The Black Keys
Grammy fever has descended onto the FemaleFirst offices (you don’t want to know the after effects, trust us) and we continue our Grammy award predictions right now by looking at who might walk off with the genre album categories on the night.
Best Pop Vocal Album
Nominees
Kelly Clarkson – Stronger
fun. – Some Nights
Florence And The Machine – Ceremonials
Pink – The Truth About Love
Maroon 5 - Overexposed
fun. will scoop this award with ease, with the album having produced a real groundswell since its release and the only one on this list to also be nominated for the general album of the year award.
While we loved Florence’s second effort, naming it one of the best albums of 2012, it doesn’t look as if the US is fully able to open its arms up to Florence Welch and her band of merry men. Maroon 5 and Kelly Clarkson also made great collections, we don’t think that even traditional Grammy favourite Clarkson will be able to stop the 800 pound gorilla that is fun.
Best Dance/Electronica Album
Nominees
Steve Aoki – Wonderland
Skrillex – Bangarang
Deadmua5 – >Album Title Goes Here<
Kaskade – Fire & Ice
The Chemical Brothers – Don’t Think
They gave him the award last year and all signs point to them giving it to Skrillex, in what is a far weaker category than it was last year when David Guetta and (criminally) Robyn were beaten by the oddly haired dubstep trailblazer.
While ‘Bangarang’ isn’t as strong an EP as last year’s Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites, it still looks like it will be enough to make Skrillex the first back-to-back winner in the short history of this category.
We don’t think that The Chemical Brothers can repeat the 2009 win that Daft Punk pulled off with their live album, with ‘Don’t Think’ not quite as creative as the Parisian pair’s effort and Deadmau5 softening his edges slightly might not help him out here.
Best Rock Album
Nominees
The Black Keys – El Camino
Coldplay – Mylo Xyloto
Muse – The 2nd Law
Bruce Springsteen – Wrecking Ball
Jack White – Blunderbuss
The Grammys have always had a massive crush on The Black Keys (we really don’t blame them to be honest) and we predict that they’ll be handing out the Best Rock Album to the Ohio based duo for the second time, after giving them the Alternative Album award back in 2011.
It’s a worthy winner too, as while Jack White’s album packed as much punch as the firearm it’s named after, it just didn’t feel quite as complete and album as El Camino did. Springsteen also deserves more than this passing mention for a fine return to form in the shape of Wrecking Ball, but despite his best efforts, he looks likely to be snubbed.
Best Alternative Album
Nominees
Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel…
Bjork – Biophilla
Gotye – Making Mirrors
M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
Tom Waits – Bas As Me
The winner of this award all depends on how alternative they really want to go. If they want to go weird, they’ll give it to the sometimes downright terrifying ‘The Idler Wheel’ (I am not typing that entire enormous title) from Fiona Apple. This is an album that feels as much a scan of an artist’s inner thoughts as it does a piece of music.
If they want to be slightly more moderate though, they’ll hand the prize of Gotye for his genre hopping album Making Mirrors, an album that came as a really pleasant surprise and was so much more than an artist chasing after their next big hit.
With us also tipping him to win the prestigious Record Of The Year prize, we predict that Gotye will scoop this prize and cap off a fantastic year for the Australian artist.
So that concludes our predictions for the 2013 Grammy awards, but make sure to tune back in on Monday to see our reaction to the winners on the night. What do you think to our picks and who would you like to see take home the prizes? Let us know in the comments section.