This Sunday night, the Staple Centre in Los Angeles will fill with hundreds of musicians and performers for the 55th Grammy Awards, including Australia’s very own Gotye, who is hoping for potential Grammy glory with nominations in three major categories.
While Mr Wally De Backer and some of music’s best and brightest wait patiently to see if they’ll be taking home one of the coveted awards, streaming music service market leader Spotify thinks it’s got the inside scoop on the winners ahead of the event.
It may not do for the Grammys what the Warmest 100 did for Triple J’s Hottest 100 in terms of accuracy and technical nous, but Spotify has tracked the listening habits of its users streaming songs and albums on the digital music service as a way of predicting which nominees will leave the ceremony with the golden gramophones.
Analysing which nominee in each major category has the most song and album streams, Spotify has projected a selection of winners based on the streaming data, and things are looking pretty good for Gotye and his Kimbra-featuring duet ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’.
Spotify predicts the chart-topping hit (and America’s highest-selling single) will take out both of the categories in which it is nominated, for Record of the Year as well as the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance; facing off against the likes of Frank Ocean, Taylor Swift, The Black Keys, and Kelly Clarkson in the former category, and the likes of Florence + The Machine’s ‘Shake It Out and Maroon 5′s co-hit with Whiz Khalifa, ’Payphone’ in the latter.
Analysing which nominee in each major category has the most song and album streams, Spotify has projected a selection of winners…
Gotye’s ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ also has more streams than its likely contender, New York City pop troupe fun., who are also squaring off directly against De Backer in both categories with their Janelle Monae-featuring hit single, ‘We Are Young’.
The pop group are also nominated in the Album of the Year category, but Spotify data picks Mumford & Sons’ record-breaking Babel as snagging the award; no great surprise considering that Spotify users helped put the nu-folkies’ sophomore into its record-breaking chart debut last year.
Spotify’s prediction for Babel will see it beating Jack White’s solo debut Blunderbuss and Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange, while over in the Best New Artist category, Denver’s The Lumineers – who this morning have announced venue upgrades to their imminent Australian tour – are chosen by Spotify’s analysts to win against Alabama Shakes, Frank Ocean, and fun.
Carly Rae Jepsen, the Canadian pop star who toppled Gotye from his eight-week reign atop the US Charts with ‘Call Me Maybe’, is pegged to take out the Best Solo Performance, while Carrie Underwood’s ‘Blown Away’ is favoured for Best Country Song.
Spotify is also asking fans to predict winners for the 2014 Grammy Awards with a Facebook app that allows music enthusiasts to submit their predictions across 10 major categories, offering voters in US, UK and Denmark the chance to score tickets to the 2014 Grammys.
The 55th Grammy Awards will take place on February 10th 2013 at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, and should Gotye win any (or fingers crossed – all) three of his categories, it’ll mark the end of an absolutely killer year of record-breaking accolades for the multi-instrumentalist.
55th Grammy Awards Nominees
Album of the year
El Camino, The Black Keys
Some Nights, fun.
Babel, Mumford & Sons
Channel Orange, Frank Ocean
Blunderbuss, Jack White
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
Song of the year (goes to writer)
The A Team (performed by Ed Sheeran)
Adorn (performed by Miguel)
Call Me Maybe (performed by Carly Rae Jepsen)
Stronger (performed by Kelly Clarkson)
We Are Young (performed by fun. featuring Janelle Monáe)
Best new artist
Alabama Shakes
fun.
Hunter Hayes
The Lumineers
Frank Ocean
Pop solo performance
Set Fire to the Rain (Live), Adele
Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You), Kelly Clarkson
Call Me Maybe, Carly Rae Jepsen
Wide Awake, Katy Perry
Where Have You Been, Rihanna
Pop duo/group performance
Shake It Out, Florence & The Machine
We Are Young, fun. featuring Janelle Monáe
Somebody That I Used to Know, Gotye featuring Kimbra
Sexy and I Know It, LMFAO
Payphone, Maroon 5 and Wiz Khalifa
Pop vocal album
Stronger, Kelly Clarkson
Ceremonials, Florence & The Machine
Some Nights, fun.
Overexposed, Maroon 5
The Truth About Love, Pink
Dance recording
Let’s Go, Calvin Harris featuring Ne-Yo
Bangarang, Skrillex featuring Sirah
Don’t You Worry Child, Swedish House Mafia featuring John Martin
I Can’t Live Without You, Al Walser
Dance/electronica album
Wonderland, Steve Aoki
Don’t Think, The Chemical Brothers
> Album Title Goes Here <, Deadmau5
Fire & Ice, Kaskade
Bangarang, Skrillex
Traditional pop vocal album
Christmas, Michael Bublé
A Holiday Carole, Carole King
Kisses on the Bottom, Paul McCartney
Rock performance
Hold On, Alabama Shakes
Lonely Boy, The Black Keys
Charlie Brown, Coldplay
I Will Wait, Mumford & Sons
We Take Care of Our Own, Bruce Springsteen
Hard rock/metal performance
I’m Alive, Anthrax
Love Bites (So Do I), Halestorm
Blood Brothers, Iron Maiden
Ghost Walking, Lamb of God
No Reflection, Marilyn Manson
Whose Life (Is It Anyways?), Megadeth
Rock song (goes to writer)
Freedom at 21 (performed by Jack White)
I Will Wait (performed by Mumford & Sons)
Lonely Boy (performed by the Black Keys)
Madness (performed by Muse)
We Take Care of Our Own (performed by Bruce Springsteen)
Rock album
El Camino, The Black Keys
Mylo Xyloto, Coldplay
The 2nd Law, Muse
Wrecking Ball, Bruce Springsteen
Blunderbuss, Jack White
Alternative album
The Idler Wheel Is Wiser …, Fiona Apple
Biophilia, Björk
Making Mirrors, Gotye
Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, M83
Bad As Me, Tom Waits
R&B song(goes to writer)
Adorn (performed by Miguel)
Beautiful Surprise (performed by Tamia)
Heart Attack (performed by Trey Songz)
Pray for Me (performed by Anthony Hamilton)
Refill (performed by Elle Varner)
Traditional R&B performance
Lately, Anita Baker
Love on Top, Beyonce
Wrong Side of a Love Song, Melanie Fiona
Real Good Hands, Gregory Porter
If Only You Knew, SWV
R&B performance
Thank You, Estelle
Gonna Be Alright (F.T.B.), Robert Glasper Experiment featuring Ledisi
I Want You, Luke James
Adorn, Miguel
Climax, Usher
R&B song (goes to writer)
Adorn (performed by Miguel)
Beautiful Surprise (performed by Tamia)
Heart Attack (performed by Trey Songz)
Pray for Me (performed by Anthony Hamilton)
Refill (performed by Elle Varner)
R&B album
Black Radio, Robert Glasper Experiment
Back to Love, Anthony Hamilton
Write Me Back, R. Kelly
Beautiful Surprise, Tamia
Open Invitation, Tyrese
Urban contemporary album
Fortune, Chris Brown
Kaleidoscope Dream, Miguel
Channel Orange, Frank Ocean
Rap performance
HYFR, Drake featuring Lil’ Wayne
N—– In Paris, Jay-Z and Kanye West
Daughters, Nas
Mercy, Kanye West featuring Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz
I Do, Young Jeezy featuring Jay-Z and André 3000
Rap/sung collaboration
Wild Ones, Flo Rida featuring Sia
No Church in the Wild, Jay-Z & Kanye West featuring Frank Ocean and The-Dream
Tonight (Best You Ever Had), John Legend featuring Ludacris
Cherry Wine, Nas featuring Amy Winehouse
Talk That Talk, Rihanna featuring Jay-Z
Rap song (goes to writer)
Daughters (performed by Nas)
Lotus Flower Bomb (performed by Wale featuring Miguel)
Mercy (performed by Kanye West featuring Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz)
The Motto (performed by Drake featuring Lil’ Wayne)
N—– In Paris (performed by Jay-Z and Kanye West)
Young, Wild & Free (performed by Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa featuring Bruno Mars)
Rap album
Take Care, Drake
Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1, Lupe Fiasco
Life Is Good, Nas
Undun, The Roots
God Forgives, I Don’t, Rick Ross
Based on a T.R.U. Story, 2 Chainz
Country solo performance
Home, Dierks Bentley
Springsteen, Eric Church
Cost of Livin’, Ronnie Dunn
Wanted, Hunter Hayes
Over, Blake Shelton
Blown Away, Carrie Underwood
Country duo/group performance
Even If It Breaks Your Heart, Eli Young Band
Pontoon, Little Big Town
Safe & Sound, Taylor Swift & The Civil Wars
On the Outskirts of Town, The Time Jumpers
I Just Come Here for the Music, Don Williams featuring Alison Krauss
Country song (goes to writer)
Blown Away (performed Carrie Underwood)
Cost Of Livin’ (performed by Ronnie Dunn)
Even If It Breaks Your Heart (performed by Eli Young Band)
So You Don’t Have to Love Me Anymore (performed by Alan Jackson)
Springsteen (performed by Eric Church)
Country album
Uncaged, Zac Brown Band
Hunter Hayes, Hunter Hayes
Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran, Jamey Johnson
Four the Record, Miranda Lambert
The Time Jumpers, The Time Jumpers
Producer (non-classical)
Dan Auerbach
Jeff Bhasker
Diplo
Markus Dravs
Salaam Remi
