To varied effect, the Grammys continued with its tradition of pairing young musicians with legends. This works well on playlists when you want to make a local act seem on par with stadium-filling rock stars, but the problem with doing it year after year in live performance is that it cheapens the innovative approach into novelty.
The formula did work occasionally, such as when the Black Keys augmented their usual bare bones duo sound with Dr. John and the wall of horns that is the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The tribute to The Band, featuring Alabama Shakes, Elton John, Mavis Staples and multiple Mumfords was a hit too.

But elsewhere, the jams were disjointed and uncomfortable, as with Alicia Keys and Maroon 5 doing “Girl on Fire” together. And Elton John added little more to Ed Sheeran’s Song of the Year-nominated, “The A Team” than giving host LL Cool J a chance to make a joke at a young Twitter who needed to look up #sireltonjohn.

While it is admirable that the Grammys attempt to bridge musical gaps, there are some valleys that are just too wide. Miguel and Wiz Khalifa delivered one of the early successful pairings last night with a brief mash-up performance of the former’s Song of the Year-nominated “Adorn.” But having them announce the winner for Best Country Solo Performance made no sense.

Let’s get together and feel all right

One of the fun things about the Grammys is watching these famous people interact with and address each other. Here are our favorite moments from last night, where stars called each other by name.

Host LL Cool J tries out a hip-hop nickname on Taylor Swift: “I’m happy to say that my friend T-Swizzle has already won an award.”

Adele calls J. Lo her good luck charm

Neil Patrick Harris introduces fun.: They’re so awesome that they might want to change the period in their name to an exclamation point.

Kelly Clarkson learns a little something about new R&B: “Miguel, I don’t know who the hell you are, but we need to sing together.”

And the Grammy goes to…

The awards portion of the show were mostly what people expected. At least they were what we expected. In our Grammy predictions story on Friday, we correctly forecasted two thirds of the night’s biggest winners. We called it that Gotye would win Record of the Year and that fun. would win Song of the Year, but in what was a surprise win of sorts, Mumford & Sons won Album of the Year for “Babel.” Below is a complete list of winners.

Record of the Year

“Somebody That I Used to Know,” Gotye, featuring Kimbra

Album of the Year

“Babel,” Mumford & Sons

Song of the Year

“We Are Young,” fun. and Janelle Monáe (Songwriters: Jack Antonoff, Jeff Bhasker, Andrew Dost and Nate Ruess)

New Artist

fun.

Pop Solo Performance

“Set Fire to the Rain (live),” Adele

Pop Performance, Duo or Group

“Somebody That I Used to Know,” Gotye, featuring Kimbra

Pop Instrumental Album

“Impressions,” Chris Botti

Pop Vocal Album

“Stronger,” Kelly Clarkson

Dance Recording

“Bangarang,” Skrillex and Sirah

Dance/Electronica Album

“Bangarang,” Skrillex

Dance Recording

“Bangarang,” Skrillex and Sirah

Traditional Pop Vocal Album

“Kisses on the Bottom,” Paul McCartney

Rock Performance

“Lonely Boy,” the Black Keys

Hard Rock/Metal Performance

“Love Bites (So Do I),” Halestorm

Rock Song

Dan Auerbach, Brian Burton and Patrick Carney (“Lonely Boy,” the Black Keys)

Rock Album

“El Camino,” the Black Keys

Alternative Music Album

“Making Mirrors,” Gotye

R&B Performance

“Climax,” Usher

Traditional R&B Performance

“Love on Top,” Beyoncé

R&B Song

Miguel Pimentel (“Adorn,” Miguel)

R&B Album

“Black Radio,” Robert Glasper Experiment

Rap Performance

“___ in Paris,” Jay-Z and Kanye West

Rap/Sung Collaboration

“No Church in the Wild,” Jay-Z, Kanye West, Frank Ocean and The-Dream

Rap Song

“___ in Paris,” Jay-Z and Kanye West (Songwriters: Shawn Carter, Mike Dean, Chauncey Hollis, Kanye West and W. A. Donaldson)

Rap Album

“Take Care,” Drake

Urban Contemporary Album

“channel ORANGE,” Frank Ocean

Country Solo Performance

“Blown Away,” Carrie Underwood

Country Performance, Duo or Group

“Pontoon,” Little Big Town

Country Song

Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins (“Blown Away,” Carrie Underwood)

Country Album

“Uncaged,” Zac Brown Band

New Age Album

“Echoes of Love,” Omar Akram

Improvised Jazz Solo

“Hot House,” Gary Burton and Chick Corea

Jazz Vocal Album

“Radio Music Society,” Esperanza Spalding

Jazz Instrumental Album

“Unity Band,” Pat Metheny Unity Band

Large Jazz Ensemble Album

“Dear Diz (Every Day I Think of You),” Arturo Sandoval

Latin Jazz Album

“¡Ritmo!,” The Clare Fischer Latin Jazz Big Band

Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance

“10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord),” Matt Redman

Gospel Song

Erica Campbell, Tina Campbell and Warryn Campbell (“Go Get It,” Mary Mary)

Contemporary Christian Music Song

Jonas Myrin and Matt Redman (“10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord),” Matt Redman)

Gospel Album

“Gravity,” Lecrae

Contemporary Christian Music Album

“Eye on It,” TobyMac

Latin Pop Album

“MTV Unplugged Deluxe Edition,” Juanes

Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album

“Imaginaries,” Quetzal

Regional Mexican or Tejano Album

“Pecados y Milagros,” Lila Downs

Tropical Latin Album

“Retro,” Marlow Rosada y La Riqueña”

Americana Album

“Slipstream,” Bonnie Raitt

Bluegrass Album

“Nobody Knows You,” Steep Canyon Rangers

Blues Album

“Locked Down,” Dr. John

Folk Album

“The Goat Rodeo Sessions,” Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile

Regional Roots Music Album

“The Band Courtbouillon,” Wayne Toups, Steve Riley and Wilson Savoy

Reggae Album

“Rebirth,” Jimmy Cliff

World Music Album

“The Living Room Sessions Part 1,” Ravi Shankar

Children’s Album

“Can You Canoe?,” The Okee Dokee Brothers

Spoken Word Album

“Society’s Child: My Autobiography,” Janis Ian

Comedy Album

“Blow Your Pants Off,” Jimmy Fallon

Musical Theater Album

“Once: A New Musical,” Steve Kazee and Cristin Milioti, artists; Steven Epstein and Martin Lowe, producers; Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, composers/lyricists

Instrumental Composition

“Mozart Goes Dancing,” Chick Corea (Chick Corea and Gary Burton)

Instrumental Arrangement

“How About You,” Gil Evans (Gil Evans Project)

Producer of the Year, Nonclassical

Dan Auerbach

Producer of the Year, Classical

Blanton Alspaugh

Remixed Recording, Nonclassical

“Promises (Skrillex and Nero Remix),” Skrillex, remixer

Classical Instrumental Solo

“Kurtág & Ligeti: Music for Viola,” Kim Kashkashian

Classical Vocal Solo

“Poèmes,” Renée Fleming (Alan Gilbert and Seiji Ozawa; Orchestre National de France and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France)

Contemporary Classical Composition

“Hartke, Stephen: Meanwhile — Incidental Music to Imaginary Puppet Plays,” Stephen Hartke (Eighth Blackbird)

Short Form Music Video

“We Found Love,” Rihanna and Calvin Harris

Long Form Music Video

“Big Easy Express,” Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show

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The Grammys are not always easy to predict. Sometimes the National Academy of Recording Arts and Science gets it right, like with Adele sweeping all six categories she was nominated in last year, including the “Big Three” (Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year). But sometimes the Academy gets it horribly wrong. We still can’t figure out how Herbie Hancock won Album of the Year in 2008. There is one opportunity for a “Big Three” sweep with fun. being nominated in the major categories, as well as Best New Artist, but we just don’t see them joining the ranks of Adele, Dixie Chicks (2007), Norah Jones (2003) and only a half-dozen others. Here’s why.

RECORD OF THE YEAR

This is really the biggest Grammy, and people sometimes get confused because of those 12-inch vinyl things that are also called records. This award honors the actual
performance, the studio production and that certain X-factor that makes a song a defining snippet of sound for that year, or you know, a record.

THE NOMINEES: 

The Black Keys “Lonely Boy”
Kelly Clarkson “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
fun. featuring Janelle Monae “We Are Young”
Gotye featuring Kimbra “Somebody That I Used To Know”
Frank Ocean “Thinkin Bout You”
Taylor Swift “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”

WHO WILL WIN:

This was a big year for the Black Keys, and the Academy has been kind to the Ohio duo before, but more for categories like Best Alternative Music Album or Best Rock Performance. Does “Lonely Boy” say 2012 the way that “Beat It” said 1984? Not quite. Our money is on Gotye, though “Somebody That I Used To Know” says 1985 more than 2012. But this is the Academy we’re dealing with.

WHO SHOULD WIN:

We’re going with the fun. song here. While the intro is a little too Broadway for our liking, that chorus really is a perfect audio snapshot of 2012, isn’t it?

WHO WAS JUST A TOKEN NOMINATION:

After Taylor Swift got “Kanyed” at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, she received a secret lifetime guarantee of being nominated for something at every awards show every year she releases new music. This is speculation, but “We Are Never Getting Back Together” is too light to win an award in a category where past winners include “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and “I Will Always Love You.”

SONG OF THE YEAR

This award is for the songwriter, so if Kelly Clarkson’s tune wins, she doesn’t actually win, because she didn’t have a hand in composing “Stronger.” All other artists in this category wrote their respective songs.

THE NOMINEES:

Ed Sheeran “The A Team”
Miguel “Adorn”
Carly Rae Jepsen “Call Me Maybe”
Kelly Clarkson “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
Fun. featuring Janelle Monae “We Are Young

WHO WILL WIN:

This is the one that fun. actually will win, and when they skip up to the podium to collect their award, that chorus will sound great blasting over the speakers, won’t it?

WHO SHOULD WIN:

You read the nominees, and “Call Me Maybe,” is totally in your head! Not bad, right? Think about how long it took you to get sick of it. Not until at least the ninth B-grade YouTube parody. That is quality songwriting: catchy without pissing you off!  Go Carly Rae!

WHO WAS JUST A TOKEN NOMINATION:

Ed Sheeran? What billionaire decided this acoustic kid is important all of a sudden? And how much did said billionaire have to shell out to allow the Olympics to have him front Pink Floyd for “Wish You Were Here”?

ALBUM OF THE YEAR:

Ah, the album, that rare perfect collection of songs. It’s only getting closer to extinction as we get further away from the analog age.

THE NOMINEES:

The Black Keys “El Camino”
Fun. “Some Nights”
Mumford & Sons “Babel”
Frank Ocean “channel ORANGE”
Jack White “Blunderbuss”

WHO WILL WIN:

Like we’ve already established, the Academy has a soft spot for the Black Keys. This is their big one this year.

WHO SHOULD WIN:

Frank Ocean topped every critical best-of list this year and the guy is almost single-handedly pushing R&B into the future. And “channel ORANGE” is a great listen from start to finish.

WHO WAS JUST A TOKEN NOMINATION:

The nominees in this category are hard to argue with, but what’s easy to argue with is that the ladies were snubbed! Where’s Taylor Swift’s “Red”? While the Grammys are not a popularity contest, “Red” was the second biggest-selling album of 2012, behind only another lady, Adele, who happened to do pretty well for herself at the Grammys last year.

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