Grammy Nomination Reactions and First Predictions

Every year, the Grammy nominations throw us for a loop, and this year feels particularly loopy. No one artist was nominated across all three general categories (let alone all four), ensuring that this year the kudos will be spread around, and that the winners will most likely be wildly unpredictable. Here is a quick look at my biggest snubs and surprises, and my first winner predictions.

Surprises

• Sara Bareilles getting into Album of the Year was a huge jaw-dropper, and then she didn't even manage to get into Pop Vocal Album. I always wonder about the Grammy voting process, and strange anomalies like this do nothing to quell my confusion.
• Imagine Dragons getting in for Best New Artist was expected, but getting into Record of the Year over Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, and several others was surprising indeed.
• Rap had a great year, and we all kind of knew that Macklemore & Ryan Lewis would hit it big (although missing out on Record of the Year was sort of surprising). But I was absolutely thrilled to see Kendrick Lamar get a well-deserved Album of the Year nomination. Taylor Swift will probably win again, or something depressing like that, but I hope Grammy voters take a second look at good kid, m.A.A.d city.
• A lot of people were predicting a big year for Daft Punk, but I had a doubts that a electronica album could get in. But alas, I was pleasantly surprised to see AOTY and ROTY nominations, signifying a significant breakthrough for the genre into the general fields.

Snubs

• The biggest surprise that is on everyone's minds today was the exclusion of Justin Timberlake from the general categories. He still racked up an impressive seven nominations, but most expected him to not only be nominated for at least AOTY and ROTY, but win. It will be interesting to see if he also gets snubbed in the pop categories, but the likes of general nominees Sara Bareilles, Lorde, and Katy Perry.
• Speaking of Lorde and Katy Perry, both did incredibly well at the nominations so how are they snubbed? Lorde gets Pop nominations, and ROTY and SOTY, but somehow doesn't merit a Best New Artist nomination which is baffling. Katy Perry gets nominated for SOTY, but really if they were only going to give Roar one general nomination, it should have been in ROTY, considering it is probably the biggest radio hit of the last several months.
• In the country categories, Carrie Underwood, The Civil Wars, and Lady Antebellum were all underrepresented or completely snubbed.
• In the general categories, Ariana Grande and Emeli Sande missed the Best New Artist cut, and Bruno Mars was surprisingly (but deservingly) left off of the AOTY list.
• Janelle Monae was absent completely, a true shame considering how wonderful The Electric Lady is.
• My favorite album of the year David Bowie's The Next Day get some well-deserved Rock nominations, but it should have been in Album of the Year ( or Yeezus, or The Electric Lady) over the likes of Taylor Swift. In fact, rock in general was absent from the big awards.
• Alicia Keys managed a R&B Album nomination, but Girl on Fire was a great record, and was largely ignored. Kelly Rowland completely left out, as the R&B categories continue to be a mess, and Urban Contemporary Album continues to be a lame attempt to try to sound cool.

First Winner Predictions
Album of the Year - Taylor Swift "Red"
Record of the Year - Lorde "Royals"
Song of the Year - Lorde "Royals"
Best New Artist - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Best Pop Vocal Album - Justin Timberlake "The 20/20 Experience"
Best Pop Solo Performance - Lorde "Royals"
Best Pop Duo/Group - P!nk feat. Nate Ruess "Just Give Me a Reason"
Best Dance/Electronica Album - Daft Punk "Random Access Memories"
Best Rock Performance - Imagine Dragons "Radioactive"
Best Rock Song - Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, Pat Smear "Cut Me Some Slack"
Best Rock Album - David Bowie "The Next Day"
Best Alternative Music Album - Vampire Weekend "Modern Vampires of the City"
Best R&B Performance - Miguel feat. Kendrick Lamar "How Many Drinks?"
Best Traditional R&B Performance - Fantasia "Get It Right"
Best R&B Song - Anthony Hamilton "Best of Me"
Best Urban Contemporary Album - Fantasia "Side Effects of You"
Best R&B Album - Alicia Keys "Girl on Fire"
Best Rap Performance - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis "Thrift Shop"
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration - Jay-Z feat. Justin Timberlake "Holy Grail"
Best Rap Song - Ben Haggerty & Ryan Lewis "Thrift Shop"
Best Rap Album - Kendrick Lamar "good kid, m.A.A.d city"
Best Country Solo Performance - Miranda Lambert "Mama's Broken Heart"
Best Country Duo/Group Performance - Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift, and Keith Urban "Highway Don't Care"
Best Country Song - Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally & Kacey Musgraves "Mama's Broken Heart"
Best Country Album - Taylor Swift "Red"
Best Americana Album - Mavis Staples "One True Vine"
Best Spoken Word Album - Billy Crystal "Still Foolin' Em"
Best Comedy Album - Kathy Griffin "Calm Down Gurrl"
Best Musical Theater Album - Kinky Boots
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media - The Great Gatsby
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media - Mychael Danna "Life of Pi"
Best Song Written for Visual Media - Adele and Paul Epworth "Skyfall"
Best Music Video - Justin Timberlake feat. Jay-Z "Suit and Tie"