It's that time of year again, The Grammys! With this year's ceremony looming closer and closer I thought it would be a good idea to run down a list of the major nominees and give you my take as to who will take home the most golden gramophones on Sunday night. Here are my predictions of the nominees in the four major categories along with some of the rock categories:
Album of the Year
The Black Keys - El Camino
fun. - Some Nights
Mumford & Sons - Babel
Frank Ocean - Channel Orange
Jack White - Blunderbuss
This is a pretty diverse field this year with most of the major genres being represented (indie rock, folk, hip-hop) and I see this award going to Mumford & Sons this year. While fun. is definitely the clear favorite going into this year's ceremony, I think Mumford has the edge and critical acclaim to set it apart from the others this year and the new indie-folk revival will take full circle this year, much like it did 2 years ago when Arcade Fire won in this category for "The Suburbs". The Black Keys could pose a threat in the form of a wildcard, and Frank Ocean was the critical darling going into the ceremony, but Mumford & Sons has what it takes and will go home with the top prize.
Record of the Year
The Black Keys - Lonely Boy
Kelly Clarkson - Stronger
fun. f/ Janelle Monae - We Are Young
Gotye f/ Kimbra - Somebody That I Used To Know
Frank Ocean - Thinking About You
Taylor Swift - We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
With 6 nominees in this year's Record of the Year instead of the usual 5 due to a tie, this year's Record of The Year award sets up an interesting battle between two of the best selling songs in the past year with fun. and Gotye. While fun. is the clear runaway runner here, I'm going to give this award to Gotye this year, mainly because of the song's ability to mix indie and alternative genres into something that is user accessible and was virtually inescapable this year. While Taylor Swift has the catchiness factor, it doesn't have enough traction to win this award, and The Black Keys and Kelly Clarkson are lacking behind here, so this one belongs to Gotye.
Song of the Year
Ed Sheeran - The A Team
Miguel - Adorn
Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe
Kelly Clarkson - Stronger
fun. f/ Janelle Monae - We Are Young
This category is a tad bit tricky to predict, but I'm going to go with a dark horse this year and predict that Carly Rae Jepsen will win the Song of the Year prize. While pop artists don't usually perform well here, Carly Rae was basically heard everywhere on radio and was parodied numerous times on YouTube and Saturday Night Live. Ed Sheeran and Miguel definitely have the critical acclaim thing going for them and that's all well and good, but in the end it's all about the quality of the song written and which team did a better job of writing it, and this year it goes to the team behind "Call Me Maybe".
Best New Artist
Alabama Shakes
fun.
Hunter Hayes
The Lumineers
Frank Ocean
With this year's Best New Artist category, it's a predominantly indie influenced crowd, and I think that factor alone bodes well for those nominees within their respective genre. Out of this year's crop, I have to say fun. will take home the prize. fun. was inescapable on both pop and alternative radio this year with "We Are Young" and "Some Nights" dominating, and Alabama Shakes, The Lumineers, and Frank Ocean are coming into their own as musicians, but fun. is the group to watch out for going forward and this is why I think they'll take home the prize.
Best Rock Performance
Alabama Shakes - Hold On
The Black Keys - Lonely Boy
Coldplay - Charlie Brown
Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait
Bruce Springsteen - We Take Care Of Our Own
This year's Best Rock Performance category has a mix of older, seasoned veterans and younger, dynamic talent that shows the broad range of bands within the rock genre today. With this category cutting it close, I'm going to go with The Black Keys on this one. They've been knocking on the door for the past 2 years now with incredible albums in "Brothers" and "El Camino" that are both equal in terms of musicality and critical impact. While Coldplay and Mumford & Sons both had terrific tracks, The Black Keys stands far and above the heap of them right here.
Best Rock Song
Jack White - Freedom At 21
Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait
The Black Keys - Lonely Boy
Muse - Madness
Bruce Springsteen - We Take Care Of Our Own
This category is a tough category to predict, as the best of the best are represented here. With a legendary act like Bruce Springsteen expected to be the clear favorite here, I'm going to take a gamble and predict that Mumford & Sons will take home the trophy in this category. The song was a breath of fresh air when it came out last year, and Babel cemented their status as the leaders of the new folk movement that is rampant today. With that being said, the other songs definitely deserve a tip of the cap but Mumford are the clear winners in this category.
Best Rock Album
The Black Keys - El Camino
Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto
Muse - The 2nd Law
Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball
Jack White - Blunderbuss
The nominees in this category are a virtual carbon copy of the nominees from the Best Rock Song category, and while Mumford & Sons did have a great all-around album, the Gramophone in this category belongs to The Black Keys. While the album was actually released in December 2011, it was released after the eligibility deadline last year and wasn't nominated. Bruce Sprinsgteen and Coldplay both put out exquisite releases, and Jack White has started to come into his own as a solo artist, but none could match the sheer impact that The Black Keys have had in the past year and that's why they'll take home the gold in this one.
Who do you think will win big at the Grammys this year? Let me know in the comments section directly below or let me know on Facebook and Twitter and don't forget to catch the 55th Annual Grammy Awards this Sunday at 8pm on CBS!
No comments:
Post a Comment