Sometimes, it's difficult even for Grammy gurus to predict which marquee records will be feted by the annual awards bash. This year? Well, let's just say that ailing Adele will need her voice to recover sufficiently enough to deliver a few acceptance speeches come February.
Grammy Award nominations are set to be announced Wednesday evening with a splashy, primetime concert -- with performances from the likes of Lady Gaga, Ludacris, Usher and Rick Ross -- and the jilted Brit with the powerhouse pipes should headline an outstanding class of divas.
Adele's sophomore smash 21 maintained a chokehold on the charts all year long, with sales topping 12 million worldwide, and Grammy voters should relish the opportunity to reward an uncommonly organic pop triumph that was relatively unadorned by studio wizardry or trendy flourishes.
But who else is in line for Grammy glory? Here are a handful of safe bets:
LADIES' NIGHT
While this appears to be Adele's year, the 23-year-old can count on formidable competition from a number of other headline-grabbing female artists for nominations at the Feb. 12 bash.
First, there's another major pop star who similarly struck gold with a sophomore release -- Lady Gaga, whose neon-hued Born This Way stormed the charts upon hitting stores in spring. While critics seemed disappointed, the album still spawned four Top 10 singles and went multi-platinum in the U.S. and Canada.
Of course, 21-year-old Taylor Swift also has a hit new record to her name and previous Grammy gold to match her blond locks. The telegenic country-crossover star claimed album of the year honours for her titanic hit Fearless -- as well as three other trophies -- and there's little reason to believe that 2010's multi-platinum Speak Now won't be similarly rewarded with a spate of nominations.
Three-time Grammy winner Rihanna can likewise expect some voluminous kudos for last year's megahit Loud, and while Katy Perry's Teenage Dream drifted off into the previous eligibility period, her splashy singles should elicit a few nominations.
Who are we forgetting? Well, there's one diva more decorated than any of the rest: Beyoncé. Even if her eligible release 4 was a rare misstep from the sure-footed R&B starlet, the 30-year-old Beyoncé has racked up 16 Grammys over her estimable career -- more than all the other aforementioned crooners combined -- and there's little that Grammy voters love more than a good legacy.
And if you want to get cynical about it, Beyoncé is due in February -- and as the MTV VMAs proved, a pregnant Beyoncé is ratings gold.
EASY THERE, YEEZY
If you ask this critic, Kanye West's endlessly audacious, ambitious album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was one of the most praiseworthy pop albums in recent years. But that doesn't mean it'll necessarily win over the Grammy crowd.
Sure, the esteemed hip-hop architect has won 14 Grammys in the past, but he's been noticeably absent from recent shows even as he continued collecting trophies for collaborations, owing mostly to a history of award-show misbehaviour.
But even if the academy largely snubs his intensely personal masterwork, the fact that West has two records released within the eligibility period -- this summer's slick collaboration with Jay-Z, Watch the Throne, being the other -- pretty much guarantees he'll pocket some nominations.
Now, whether he has sufficient Grammy goodwill to actually win more trophies remains to be seen.
WOE, CANADA?
This past February's show ended with a shocker, as Montreal's critically beloved Arcade Fire claimed album of the year, their first-ever Grammy. It's unlikely that any Canadian act similarly nabs Grammy headlines this year, but that's not a knock on Canuck talent -- our biggest stars were simply fashionably late this year.
New records from such past Grammy favourites as Michael Bublé, Feist, Nickelback and Justin Bieber all came out after the eligibility period, and while a certain Toronto band with an unprintable name earned well-deserved plaudits for its juggernaut rock opera David Comes to Life, it's extremely unlikely that a band with the F-word in its name will ever elicit a Grammy nod.
Still, there are some Canadians who have become so prominent, Grammy will find a way to acknowledge them.
Drake's early single Headlines hit No. 1 on the U.S. rap chart and is eligible for Grammy consideration, and the Toronto 24-year-old has loaned his unique flow to several other major singles that could find nominations, including Rihanna's What's My Name? and Nicki Minaj's platinum-selling single Moment 4 Life.
Arcade Fire could also qualify for a victory lap with its DVD release Scenes from the Suburbs, while a nomination for Bieber would pretty much guarantee the rapt attention of his millions of fans, so expect the 17-year-old to be in the running for something -- even if the academy has to introduce a category for bangs.
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