Which Canadian musicians will win at this year’s
Grammy Awards? Amber Nasrulla weighs in.
1.
ARTIST: DRAKE
ODDS: 1/4
NOMINATED FOR: FOUR AWARDS Best New Artist; Best Rap Solo Performance; Best Rap Performance by a Duo or a Group; Best Rap Album (
Thank Me Later)
COMPETITION: Includes Ludacris (
How Low), T.I. (
I’m Back), Kanye West (
Power), Eminem (
Not Afraid) and Jay-Z (
The Blueprint 3)
THE GRAMMY GOES TO: a) Bieber will beat Drake in the Best New Artist category. b)The award for Rap Album will go to Eminem because his album
Recovery was a monster hit this year. c) Fingers crossed for Drake for Best Rap Solo Performance but it’s looking like Eminem’s first to the finish line in that race as well. d) Drake with T.I. & Swizz Beatz is competing against Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz in the category for Best Rap Performance by a Duo. Although Drake’s Fancy was a better song that Jay-Z’s On to the Next One, Jay-Z is master of the universe, the admiral, the godfather, he is critically acclaimed and has huge public recognition. You know where I’m headed. The award is his.
2.
ARTIST: Neil Young
ODDS: 1/3
NOMINATED FOR: THREE AWARDS Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance (
Le Noise); Best Rock Song (
Angry World); Best Rock Album
COMPETITION: Includes
Mumford and Sons (
Little Lion Man); Kings of Leon (
Radioactive); Muse (
Resistance); The Black Keys (
Tighten Up); Album – Jeff Beck (
Emotion & Commotion); Pearl Jam (
Backspacer); Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (
Mojo)
THE GRAMMY GOES TO: The iconic Young won his first Grammy in 2010.  Who’s to say the Academy won’t make him wait another 40 years before honouring him with the Best Album Award? It’s absurdly long overdue. It’s clear that Young also deserves the award for Best Rock Song but critics say that Muse will win it. 3.
ARTIST: Arcade Fire
ODDS: 2/3
NOMINATED FOR
THREE AWARDS, Album of the Year (
The Suburbs); Best Alternative Music Album; Best Rock Performance by a Duo or a Group
COMPETITION: Eminem (
Recovery); Lady Antebellum (
Need You Now); Lady Gaga (
The Fame Monster); Katy Perry (
Teenage Dreams)
THE GRAMMY GOES TO: a) For Album of the Year, the bookies are saying it’s a toss up between Lady Gaga and Eminem. Between his controversial video with Rihanna
Love the Way You Lie and her meat dress, this race doesn’t get anymore, well meatier. b) But with their third album, Arcade Fire will take home the gold, Best Alternative Music Album, and rightly so! c) For Best Rock Performance, we’re select Arcade Fire for
Ready to Start, but Muse is a hard-core rock contender and getting buzz for
Resistance. 4.
ARTIST: Justin Bieber
ODDS: 1/2
NOMINATED FOR: TWO AWARDS,  Best New Artist; Best Pop Vocal Album (
My World 2.0)
COMPETITION: Includes Drake, Mumford & Sons, Florence & the Machine, Esperanza Spalding; Susan Boyle (
I Dreamed a Dream)

THE GRAMMY GOES TO: Bieber a) Usher’s his “brother”. Dana Carvey’s inner “church lady” got hot and bothered for him on
Saturday Night Live recently. He’s on the cover of the Hollywood Reporter. Yeah, this is the Bieb’s moment and he’s going to be named Best New Artist. c) Lady Gaga will totter off with Best Pop Album… unless Boyle, the bushy-browed songstress from the U.K., whose humble reality TV beginnings paved the way for her fairytale success story, stages an upset.

5.
ARTIST: Michael Bublé
ODDS: 0/2
NOMINATED FOR: TWO AWARDS Best Male Pop Vocal Performance; Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
COMPETITION: Michael Jackson (
This Is It);  Adam Lambert (
Whataya Want From Me); Bruno Mars (
Just the Way You Are); John Mayer (
Half of My Heart)
THE GRAMMY GOES TO: a) Bruno Mars has seven nominations and the most hits so he’ll probably take the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal. b) Michael Bublé’s album is beautiful but it’s likely to be overshadowed by the lingering emotion for the other Michael…yes Michael Jackson will win Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. 6.
ARTIST: Michael J. Fox
ODDS: 1/1
NOMINATED FOR: Best Spoken Word Album (
A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Future)
COMPETITION: Craig Ferguson (
American On Purpose); Sarah Silverman (
The Bedwetter); Jon Stewart with Samantha Bee, Wyatt Cenac, Jason Jones, John Oliver & Sigourney Weaver (
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Presents Earth); Carol Burnett (
This Time Together: Laughter And Reflection); Woody Allen (
The Woody Allen Collection: Mere Anarchy, Side Effects, Without Feathers, Getting Even)
THE GRAMMY GOES TO: Talk about a tough crowd encompassing every generation, decade, genre, skill-set, niche, and hair colour. Nostalgia and sympathy for Parkinson’s Disease might play a part but our vote is with Fox. The others are all comedians but Fox has a cause worth fighting for.
7.
ARTIST: Melanie Fiona (with John Legend, The Roots, & Common)
ODDS: 0/1
NOMINATED FOR: Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (
Wake Up! Everybody)
COMPETITION: B.o.B Featuring Bruno Mars (
Nothin’ On You); Chris Brown, Tyga & Kevin McCall (
Deuces); Eminem & Rihanna (
Love The Way You Lie); Jay-Z & Alicia Keys (
Empire State Of Mind)
THE GRAMMY GOES TO: When the DJ played
Empire State of Mind, I can’t think of a single time the dance floor wasn’t mobbed this past summer. This award is a slam-dunk for Jay-Z and Alicia Keys but… Eminem and Rihanna could still steal it out from under them. That said, nothing would thrill us more than for the spritely Fiona to walk on-stage and pluck it away from everyone! Wouldn’t that be divine?
Watch
The Grammy’s
on Sunday February 13 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Global / CB
S.