a couple months ago, just after the recording academy announced their 54th annual grammy nominees, i blogged my predictions. those are set to air tonight and i thought just prior to the ceremony, i’d repost this to serve as a guide of just how wrong i’ll likely be. 🙂

here’s what i predicted in december.

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Album of the Year
Adele – 21
Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
Lady Gaga – Born This Way
Bruno Mars – Doo-Wops & Hooligans
Rihanna – Loud

snubs: this is the giant one: where is kanye west’s my beautiful dark twisted fantasy? hailed by critics across the spectrum as a modern day classic (it has, by far, the highest metacritic score of any grammy nominee), i would’ve thought this album was the no-brainer choice for album of the year. apparently not. (one could also make an argument for beyonce’s 4 to be included.)

surprises: couldn’t believe when i saw the foos included on this list. while i’m not a huge fan of this album, i’m glad the academy chose something different than the norm.

really?: rihanna? album of the year?

who i want to win: adele

who i think will win: adele

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Record of the Year
Adele – Rolling In The Deep
Bon Iver – Holocene
Bruno Mars – Grenade
Mumford & Sons – The Cave
Katy Perry – Firework

surprises: bon iver’s holocene. not only was i suprised just because of the relative unknown nature of bon iver, but this isn’t even my favorite song from that album. i was also surprised to see mumford make the list.

who i want to win: bon iver

who i think will win: adele or katy perry

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Best New Artist
The Band Perry
Bon Iver
J. Cole
Nicki Minaj
Skrillex

snubs: i’ve seem some suggest fleet foxes. they’re not really a new artist…but neither is bon iver.

surprises: skrillex was out of left field. not a fan, but glad to see him.

who i want to win: bon iver

who i think will win: bon iver

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Song of the Year
Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi and Fergie – All of the Lights
Mumford & Sons – The Cave
Bruno Mars – Grenade
Bon Iver – Holocene
Adele – Rolling In The Deep

surprises: surprised, again (and pleasantly), by bon iver & mumford.

who i want to win: kanye

who i think will win: bruno mars

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Best Pop Solo Performance
Adele – Someone Like You
Lady Gaga – Yoü and I
Bruno Mars – Grenade
Katy Perry – Firework
Pink – F***in’ Perfect

surprises: someone like you is an incredible song, but i’m surprised we didn’t see rolling in the deep once again.

really?: i like pink and all, but pink?

who i want to win: adele

who i think will win: adele

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Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse – Body and Soul
The Black Keys – Dearest
Coldplay – Paradise
Foster The People – Pumped Up Kicks
Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera – Moves Like Jagger

surprises: the black keys are one of my favorite bands, but their ‘meh’ cover of dearest from a largely overlooked compilation album was surprising.

who i want to win: (for the principle of it) the black keys

who i think will win: tony bennett & amy winehouse

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Best Pop Vocal Album
Adele – 21
Cee Lo Green – The Lady Killer
Lady Gaga – Born This Way
Bruno Mars – Doo-Wops & Hooligans
Rihanna – Loud

surprises: i’m a little bit (but not too much) surprised by the inclusion of cee lo.

who i want to win: cee lo

who i think will win: adele

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Best Rock Performance
Coldplay – Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall
The Decemberists – Down By the Water
Foo Fighters – Walk
Mumford & Sons – The Cave
Radiohead – Lotus Flower

surprises: i’m not necessarily surprised by anything, but i do have an observation: rock—in the way we’ve known it for a long time—is pretty much dead. the foo fighters’ walk is the only “traditional” rock song on here. otherwise, it’s really sorta synth-driven and acoustic music.

who i want to win: the decemberists

who i think will win: foo fighters

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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

who i want to win: foo fighters

who i think will win: foo fighters

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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

really?: this isn’t an emphatic really?, but foster the people is basically a glorified one hit wonder, in my humble opinion. maybe more a surprise than a really?.

who i want to win: bon iver

who i think will win: bon iver

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Best Rap Album
Jay-Z and Kanye West – Watch the Throne
Lil Wayne – Tha Carter IV
Lupe Fiasco – Lasers
Nicki Minaj – Pink Friday
Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

who i want to win: kanye

who i think will win: kanye

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Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
Beyoncé and Andre 3000 – Party
DJ Khaled, Drake, Rick Ross and Lil Wayne – I’m On One
Dr. Dre, Eminem and Skylar Grey – I Need a Doctor
Rihanna and Drake – What’s My Name?
Kelly Rowland and Lil Wayne – Motivation
Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi and Fergie – All Of The Lights

who i want to win: kanye

who i think will win: beyonce and andre 3000

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Best Rap Performance
Chris Brown, Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes – Look at Me Now
Jay-Z and Kanye West – Otis
Lupe Fiasco – The Show Goes On
Nicki Minaj and Drake – Moment 4 Life
Wiz Khalifa – Black And Yellow

snubs: kanye’s power or runaway.

who i want to win: jay-z and kanye

who i think will win: lupe fiasco

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Best Folk Album
The Civil Wars – Barton Hollow
Steve Earle – I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive
Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
Eddie Vedder – Ukulele Songs
Gillian Welch – The Harrow & The Harvest

surprises: interesting spot for eddie vedder’s album. it was a good album, but it’s a bit of an odd fit in the folk category.

who i want to win: the civil wars or fleet foxes

who i think will win: fleet foxes

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alright, if i have time, i might check back in tomorrow to see where i was right and where i completely missed the mark.