2012 Grammy Predictions!

Hey everyone!

It's that time of year again, The Grammys! The awards show where anything can happen, including have ODB jump on stage after Shawn Colvin won an award back in 1998, Eminem and Elton John performing together in 2001 amid a firestorm of controversy, and Esperanza Spalding shocking everyone by taking home Best New Artist at last year's ceremony. This year's Grammys promises to be an exciting one, as we'll see if Adele will be crowned the queen of the night after receiving 6 Grammy nominations this year. Today, I'm going to run down the major fields and give you my take as to who will take home the Gramophone come Sunday night. And without further ado, here are my predictions:

Album of The Year

Adele - 21
Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
Lady Gaga - Born This Way
Bruno Mars - Doo Wops and Hooligans
Rihanna - Loud


This one's a no brainer, It's going to be Adele. No other artist on this list has had a better year than Adele. "21" has sold 6.4 million copies to date, 17 million sold worldwide, three #1 hits on the Hot 100 chart, sold out concerts across the globe, no other artist on this list has much of a commercial and crossover appeal than Adele has. This one's all on Adele. Foo Fighters I don't see being much of a threat, but they'll clean up nicely in the Rock categories, Lady Gaga might take home one or two in the Pop categories, but the album's discount to 99 cents on the Amazon MP3 store hurt this album's chances significantly of taking home the award. Bruno Mars and Rihanna will be contenders in the other categories, just not in this one.

Record of The Year


Adele - Rolling In The Deep
Bon Iver - Holocene
Bruno Mars - Grenade
Mumford & Sons - The Cave
Katy Perry - Firework


Do you even need to ask? Adele takes this award in a landslide. "Rolling In The Deep" was a huge smash this year, spending 7 weeks at #1 on the Hot 100 singles chart and becoming her huge, defining hit. Bon Iver is the major surprise in his category, but I don't see him taking home the award for this category, but is definitely a contender for Best New Artist, Bruno Mars made a terrific song with "Grenade", but it's not worthy to take home the gold in this category, but might pose a challenge in some of the other categories it's nominated in. Mumford & Sons is really the only thing standing in Adele's way here, with a marvelous song in "The Cave", and Katy Perry doing a fantastic job as well with "Firework", but Adele has this thing locked away.


Song of The Year


Kanye West - All of The Lights
Mumford & Sons - The Cave
Bruno Mars - Grenade
Bon Iver - Holocene
Adele - Rolling In The Deep


Adele will perform a three category sweep of the major categories culminating with this one. "Rolling In The Deep" was one of those songs that only comes around once in awhile and totally defined what was on commercial radio the past year. Kanye West had a great song in "All of The Lights" that should do well in the Rap categories, but doesn't have enough oomph to get the award here. Mumford, Bruno, and Bon will give it their best shot, but ultimately it's Adele's award to win here.


Best New Artist


Bon Iver
Nicki Minaj
J. Cole
The Band Perry
Skrillex


This one's a tricky one to predict here. Bon Iver seems to be the clear favorite here, but I'm going to take a gamble and go with Nicki Minaj on this one. Out of all the nominees, she seems to be the one that was the most visible and most commercially successful of the 5 nominees this year. J. Cole had a great first year, but I don't see him taking the award in this category. The Band Perry had a terrific debut last year, but I don't seem them fairing too well in this one. Skrillex I see being as sort of a dark horse in this one, sort of like last year with Esperanza Spalding, so I would keep an eye on him.


Best Rock Song


Mumford & Sons - The Cave
The Decemberists - Down By The Water
Coldplay - Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall
Radiohead - Lotus Flower
Foo Fighters - Walk


Another tough category to pin down here. However, I strongly feel that Foo Fighters will be able to pull away with the award here. Traditionally in the past, almost every award that Foo Fighters have been nominated in, they go on to win and this one is not that different here. Mumford & Sons could pose a challenge with "The Cave", and The Decemberists "Down By The Water" was a great song, but not enough merit to draw them a Grammy here. Coldplay could have a chance with "Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall", but it will ultimately fall short. Radiohead will do well in the Alternative categories, but it won't pull away with the Grammy on this one.


Best Rock Album


Jeff Beck - Rock N Roll Party Honoring Les Paul
Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown
Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You
Wilco - The Whole Love


This category is a very diverse one, but the only one that stands out here is Foo Fighters yet again. "Wasting Light" was one of the only rock albums in the past year that was most popular in regards of album sales and critical acclaim, something which doesn't matter to Grammy voters as they are looking for "artistic merit" when placing their votes. Kings of Leon made a terrific album with "Come Around Sundown", but it doesn't have enough thunderpower to take it home. Red Hot Chili Peppers returned big last year with "I'm With You", but it was released with too short of a window to make it into consideration for a win here. Wilco made a great effort with "The Whole Love", but it doesn't have enough to make an impression on the Grammy voters here.


Best Alternative Music Album


Bon Iver - Bon Iver
Death Cab For Cutie - Codes and Keys
Foster The People - Torches
My Morning Jacket - Circuital
Radiohead - The King of Limbs


An extremely diverse and talented group of folks here vying for the Best Alternative Music Album category. Looking at this list, the strongest nominee who I think has a chance to win is Foster The People. I'm shocked that they didn't get a nod for Best New Artist (If they were nominated in that category, they would definitely win), but they had an amazing year with "Pumped Up Kicks" dominating both pop and alternative radio and becoming a strong act to watch out for in the years to come. Bon Iver and Death Cab For Cutie both have an equal shot with their albums, and pose the greatest threat to Foster The People. My Morning Jacket has the littlest chance of winning among all the nominees here with "Circuital", but Radiohead could be the dark horse here with their "The King of Limbs" album.


And there you have it, my list of predictions for this year's Grammy Awards ceremony! Feel free to leave your comments here on the blog with your predictions as to who you might think will take home the hardware! The Grammys will be held this Sunday at 8PM on CBS and don't forget to 'Like' me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter as I'll be doing my annual wire-to-wire coverage so that you don't miss a single beat of Grammy coverage!