The Grammy Awards 2011 predictions

The 53rd annual Grammy Awards will be held and broadcast live by CBS this Sunday night at 8p.m., Eastern Time. Also, as always, Blast is going to live-blog the Grammys so come back here while watching it!

Here is the nomination list for this year with predictions in bold. Who do you think will take home the most trophys?

Album of the Year
Arcade Fire – “The Suburbs”
Eminem – “Recovery”
Lady Antebellum – “Need You Now”
Lady Gaga – “The Fame Monster”
Katy Perry – “Teenage Dream”

Mother Monster’ Lady Gaga’s “The Fame Monster” was an international hit, but Eminem’s “Recovery” and Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” have received so much attention from media too, so this one is hard to predict; the Blast Consensus is the Eminem will take home the award.

Record of the Year
B.o.B (featuring Bruno Mars) – “Nothin’ on You”
Eminem (featuring Rihanna) – “Love the Way You Lie”
Cee Lo Green – “F— You”
Jay-Z and Alicia Keys – “Empire State of Mind”
Lady Antebellum – “Need You Now”

Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ “Empire State of Mind” has been a long-lived hit(And almost all New Yorkers like this tune. You know why, don’t you?). Em and RiRi’s “Love the Way You Lie” had such an impact as well, so it could sneak up.

Best New Artist
Justin Bieber
Drake
Florence & the Machine
Mumford & Sons
Esperanza Spalding

Talented ‘Young Money’ newcomer Drake has been successful in collaborations with Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Trey Songz etc. However, this one goes to the 16-year-old pop sensation from Ontario, Canada Justin Bieber. His movie “Never Say Never” just came out and everyone knows “I got Bieber fever!”

Song of the Year
Ray LaMontagne – “Beg Steal or Borrow”
Cee Lo Green – “F— You”
Miranda Lambert – “The House That Built Me”
Eminem (featuring Rihanna) – “Love the Way You Lie”
Lady Antebellum – “Need You Now”

Eminem may claim this award as well, but don’t be surprised if Cee Lo walks away with the Grammy for his original and endlessly catchy diddy.

Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals
“Glee” cast – “Don’t Stop Believin’ (Regionals Version)”
Maroon 5 – “Misery”
Paramore – “The Only Exception”
Sade – “Babyfather”
Train – “Hey, Soul Sister (Live)”

Paramore may have broken up in the interim, but “The Only Exception” is a fine piece of work indicative of why they had success. “Hey Soul Sister” really shows off the best of Train combining thir instrumentals with lead singer Patrick Monahan’s lightly bouncing (or dancing) vocals. But the world’s obsessed with Glee….and the Grammys will be too.

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
B.o.B, Eminem and Hayley Williams – “Airplanes II”
Herbie Hancock, Pink, India.Arie, Seal, Konono No. 1, Jeff Beck and Oumou Sangare – “Imagine”
Elton John & Leon Russell – “If It Wasn’t For Bad”
Lady Gaga and Beyoncé – “Telephone”
Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg – “California Gurls”

This is a tough one too! Needless to say, the combination of B.o.B and Hayley Williams’ vocals works excellent in “Airplane” (I know “Airplane ?” is nominated here but speaking of the vocal performance, they are amazing). Herbie Hancock’s music always makes singers sound outstanding, unique, and beautiful based on the shared common goals and reason why they would collaborate, as Hancock shared during the Blast interview last year. Pink is doing a great job in his latest album “Imagine Project.”?Gaga’s “Telephone” is mainly programming-centered and it does not focus on her vocal harmony with Beyonce. Look for Hancock to win the award.

Best Dance Recording
Goldfrapp – “Rocket”
La Roux – “In For The Kill”
Lady Gaga – “Dance in the Dark”
Rihanna – “Only Girl (In the World)”
Robyn – “Dancing on My Own”

Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals
Arcade Fire – “Ready to Start”
Jeff Beck and Joss Stone – “I Put a Spell on You”
The Black Keys – “Tighten Up”
Kings of Leon – “Radioactive”
Muse – “Resistance”

Best Hard Rock Performance
Alice in Chains – “A Looking in View”
Ozzy Osbourne – “Let Me Hear You Scream”
Soundgarden – “Black Rain”
Stone Temple Pilots – “Between the Lines”
Them Crooked Vultures – “New Fang”

Best Rock Song
Neil Young – “Angry World”
Mumford & Sons – “Little Lion Man”
Kings of Leon – “Radioactive”
Muse – “Resistance”
The Black Keys – “Tighten Up”

Best Alternative Music Album
Arcade Fire – “The Suburbs”
Band of Horses – “Infinite Arms”
The Black Keys – “Brothers”
Broken Bells – “Broken Bells”
Vampire Weekend – “Contra”

Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals
Chris Brown and Tank – “Take My Time”
Chuck Brown, Jill Scott and Marcus Miller – “Love”
Ronald Isley and Aretha Franklin – “You’ve Got a Friend”
John Legend and the Roots – “Shine”
Sade – “Soldier of Love”

Best Contemporary R&B Album
Chris Brown – “Graffiti”
R. Kelly – “Untitled”
Ryan Leslie – “Transition”
Janelle Monáe – “The ArchAndroid”
Usher – “Raymond v. Raymond”

Although Chris Brown’s “Graffiti” came out great with songs like “Crawl” and “I Can Transform Ya,” it was not a long-lived hit. Perfectionist and hard worker, Usher’s “Raymond v. Raymond” has been something people listen to again and again. It has a lot of catchy songs such as “OMG,” “Lil’ Freak,” and “DJ Got Us Fallin’ in Love” (only in its Deluxe Edition) and the album is actually making Usher go on the second “OMG” tour.

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
B.o.B (featuring Bruno Mars) – “Nothin’ on You”
Chris Brown, Tyga and Kevin McCall – “Deuces”
Eminem and Rihanna – “Love the Way You Lie”
Jay-Z and Alicia Keys – “Empire State of Mind”
John Legend, the Roots, Melanie Fiona and Common – “Wake Up! Everybody”

The category is all about collaboration. B.o.B and Bruno Mars are doing a good job making the tune sound united as a whole. When they take vocals interchangeably, overall, it’s really working to make the song keep going so smooth. For “Love the Way You Lie,” both of Eminem and Rihanna sound very unique, so, each of them sounds too vivid instead of making the whole tune sound like consistently running water.

Best Rap Song
Jay-Z and Alicia Keys – “Empire State of Mind”
Eminem and Rihanna – “Love the Way You Lie”
Eminem – “Not Afraid”
B.o.B (featuring Bruno Mars) – “Nothin’ on You”
Jay-Z and Swizz Beatz – “On to the Next One”

Even though the category is Best ‘Rap’ Song, 4 of them is duet songs. But, it doesn’t matter because I wouldn’t focus on those 4 tunes here. “Not Afraid” is all about Eminem’s rhyming skill and he is successfully expressing his deep emotion throughout the song.

Best Rap Album
B.o.B – “The Adventures of Bobby Ray”
Drake – “Thank Me Later”
Eminem –“Recovery”
Jay-Z – “The Blueprint 3”
The Roots – “How I Got Over”

Jay-Z’s “The Blueprint 3” is powerful enough here. The record kept the top position on the charts, each single came out great, and it became the rapper’s eleventh US number-one album. It is the record from which younger rappers in the next generation can all learn how to express themselves as the rapper talked about mentoring and passing the baton to them when releasing his book last year.

Best Country Collaboration With Vocals
Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert and Jamey Johnson – “Bad Angel”
Dierks Bentley, Del McCoury and the Punch Brothers – “Pride (In the Name of Love)”
Zac Brown Band and Alan Jackson – “As She’s Walking Away”
Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins – “Hillbilly Bone”
Marty Stuart and Connie Smith – “I Run to You”

Best Country Song
George Strait – “The Breath You Take”
Zac Brown Band – “Free”
Miranda Lambert – “The House That Built Me”
Gretchen Wilson – “I’d Love To Be Your Last”
The Band Perry – “If I Die Young”
Lady Antebellum – “Need You Now”

Best Country Album
Dierks Bentley – “Up on the Ridge”
Zac Brown Band – “You Get What You Give”
Jamey Johnson – “The Guitar Song”
Lady Antebellum – “Need You Now”
Miranda Lambert – “Revolution”

Best Americana Album
Rosanne Cash – “The List”
Los Lobos – “Tin Can Trust”
Willie Nelson – “Country Music”
Robert Plant – “Band of Joy”
Mavis Staples – “You Are Not Alone”

Best Traditional Blues Album
James Cotton – “Giant”
Cyndi Lauper – “Memphis Blues”
Charlie Musselwhite – “The Well”
Pinetop Perkins and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith – “Joined at the Hip”
Jimmie Vaughan – “Plays Blues, Ballads & Favorites”

About The Author

Eiko Watanabe is a Blast staff writer in New York

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