The best of the best
It's Grammy time again. Over the past 51 years, the Grammys have handed out awards that have left us ecstatic, delighted, amused, puzzled, doubting, disappointed and plain gutted. Seeing your favourite act getting nominated and winning mainstream recognition is cause for celebration.
But often you wonder how the judges picked the nominees, let alone the winners. We may never know why the Grammy members make their final decisions, so we've come up with the results we expect tomorrow.
Record of the Year: Chasing Pavements - Adele/ Viva La Vida - Coldplay/ Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis/ Paper Planes - M.I.A./ Please Read The Letter - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
The award is given to the producers, sound engineers and other behind-the-scene folk. With American Idol's Simon Cowell on the team, Lewis's album is a likely candidate. Judges take care of their own.
Album of the Year: Viva La Vida - Coldplay/ Tha Carter III - Lil Wayne/ Year of the Gentleman - Ne-Yo/ Raising Sand - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss/ In Rainbows - Radiohead
If based solely on record sales and popularity, Lil Wayne will win for sure. If the impact it's had on the music industry is taken into account, Radiohead's free downloadable album is the only really eligible entry. But judges' favourite, 21-time Grammy winner Alison Krause could possibly expect to add a few more items to her trophy cabinet.
Song of the Year: American Boy - William Adams, Keith Harris, Josh Lopez, Caleb Speir, John Stephens, Estelle Swaray & Kanye West/ Chasing Pavements - Adele Adkins/ I'm Yours - Jason Mraz/ Love Song - Sara Bareilles/ Viva La Vida - Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion & Chris Martin
With no individual nominations this year, this is the only chance Will.i.am and Kanye West may have to get on stage. Just imagine if the all-star line-up delivered an impromptu acceptance rap ...
Best New Artist: Adele/ Duffy/ Jonas Brothers/ Lady Antebellum/ Jazmine Sullivan
This prize is the Jonas Brothers'. They've released three full studio albums and are still in the running? Surely that's a sign. Besides, the academy can't risk schoolgirl riots by announcing any other result.
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance: Chasing Pavements - Adele/ Love Song - Sara Bareilles/ Mercy - Duffy/ Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis/I Kissed a Girl - Katy Perry/So What - Pink
If this is really about the vocal performance, Lewis will take this home without doubt; but if it is really about the voice, Perry and Pink wouldn't be here. We'll settle for Adele: great voice, less sales pitch.
Best Rock Album: Viva La Vida - Coldplay/ Rock n Roll Jesus - Kid Rock/ Only By The Night - Kings of Leon/ Death Magnetic - Metallica/ Consolers of the Lonely - The Raconteurs
Seeing all these genuine rockers on the list will put a smile on every rock lover's face. Who cares who wins, ultimately? That's not what rock's all about. Rock fans are the ultimate winners, just by knowing such great bands exist. (But secretly SYP is rooting for King of Leon, for the many surprises they've delivered this year.)
Best Contemporary R&B Album: Growing Pains - Mary J. Blige/ Back of My Lac'- J. Holiday/ First Love - Katrina/ Year Of The Gentlemen - Ne-Yo/ Fearless - Jazmine Sullivan
The Grammy is all about peers voting. As the better established artists, Ne-Yo and Mary J. Blige must know the most committee members and so gather the most votes. But Blige already has eight Grammys; it's about time someone else tasted the joy of lifting the Gramophone aloft.
Best Rap Album: American Gangster -Jay-Z/ Tha Carter III- Lil Wayne / The Cool - Lupe Fiasco/ Nas - Nas/ Paper Trail - T.I.
Lil Wayne is the most nominated artist of the year, with eight chances to bring something home. If he misses out on Album of the Year, there are high hopes he won't be embarrassingly empty-handed at the after-party.
Catch the 51st Grammy Awards Live on Star World on February 9, 9am. Re-run at 10pm. Live-streaming on www.grammy.com