by Dennis Nangle

Created on: February 06, 2009   Last Updated: February 09, 2009

Alas, the blessed event is upon us: the 51st Annual Grammy Awards. Or, more appropriately put, the least boring academy-contrived awards ceremony (only because of the promise of musical performances). To be fair, this year's nominations and scheduled performances seem to be shockingly aligned with the current pulse of the masses (need I remind you of the Joni Mitchell debacle of 2008?). While certain hipster publications would certainly disagree, the academy got it mostly right this year. Here's my list of wills, shoulds, and wants for the categories that most pique my interest.

Record of the Year Will win: Viva la Vida,
Coldplay Should win: Viva la Vida,
Coldplay Want win: Chasing Pavements, Adele

Yes, I am capable of realizing the limits of my objectivity. Coldplay's heavily-played and even heavilier (make no mistake, it's a word) nominated track is epic and placates the most diverse of tastes. The voters love Coldplay's ability to marry earthy edginess with mass popularity, so I can't imagine them not taking this one home. That said, I love Adele to pieces, think her voice is stunning and effortless, and seems like such a sweet person in general. I'll always be a fan of dark horses that also shatter stereotypes of female pop artists, so expect me to be teary-eyed and jubilant if the presenters call her name. Plus, imagine the look of shock and humble awe on her face compared to the smug expectancy of Coldplay's victory visages.

Album of the Year Will win: Tha Carter III, Lil Wayne Should win: Year of the Gentleman, Ne-Yo Want win: Year of the Gentleman, Ne-Yo There's no denying Lil Wayne's lyrical genius, don't get me wrong. But on a moral level, I would be overjoyed to see Ne-Yo take it home. Ne-Yo's not only an excellent songwriter and vocalist, but YOTG's message is more necessary than ever in the genre. Who knew that the academy would agree with me by nominating the album so heavily? I'm hopeful that a Ne-Yo victory in any category will serve as a catalyst for Hip-Hop and Rap music that not only respects women, but lauds their efforts to fight for living an equal existence.

Song of the Year Will win: Viva la Vida, Coldplay Should win: American Boy, Estelle ft. Kanye West Want win: I'm Yours, Jason Mraz Let's face it: half the voters are gonna get lazy and default to the heavily-buzzed favorite and the other half will be titillated by the idea of a sweep. But American Boy is just as deserving of the Grammy for its flirty-but-not-skanky innuendo and succinct

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