Our Grammy ballot: Who will/should win?
Expect Lorde, Daft Punk, Taylor Swift and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis to grab Grammy gold in tight races packed with big names and huge hits.
Who will win? Who should win? USA TODAY music critic Edna Gundersen predicts the winners in key categories for this year's Grammy Awards (CBS, Sunday, 8 p.m. ET/tape delay PT).
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
The Blessed Unrest, Sara Bareilles
Random Access Memories, Daft Punk
good kid, m.A.A.d city, Kendrick Lamar
The Heist, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Red, Taylor Swift
Should win: Random Access Memories RECORD
Heist pulled off a grand theft of charts and airwaves, but Random Access Memories' grand amalgam of influences and ingenuity beat it artistically.
Get Lucky, Daft Punk & Pharrell Williams
Radioactive, Imagine Dragons
Royals, Lorde
Locked Out of Heaven, Bruno Mars
Blurred Lines, Robin Thicke featuring T.I. & Pharrell Williams
Lorde's smart, subversive, spare pop trumps the rest, though Lucky could get lucky.
SONG (goes to writer)
Just Give Me a Reason (performed by Pink featuring Nate Ruess)
Locked Out of Heaven (Bruno Mars)
Roar (Katy Perry)
Royals (Lorde)
Should win: Just Give Me a Reason BEST NEW ARTIST
Same Love (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Mary Lambert)
All are worthy, but Reason has every ingredient that makes a pop classic.
James Blake
Kendrick Lamar
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Kacey Musgraves
Ed Sheeran
POP VOCAL ALBUM
Will/should win: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Nobody had a more explosive rise than this rap duo; still, Lorde's absence is a puzzler.
Paradise, Lana Del Rey
Pure Heroine, Lorde
Unorthodox Jukebox, Bruno Mars
Should win: Pure Heroine
Blurred Lines, Robin Thicke
POP SOLO PERFORMANCE
The 20/20 Experience, Justin Timberlake
Lorde altered pop's playing field with a fresh vision.
Lorde, aka Ella Maria Lani Yelich-O'Connor, performs Dec. 8 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.(Photo: C Flanigan, WireImage)
Brave, Sara Bareilles
Royals, Lorde
When I Was Your Man, Bruno Mars
DANCE/ELECTRONICA ALBUM
Roar, Katy Perry
Mirrors, Justin Timberlake
In a rich talent pool, Royals rules, but Mirrors could steal this one.
Random Access Memories, Daft Punk
Settle, Disclosure
Will/should win: Random Access Memories ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM
18 Months, Calvin Harris
Atmosphere, Kaskade
A Color Map of the Sun, Pretty Lights
Disclosure delivered quieter brilliance, but Daft Punk's retro valentine should prevail.
The Worse Things Get ..., Neko Case
Will/should win: Modern Vampires of the City R&B ALBUM
Trouble Will Find Me, The National
Hesitation Marks, Nine Inch Nails
Lonerism, Tame Impala
Modern Vampires of the City, Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend's mature, melodic work stands out in a strong field.
Will/should win: Girl on Fire ROCK PERFORMANCE
R&B Divas, Faith Evans
Girl on Fire, Alicia Keys
Love in the Future, John Legend
Better, Chrisette Michele
Three Kings, TGT
Should win: The Stars (Are Out Tonight) RAP ALBUM
Grammy darling Keys and her emotionally potent Fire should easily overtake Legend.
Always Alright, Alabama Shakes
The Stars (Are Out Tonight), David Bowie
Radioactive, Imagine Dragons
Kashmir, Led Zeppelin
My God Is the Sun, Queens of the Stone Age
COUNTRY ALBUM
Radioactive had radio action, but Bowie had genuine rock sizzle.
Nothing Was the Same, Drake
Magna Carta Holy Grail, Jay Z
good kid, m.A.A.d city, Kendrick Lamar
The Heist, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Should win: Same Trailer
Yeezus, Kanye West
While Lamar wowed the hip-hop world, Kanye's provocative work has a shot at the spoils in this battle royale.
Night Train, Jason Aldean
Two Lanes of Freedom, Tim McGraw
Same Trailer Different Park, Kacey Musgraves
Based on a True Story, Blake Shelton
Red, Taylor Swift
Red's only a little bit country, but voters adore Swift and may not have heard Musgraves' superior, radio-shunned breakthrough.
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