Frank Ocean, fun., Taylor Swift Who has Grammy golden touch?
Music Adeles sweep is so last year. We list our picks for the 55th annual awards.
When the Grammy Award nominations were announced in December, it was shocking to hear that the soundtrack for Ben Afflecks movie was snubbed.
After all, soundtracks for "The Descendants," "Midnight in Paris,""The Artist," "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," "Hugo" and even that Muppet movie were nominated. But the music for Afflecks "Argo" was left off the list.
At a glance
Musics big show
The 55th annual Grammy Awards will air on CBS (Channel 2) on Sunday, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m. The show is tape-delayed in our time zone.
That affront to the actor/director, and all human decency for that matter, is probably why Affleck cleaned up at the Golden Globes.
But somehow, we must move on and recognize the worthy nominees for the 55th annual Grammy Awards. (Heres a Spotify playlist for the Grammy nominees.)
The telecast itself should be entertaining, thanks to scheduled performances by Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Sting, The Black Keys, fun., the Lumineers, Mumford & Sons, Frank Ocean, Taylor Swift, Jack White, Elton John and Justin Timberlake. The star quotient remains high, with presenters including Beyonc, Jennifer Lopez, Prince, Carly Rae Jepsen, Katy Perry, Neil Patrick Harris, Keith Urban and Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.
Unless Kanye West shows up to assail the Recording Academy for freezing out Affleck, the awarding of gilded gramophones should be fairly straightforward. But in the absence of another Adele sweep, its more difficult to predict the winners than it was last year.
Here are my predictions for who should win, who will win, and who shouldnt, under any circumstances, take the gramophone home.
Record of the year (awarded to performer)
"Stronger (What Doesnt Kill You)" Kelly Clarkson
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"We Are Young" fun., featuring Janelle Mone
"Somebody That I Used To Know" Gotye featuring Kimbra
"Thinkin Bout You" Frank Ocean
"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" Taylor Swift
Will win Ocean might pull this out, as his feud with Chris Brown doesnt hurt. Plus, his bravery of being open about his sexual orientation should earn him votes. Oceans atmospheric, well-produced "Thinkin Bout You" conveys heartbreak much more convincingly than Gotye ever could. (Plus, Kimbra steals the song from Gotye.)
Should win Swifts single annoyed more people than it delighted. But I was of the latter opinion, who thought the coupling of her acoustic guitar and Max Martins Swedish production was inspired.
Shou! ldnt win "We Are Young" is a good song, but it was the wrong fun. song to be nominated. The title track of "Some Nights" was the most smartly written record of the entire year, with singer Nate Ruess operatic arias about existential loneliness teaming up with heavy percussion and Afrobeat to rousing effect.
Album of the year
"El Camino" The Black Keys
"Some Nights" fun.
"Babel" Mumford & Sons
"Channel Orange" Frank Ocean
"Blunderbuss" Jack White
Will win With the rock albums canceling each other out, and fun.s nomination on the basis of two good singles ("We Are Young" and the title track), the race is between Mumford & Sons and Ocean. Mumford & Sons is one of the few acts whose songs are aired on country, rock, alt-rock and bluegrass radio stations, and its difficult to find anyone who downright hates that quartet. The album is more of an accessible crowd-pleaser than Oceans challenging album and will beat out Ocean by a nose.
Should win "Blunderbuss" was one of the best rock albums of the year and was included on my Top 10 list, but Oceans R&B masterpiece was No. 1.
Shouldnt win "El Camino" and "Some Nights" were simply OK albums, with a few gems but overall not remarkable efforts.
Song of the year (awarded to the songwriter)
"The A Team" Ed Sheeran
"Adorn" Miguel Pi! mentel
"Call Me Maybe" Tavish Crowe, Carly Rae Jepsen, Josh Ramsay
"Stronger (What Doesnt Kill You)" Jrgen Elofsson, David Gamson, Greg Kurstin and Ali Tamposi
"We Are Young" Jack Antonoff, Jeff Bhasker, Andrew Dost and Nate Ruess
Will win fun.s stirring chorus, along with producer Jeff Bhaskers hip-hop-influenced wizardry at the soundboard, will ensure that fun. doesnt get shut out of the three major categories.
Should win I have a soft spot for "The A Team," a deceptively simple song about a young woman addicted to heroin with an unconventional melody that gets better each time you hear it. But you know what? Is there one person in the world who heard "Call Me Maybe" for the first time and didnt hum along? It might be underwhelming when you look at it lyrically, yet its still an irresistible tune though too many music snobs will pooh-pooh it.
Shouldnt win Clarkson had no hand in writing her hit "Stronger (What Doesnt Kill You)," and she needs to find a different shtick beyond girl-power anthems. Great singer, weak material.
Best new artist
Alabama! Shakesfun.
Hunter Hayes
The Lumineers
Frank Ocean
Will win fun. and Ocean dominated the major nominations (record, album and song), with Ocean scoring two nominations and fun. scoring three. By a score of 3-2, fun. wins.
Should win Ill flat-out say that Ocean should win any category hes nominated in. Even though Hayes wont win, can you think of any other artist besides Prince who ever wrote, produced and played all of the instruments on his debut record? Plus, the super-talented Hayes is the next big star coming out of Nashville (via Louisiana), with his single "Wanted" becoming the latest country song to cross over onto the pop charts.
Shouldnt win I like The Lumineers "Ho Hey" as much as anyone, but one song doesnt a Best New Artist make when the competition in the category is so strong.
Best dance/electronica album
"Wonderland" Steve Aoki
"Dont Think" The Chemical Brothers
"Title Goes Here" Deadmau5
"Fire & Ice" Kaskade
"Bangarang" Skrillex
Will win Skrillex dominated the dance and electronic categories in 2012, so he should do so again despite the rapid ascent of Deadmau5.
Should win Im biased because Kaskade is a University of Utah graduate who once owned a Salt Lake City record store, but local ties aside, I still think "Fire & Ice" is his greatest achievement yet. Being the first EDM artist to book and sell out the Staples Center (where the Grammy Awards will be held) in 2012 illustrates how good he is and how great he is becoming.
Shouldnt win In EDM, whats cool one month becomes pass the next. Skrillexs sound defined 2011, but already seemed played out in 2012.
Best rap song
"Daughters" Nas
"Lotus Flower Bomb" Wale, featuring Miguel
"Mercy" Kanye West, featuring Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz
"The Motto" Drake Featuring Lil Wayne
"N****s In Paris" Jay! -Z and Ka! nye West
"Young, Wild & Free" Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa, featuring Bruno Mars
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