Grammy Showdown 2013
Our all-star panel of top artists – plus Wynn Las Vegas oddsmaker Johnny Ovello – break it down.
• Nate Ruess of fun.
• Kaskade
• Kelly Clarkson
• Gotye
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Album of the Year
Nominees
• Jack White Blunderbuss
• fun. Some Nights
• Frank Ocean Channel Orange
• Mumford & Sons Babel
• The Black Keys El CaminoThe Experts Say:
Nate Ruess: When I saw this category, it was like, "Holy shit, I can't believe we've been invited!" I'm going with Jack White.
Kaskade: The Mumford & Sons album is my favorite. It's so epic – like stadium folk. Big, singalong music.
Gotye: Frank Ocean's album has a lot of depth you can dig into on multiple listens.
Vegas Odds Favor:
Mumford & Sons 8-5 -
Who Should Win: The Black Keys
From NFL broadcasts to the top of every festival bill, you couldn't escape the Keys in 2012. And with an album this mean and lean, who would want to?
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Record of the Year
Nominees
• Frank Ocean "Thinkin Bout You"
• Kelly Clarkson "Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)"
• Gotye "Somebody That I Used to Know"
• Taylor Swift "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"
• The Black Keys "Lonely Boy"
• fun. "We Are Young"The Experts Say:
Kaskade: I’m rooting for the Black Keys. "Lonely Boy" is a song for you to put the top down and drive fast.
Nate Ruess: Gotye, for sure. It starts out as this very shy song – then he just goes for it in the chorus. Awesome.
Kelly Clarkson: I covered "We Are Young" on my last tour. Everybody went nuts.
Vegas Odds Favor:
fun. 2-1 -
Who Should Win: Taylor Swift
Months later, her ultimate kiss-off is still stuck in our heads. Undeniable.
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Best Rock Album
Nominees
• Bruce Springsteen Wrecking Ball
• Muse The 2nd Law
• The Black Keys El Camino
• Coldplay Mylo Xyloto
• Jack White BlunderbussThe Experts Say:
Kelly Clarkson: The Black Keys actually sound like rock! It's funny when you look at rock categories, like, "That's adult contemporary."
Gotye: El Camino has these sweet, tasty sounds, but it's still got that edgy swagger.
Kaskade: Blunderbuss. I'm a huge Jack White fan.
Vegas Odds Favor:
Jack White 12-5 -
Who Should Win: Bruce Springsteen
In the year's most competitive category, we give it up to Bruce for his righteous takedown of our greed-fueled era.
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Best Rap Album
Nominees
• Drake Take Care
• The Roots Undun
• Nas Life Is Good
• Lupe Fiasco Food & Liquor II
• 2 Chainz Based on a T.R.U. Story
• Rick Ross God Forgives, I Don’tThe Experts Say:
Kaskade: I'd give it to Nas – lyrically, the guy's such a freaking genius. He's so clever with his rhymes on Life Is Good.
Kelly Clarkson: Drake will take this. He's worked with so many people!
Gotye: The Roots consistently surprise you. They're still pushing what they do.
Vegas Odds Favor:
Drake 9-5 -
Who Should Win: Nas
The Queens MC came back strong in 2012 with a searingly personal LP – and a supercool throwback sound.
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Best Pop Solo Performance
Nominees
• Adele "Set Fire to the Rain" (Live)
• Kelly Clarkson "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)"
• Katy Perry "Wide Awake"
• Rihanna "Where Have You Been"
• Carly Rae Jepsen "Call Me Maybe"The Experts Say:
Kelly Clarkson: I think Adele might take that one. Any time you see her name in your category, it's basically like being up against someone that's just passed away – you know she's totally going to win [laughs]. And she's so cool!
Gotye: "Set Fire to the Rain" is a fantastic song and a really incredible vocal performance. Her voice jumps out of the speakers – it's the kind of voice that can just send chills down your spine.
Kaskade: I mean, I know Adele made her big mark last year – but "Set Fire to the Rain" should get some more recognition. That song is awesome. Katy Perry's song is great, too, though. It's a tossup between those two for me.
Vegas Odds Favor:
Adele 2-5 -
Who Should Win: Adele
Does anyone even have the slightest doubt about this one? Adele dominated the Grammys last year – look for her to go home with one more trophy for this unstoppable live performance.
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Best Alternative Album
Nominees
• Fiona Apple The Idler Wheel …
• Tom Waits Bad as Me
• Gotye Making Mirrors
• M83 Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
• Björk BiophiliaThe Experts Say:
Gotye: As much as this is one category where I'd like to get recognized, I have to pick Biophilia. Björk’s ambition and creativity are amazing. Her sounds are so complex, but in other aspects they’re quite raw – it’s impressive.
Kaskade: I think M83 is going to take this. Their album was one of the biggest records of 2012 for me. It has this future-retro sound: It's electronic and forward-thinking, but it also felt like 1984. It could be on a soundtrack to a John Hughes film or something.
Kelly Clarkson: Wow, Tom Waits! I like all the artists in this category. But I think most people will go for Gotye. He’s a little more mainstream than the others, but just different enough to make mainstream people go, "Ooh, refreshing."
Vegas Odds Favor:
Gotye 8-5 -
Who Should Win: Fiona Apple
Her comeback album blew our minds with its raw honesty. Fiona's best ever.
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Best Dance Recording
Nominees
• Swedish House Mafia feat. John Martin "Don't You Worry Child"
• Calvin Harris feat. Ne-Yo "Let's Go"
• Al Walser "I Can't Live Without You"
• Avicii "Levels"
• Skrillex feat. Sirah "Bangarang"The Experts Say:
Kaskade: Hands down, it's Skrillex. I think he can find some space on the bookshelf for his fourth Grammy [laughs]. He walks this line between music, energy, power and noise, and he makes it work so well.
Nate Ruess: "Bangarang," without a doubt. I saw Skrillex about a year ago, and it was such an incredible experience. Now I go out of my way to see him any chance I get. And I don’t even do drugs!
Gotye: It's a hard choice between Skrillex and Avicii for me. But I'll go with Skrillex. What he's done is incredible – there’s a whole legion of followers of the sound he's come up with. Just because of how significant he is, it's Skrillex in this category.
Vegas Odds Favor:
Al Walser 2-1 -
Who Should Win: Skrillex
We're with our unanimous expert panel on this one – no EDM artist did more to change the sound of pop (Taylor Swift knows what we're talking about) than young Sonny Moore.
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Best New Artist
Nominees
• fun.
• Alabama Shakes
• The Lumineers
• Hunter Hayes
• Frank OceanThe Experts Say:
Nate Ruess: Hunter Hayes is 21 years old, and he plays every instrument, records all his stuff. I think he's going to stick around for a while.
Kaskade: It's between Frank Ocean and the Lumineers. I'm going with the Lumineers – I'm always rooting for the indie-rock guys. Maybe it’s the underdog in me.
Gotye: I saw Alabama Shakes play at Music Hall of Williamsburg a while back, and it was a fantastic show – amazing vocals. Brittany Howard is an incredible presence. You can’t take your eyes off her.
Kelly Clarkson: I'm going with fun. Bands are always cooler than solo artists. And that's coming from a solo artist! [Laughs]
Vegas Odds Favor:
Frank Ocean 8-5 -
Who Should Win: Frank Ocean
Fun. were bigger on the charts, but Ocean's crazy-inventive future-soul sound deserves this prize.