issues, one of the greatest voices of this generation. She’s a shoe-in to win this.
Best Dance Recording:
“Raise Your Weapon” — Deadmau5 & Greta Svabo Bech
“Barbra Streisand” — Duck Sauce
“Sunshine” — David Guetta & Avicii
“Call Your Girlfriend” — Robyn
“Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites” — Skrillex
“Save The World” — Swedish House Mafia
This is a tough one to pick. This year’s nomination features almost entirely house (or, in Skrillex’s case, house-dubstep-metal-pop-glitch) producer/DJs, plus Robyn. We’re going with Robyn – she’s been around for a while and hasn’t won a Grammy yet, despite releasing a torrent of absolutely brilliant singles like “With Every Heartbeat,” “Dancing On My Own,” “Indestructible,” and the nominated recording, “Call Your Girlfriend.” Plus, her live show is killer.
Best Rock Performance:
“Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall” — Coldplay
“Down By The Water” — The Decemberists
“Walk” — Foo Fighters
“The Cave” — Mumford & Sons
“Lotus Flower” — Radiohead
Foo Fighters – it’s not super likely they’ll win in other categories, and Wasting Light is a great album. Plus, as a member of Nirvana, Dave Grohl is a permanent fixture of the rock-n-roll aristocracy.
Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance:
“On The Backs Of Angels” — Dream Theater
“White Limo” — Foo Fighters
“Curl Of The Burl”— Mastodon
“Public Enemy No. 1” — Megadeth
“Blood In My Eyes”— Sum 41
If Foo Fighters don’t win anything else, they’ll take this. Otherwise, we’re picking Mastodon – it may seem like a long shot, but their only real metal competition, Dream Theater and Megadeth are both “classic” bands and Grammy voters may pick a newer act in order to seem more relevant.
Best Rock Album:
Rock ‘N’ Roll Party Honoring Les Paul— Jeff Beck
Wasting Light— Foo Fighters
Come Around Sundown— Kings Of Leon
I’m With You— Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Whole Love— Wilco
This is one which could go any one of five ways (well, four – Wilco are great, but unlikely to win this award). Les Paul, in many ways, is the father of modern guitar music, and Jeff Beck doing a tribute album seems like a formula for an automatic Grammy. Foo Fighters, Kings of Leon, and Red Hot Chili Peppers are all Grammy favorites, though, so it’s really difficult to pick. Oh well – we’ll go with Wasting Light to win, although if we had a ballot we’d have picked the Les Paul/Jeff Beck album.
Best Alternative Music Album:
Bon Iver— Bon Iver
Codes And Keys— Death Cab For Cutie
Torches— Foster The People
Circuital — My Morning Jacket
The King Of Limbs— Radiohead
Bon Iver to win. Codes And Keys is a good album, but not Death Cab’s best work, Radiohead has probably made a few enemies among the Grammy voters by basically declaring the traditional major-label business model obsolete, and while Foster the People had a great pop song, Bon Iver are more “authentic,” whatever that means.
Best Traditional R&B Performance:
“Sometimes I Cry” — Eric Benét
“Fool For You” — Cee Lo Green & Melanie Fiona
“Radio Message” — R. Kelly
“Good Man” — Raphael Saadiq
“Surrender” — Betty Wright & The Roots
Cee Lo Green & Melanie Fiona. Not just because we haven’t heard a couple of the other nominations, but because Cee Lo has more name recognition than R. Kelly and two absolutely huge hits (“Crazy” with Gnarls Barkley and “Fuck You” during his solo career) and, most importantly, a truly fantastic voice.
Best R&B Album:
F.A.M.E.— Chris Brown
Second Chance — El DeBarge
Love Letter — R. Kelly
Pieces Of Me— Ledisi
Kelly— Kelly Price
El DeBarge caused a raised eyebrow when we read the nomination, but this is probably going to R. Kelly – beyond the silliness, he’s an extremely talented singer. Plus, Jay-Z has let us know exactly how a lot of people in the music industry still feel about Chris Brown.
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration:
“Party” — Beyoncé & André 3000
“I’m On One” — DJ Khaled, Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne
“I Need A Doctor” — Dr. Dre, Eminem & Skylar Grey
“What’s My Name?” — Rihanna & Drake
“Motivation” — Kelly Rowland & Lil Wayne
“All Of The Lights” — Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie
This could go to “All Of The Lights” or “What’s My Name?” – either way, Rihanna wins. We’re going with “All Of The Lights,” because not only is it the better song, it’s got more artists nominated, and that means a few more lines in the gossip columns!
Best Rap Performance:
“Look At Me Now” — Chris Brown, Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes
“Otis” — Jay-Z & Kanye West
“The Show Goes On” — Lupe Fiasco
“Moment 4 Life” — Nicki Minaj & Drake
“Black And Yellow” — Wiz Khalifa
“Black And Yellow” was huge, but not particularly daring. It’s a party song – nothing wrong with that, but not likely to pick up a Grammy. Wiz Khalifa will just have to console himself with the millions and millions of dollars he made from it. Instead, we’re predicting Jay-Z and Kanye will take this category.
Best Country Solo Performance:
“Dirt Road Anthem” — Jason Aldean
“I’m Gonna Love You Through It” — Martina McBride
“Honey Bee” — Blake Shelton
“Mean” — Taylor Swift
“Mama’s Song” — Carrie Underwood
Taylor Swift sold a zillion albums (which she actually wrote herself), earned a place as America’s Sweetheart 2k11, and was snubbed by all the major categories. If she doesn’t win this, we’ll eat our cowboy boots.
Best Country Song:
“Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not” — Jim Collins & David Lee Murphy, songwriters (Thompson Square)
“God Gave Me You” — Dave Barnes, songwriter (Blake Shelton)
“Just Fishin'” — Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell & Ed Hill, songwriters (Trace Adkins)
“Mean” — Taylor Swift, songwriter (Taylor Swift)
“Threaten Me With Heaven” — Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Will Owsley & Dillon O’Brian, songwriters (Vince Gill)
“You And Tequila” — Matraca Berg & Deana Carter, songwriters (Kenny Chesney Featuring Grace Potter)
If Taylor Swift doesn’t win Best Country Solo Performance, she’ll win this – maybe both of them. Otherwise, we’re guessing “You And Tequila” wins it for Kenny Chesney.
Best Comedy Album:
Alpocalypse — Weird Al” Yankovic
Finest Hour — Patton Oswalt
Hilarious — Louis C.K.
Kathy Griffin: 50 & Not Pregnant — Kathy Griffin
Turtleneck & Chain — The Lonely Island
We’d dearly, dearly like Patton Oswalt or Louis C.K. to win this – the albums are fantastic, as is their live show. They’re so similar, though, that they’ll probably split the vote, and The Lonely Island will take this category.