This Sunday, February 12, the 54th Annual Grammy Awards will be held. Over the past few weeks many exciting details have been announced including a list of performers, presenters, and special award winners. Of the performers, already announced collaborations will come from Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson, Coldplay and Rihanna, and Glen Campbell with The Band Perry and Blake Shelton. In addition Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, Bruno Mars, and the Foo Fighters will take the stage. Very special performances will come from Adele, her first since undergoing vocal chord surgery, Paul McCartney, who is this year’s MusiCares Person Of The Year, and Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band. A special award will also be presented to Diana Ross, who has surprisingly never won a Grammy, where the will most likely be a tribute.
As far as the nominees go, I have a few predictions. For Album of the Year, I think this year, Adele’s 21 will come out victorious over the Foo Fighter’s Wasting Light, Lady Gaga’s Born This Way, Bruno Mars’ Doo-Wops & Hooligans, and Rihanna’s Loud. If anyone beats her, it will be the Foo Fighters, but I really think Adele’s going to win. I also think she’s going to win either Record of the Year or Song of the Year (most likely song) beating out Bon Iver’s “Holocene,” Bruno Mars’ “Grenade” and Mumford & Sons’ “The Cave” in both categories; Katy Perry’s “Firework” is up for Record of the Year and Kanye West’s “All Of The Lights” is nominated for Song of the Year. I think whichever award she doesn’t win will go to either “Grenade” or “The Cave,” most likely the former. This year’s Best New Artist seemingly would look to be in favor of Bon Iver, nominated for three of the four major awards, but Nicki Minaj could be the dark horse and walk away with it. My third place comes in the form of The Band Perry, all three beating out J. Cole and Skrillex.
For the Pop categories, which have been condensed to only four, I predict Adele’s “Someone Like You” will take Best Pop Solo Performance, Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse will win Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, and Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” will win Best Pop Vocal Album. I also predict a near-clean sweep for the Foo Fighters in the Rock Categories, where they’re up for Best Rock Performance, Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance, Best Rock Song, and Best Rock Album. There biggest completion comes from Mumford & Sons and Coldplay, the former likely winning whatever the Foo Fighters don’t. In addition, I think that Kanye West will walk away with the Rap category, where he is nominated for four out of four, both solo and with Jay-Z. Blake Shelton is my big Country winner this year, but Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson’s “Don’t You Wanna Stay” will likely win best Country Duo/Group Performance.
The Grammys are known for their many surprises, so be sure to tune in on Sunday at 8:00 p.m. on CBS where LL Cool J will host what will no doubt be an exciting show.
