Last night, the world watched as music’s biggest night was held in Los Angeles, featuring over a dozen performances and a room filled with hundreds of hopefuls and thousands of fans. The ceremony held several surprises, mostly by way of the winners in each category. While the marquee categories seem to be spread out with a nod to some really solid contenders, the rap genre was all but swept by Jay-Z & Kanye West. Seemingly obvious winners like Frank Ocean (due to the split in alternative music votes) were shut out (except for Best Contemporary Urban Album) but he and other major underdog stories like The Lumineers got a substantial nod through viral pick-up.

In country music, Carrie Underwood (and her projector dress) took home the biggest song awards while groups like Little Big Town and Zac Brown Band took it for the teams (so to speak.) A fairly quiet contender, Gotye crossed both alternative and pop for his song and album, Making Mirrors and Adele, last year’s crowned victor, snuck in one more win for her song from 21, “Set Fire to the Rain,” from a live recording at Royal Albert Hall. Fun. became symbolic class presidents, beating out their contenders in both Best New Artist and Song of the Year for “We Are Young.”

The performances were many and predictably bombastic, including the comeback of Justin Timberlake with Jay-Z in tow, a tribute to Bob Marley, Jack White’s travellin’ band, an introduction to Alabama Shakes for most of the viewers along with tributes to Dave Brubeck & the late Levon Helm. Even host LL Cool J got in on the act, imploring Travis Barker, Tom Morello, Chuck D. and Z-Trip in a tribute to Public Enemy and The Beastie Boys.

Finally, after two years sitting in the crowd it was the Mumford’s day to shine. Easily one of the biggest success stories in the last few years, the British four-some was finally awarded Album of the Year for Babel. Their combination of both critical acclaim and popular sentiment made the journey for these gentleman of the road finally come together in the night’s biggest honor.

Check out the winners in the biggest categories and re-live the night through The 55th GRAMMY® Awards Premium Channel featuring these winners and more on the Music Unlimited service.

Album of the Year:
Mumford and Sons – Babel

Record of the Year:
Gotye ft. Kimbra – “Somebody That I Used to Know”

Song of the Year:
Fun. – “We Are Young (ft. Janelle Monae)”

Best New Artist:
Fun.

Best Pop Solo Performance:
Adele – “Set Fire to the Rain (Live)”

(more…)

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Millions of viewers will be tuning in this Sunday at 8/7c for The 55^th GRAMMY® Awards, eager to find out the outcome of several months of speculation on the winners and performances. This seems to be a banner year for alternative music, with pop cross-overs like Fun. covering several bases and gritty rock like The Black Keys, Jack White and Bruce Springsteen rounding out the field for an older Recording Academy crowd.

However, it may be the conflicts between similar artists that shift the vote towards someone like Frank Ocean, whose critical success may allow him to shuffle by some of his noisier category-mates. While we feel like Fun. may not be too far behind him, there could be other nods given to artists like the soon to be departing Swedish House Mafia, a typically snubbed (although universally liked) Mumford and Sons and underdog stories like Gotye, The Lumineers and Miguel.

Below we’ve chosen 10 of the top categories and made our predictions for the winners. Listen to the tracks and see if you agree. If you want to listen to everything side by side, you can crank up The 55^th Grammy Awards Premium Channel to make an educated decision. Sound off in the comments with your thoughts!

1) Record of the Year
Frank Ocean – “Thinkin’ About You”
 
2) Album of the Year
Frank Ocean – “Channel Orange”
 
3) Song of the Year
Fun. – “We Are Young”
 
4) Best New Artist
The Lumineers 
 
5) Best Pop/Duo Group Performance
Gotye – “Somebody That I Used to Know”
 
6) Best Dance Recording
Swedish House Mafia – “Don’t You Worry Child”
 
7) Best Rock Song
Mumford and Sons – “I Will Wait”
 
8) Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance
Lamb of God – “Ghost Walking”

9) Best R&B Song
Miguel – “Adorn”
 
10) Best Rap Song
Jay-Z & Kanye West – “N****s in Paris”

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This Sunday, the biggest names in the music world will all gather in one place for the The 55^th GRAMMY® Awards. Previous years have brought us some once-in-a-lifetime collaborations, including 2011’s Mumford & Sons/Avett Brothers/Bob Dylan match-up and the 50^th Anniversary of The Beach Boys with Maroon 5 last year. Music’s biggest night lives up to its name another year, with more exciting combinations that will perform together.

Elton John and Ed Sheeran: A rock legend is joined by the English up-and-comer for what should be a moving performance.

Alicia Keys and Maroon 5: Hot off her fantastic rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” in New Orleans, Keys joins the funk-influenced rockers.

Bruno Mars, Rihanna and Sting: We’re not sure what to expect of this eclectic supergroup but we’re certainly intrigued enough to look forward to this.

The Black Keys, The Lumineers, Mumford & Sons:  . . . OK, this one isn’t actually happening, but it really should.

See more of the confirmed performances & presenters here and tune in Sunday at 8/7c only on CBS!

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The Adventures of Tintin: This rousing score from the legendary John Williams is just right for this motion-capture epic adaptation by Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson of the classic character. (Bonus: There’s also The Adventures of Tintin: The Game to check out.)

The Dark Knight Rises: Hans Zimmer gives the Christopher Nolan-directed Batman trilogy a fitting send off musically, with a score that fits the emotional ups and downs of Bruce Wayne and the large-scale battle for the soul and future of Gotham City.

The Artist: Ludovic Bource’s score for this silent, black and white movie about Hollywood’s Golden Age and the advent of talking pictures has already won an Oscar. Now we’ll see if it can achieve another step toward completing an EGOT.

The Descendants: Alexander Payne’s emotional and sometimes funny film about a man learning to make time for his family (which has way more problems than he suspected) is perfectly accompanied by this collection of Hawaiian favorites.

Midnight in Paris: It’s no surprise that Woody Allen, who’s an accomplished jazz musician in addition to being a filmmaker, would compile some great French jazz standards for this movie about the magical and hidden nightlife of Paris.

Marley: While not the official soundtrack of Kevin Macdonald’s gripping documentary of the reggae legend, the Music Unlimited service has tons of Bob Marley’s music – much of which is featured in the film – to enjoy.

Rock of Ages: We shouldn’t even have to convince you to go enjoy this collection of hair-metal greatest hits, sung with enthusiasm by the all-star cast in what was a big-screen adaption of a stage favorite.

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The nominees for the 55th annual Grammy Awards were announced last night and there are an unusual amount of banjos among the acts up for trophies.

In store for potentially big nights are a number of acts who are up for awards each across various categories: Fun., Jay-Z, Mumford & Sons, Frank Ocean, The Black Keys and Kanye West all received several nominations. Who will win big? Who will be shut out? We’ll have to wait until February 10th to find out.

Here are the major category nominees. For more check out the full list at Grammy.com:

Record Of The Year:

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

Album Of The Year:

El Camino — The Black Keys
Some Nights — Fun.
Babel — Mumford & Sons
Channel Orange — Frank Ocean
Blunderbuss — Jack White

Song Of The Year:

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

Best New Artist:

Alabama Shakes
Fun.
Hunter Hayes
The Lumineers
Frank Ocean

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We’ve been revving up all week listening to our 54th GRAMMY® Awards Channel and The Music Unlimited Service has been deliberating our picks for the winners in the top categories on Sunday. Here are our predictions – what do you think? Who’s on your list? Tune in Sunday and weigh in as you watch!

1. Record of the Year: Adele – “Rolling in the Deep”
2. Album of the Year: Adele – 21
3. Best New Artist: Nicki Minaj
4. Best Rock Album: Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
5. Best R&B Album: Ledisi – Pieces of Me
6. Best Pop Vocal Album: Adele – 21
7. Best Rap Album: Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
8. Best Dance/Electronic Album: David Guetta – Nothing But the Beat
9. Best Country Album: Jason Aldean – My Kinda Party
10. Best Latin Album: Calle 13 – Entren Los Que Queleran

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All eyes are on the music industry this week, as The 54th GRAMMY® Awards air this Sunday, February 12th. There was plenty of buzz around the nominations, from expected superstars like Adele to indie rock surprises like Bon Iver. The Music Unlimited service has created a handy guide to this year’s ceremony with the new The 54th GRAMMY Awards Premium Channel available now through the end of the month.

Take a sneak peek at the first 15 tracks and let us know what you think! Many more can be found in the channel. Who do you think is taking home the gold this Sunday?

Beyoncé – “Party (ft. Andre 3000)”
Adele – “Rolling in the Deep”
Dream Theater – “On the Backs of Angels”
Duck Sauce – “Barbra Streisand”
Robyn – “Call Your Girlfriend”
Bon Iver – “Holocene”
Lady Gaga – “Yoü And I”
Eric Church – “Drink in My Hand”
My Morning Jacket – “Holdin On to Black Metal”
Death Cab For Cutie – “You are a Tourist”
J. Cole – “Work Out”
Kings of Leon – “Radioactive”
Bruno Mars – “Grenade”
Maná – “El Veradero Amor Perdona”
Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse – “Body and Soul”

. . . and many more!

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