British super-star Adele Adkins proved her worth in pop music history after her sophomore album 21 brought us hits like retro soul steamroller “Rolling in the Deep” and the high-strung revenge anthem “Rumour has it.” And let’s not forget “Someone like You,” the tear-jerking ballad that was a constant presence on radio stations nationwide, causing thousands to frantically grab for their car radio dials. With six nominations, including record, song and album of the year, the singer’s 13-million-selling smash 21has marked Adele as a triple threat against Lady Gaga, The Foo Fighters and indie soft-rockers Bon Iver.
Leading the pack with seven Grammy nominations, Kanye West (shown above) stormed back into the eye of the music world with his magnum-opus My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, redeeming himself after a 2009 VMA outburst against Taylor Swift. Released right after the Grammy cutoff date in 2010, the album must battle West’s collaboration with Jay Z, Watch The Throne, for Rap Album of the year. The epic “All of the Lights” off My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasyput West up for yet more nominations, including Song of the Year. It also inspired the Nike Air Yeezy, a shoeline comprising a small part of West’s newfound passion for fashion. After the Watch the Throne tour, West traveled the world to inspire a women’s clothing line he stupefyingly calls Kanye West. Expect Yeezy to make a big fashion statement on his way in to the Grammys and leave overloaded with trophies.
SkrillexElectronic dance music artist and DJ Skrillex is up for five nominations in 2012, including Best New Artist, Best Dance Recording, Best Dance/Electronica album, Best Remixed Recording and Best Short Form Music Video. Skrillex, aka Sonny Moore broke out into the mainstream with his release “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites.” The 6 track collection is explosive, filled with danceable beats, chopped samples and blissed-out video game noises. While other dance music artists create music with four-on-the-floor house beats and hands-in-the-air party anthems, Skrillex jumps out into the left field. Skrillex is one of many DJ’s who produce and spin an up-tempo, hard-hitting form of Dubstep that’s much more aggressive than the genres’ tame beginnings in Europe. Fans on the Internet have named it “Brostep,” and the name fits appropriately. This is not music for showing off new dance moves- It’s dynamic, disruptive and absolutely fantastic.Bruno MarsAn artist used to emerging from some pretty dark places (he was dismissed by Motown Records before signing to Atlantic Records in 2009), Bruno Mars went into 2011 with a 2010 cocaine possession charge on his back. To move on, Mars stuck his nose in all areas of music in 2011, earning himself six Grammy nominations in the process. His release Doowops and Hooligansearned an Album of the Year nomination, and its subsequent single “Grenade” netted another three nominations. The album showcases Mars’ easily accessible pop song writing style, with elements of soul, doo-wop and musical influences from his native Hawaii. In addition to his own album, Mars put in work behind the scenes with his production trio, The Smeezingtons. Songs written for artists ranging from Bad Meets Evil to Cee-Lo Green to Wiz Khalifa earned the group a Producer of the Year nomination. Whether writing music for himself or others, Mars has become one of the most important artists in pop music and will most likely leave the 2012 Grammy awards with the trophies to match.
