Grammy Showdown 2013

Nominees
• Jack White Blunderbuss
• fun. Some Nights
• Frank Ocean Channel Orange
• Mumford & Sons Babel
• The Black Keys El Camino

The Experts Say:

Nate Ruess: When I saw this category, it was like, "Holy shit, I can't believe we've been invited!" I'm going with Jack White.

Kaskade: The Mumford & Sons album is my favorite. It's so epic – like stadium folk. Big, singalong music.

Gotye: Frank Ocean's album has a lot of depth you can dig into on multiple listens.

Vegas Odds Favor:
Mumford & Sons 8-5

From NFL broadcasts to the top of every festival bill, you couldn't escape the Keys in 2012. And with an album this mean and lean, who would want to?

Nominees
• Frank Ocean "Thinkin Bout You"
• Kelly Clarkson "Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)"
• Gotye "Somebody That  I Used to Know"
• Taylor Swift "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"
• The Black Keys "Lonely Boy"
• fun. "We Are Young"

The Experts Say:

Kaskade: I’m rooting for the Black Keys. "Lonely Boy" is a song for you to put the top down and drive fast.

Nate Ruess: Gotye, for sure. It starts out as this very shy song – then he just goes for it in the chorus. Awesome.

Kelly Clarkson: I covered "We Are Young" on my last tour. Everybody went nuts.

Vegas Odds Favor:
fun. 2-1

Months later,  her ultimate kiss-off is still stuck in our heads.  Undeniable.

Nominees
• Bruce Springsteen Wrecking Ball
• Muse The 2nd Law
• The Black Keys El Camino
• Coldplay Mylo Xyloto
• Jack White Blunderbuss

The Experts Say:

Kelly Clarkson: The Black Keys actually sound like rock! It's funny when you look at rock categories, like, "That's adult contemporary."

Gotye: El Camino has these sweet, tasty sounds, but it's still got that edgy swagger.

Kaskade: Blunderbuss. I'm a huge Jack White fan.

Vegas Odds Favor:
Jack White 12-5

In the year's most competitive category, we give it up to Bruce for his righteous takedown of our greed-fueled era.

Nominees
• Drake Take Care
• The Roots Undun
• Nas Life Is Good
• Lupe Fiasco Food & Liquor II
• 2 Chainz Based on a T.R.U. Story
• Rick Ross God Forgives, I Don’t

The Experts Say:

Kaskade: I'd give it to Nas – lyrically, the guy's such a freaking genius. He's so clever with his rhymes on Life Is Good.

Kelly Clarkson: Drake will take this. He's worked with so many people!

Gotye: The Roots consistently surprise you. They're still pushing what they do.

Vegas Odds Favor:
Drake 9-5

The Queens MC came back strong in 2012 with a searingly personal LP – and a supercool throwback sound.

Nominees
• Adele "Set Fire to the Rain" (Live)
• Kelly Clarkson "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)"
• Katy Perry "Wide Awake"
• Rihanna "Where Have You Been"
• Carly Rae Jepsen "Call Me Maybe"

The Experts Say:

Kelly Clarkson: I think Adele might take that one. Any time you see her name in your category, it's basically like being up against someone that's just passed away – you know she's totally going to win [laughs]. And she's so cool!

Gotye: "Set Fire to the Rain" is a fantastic song and a really incredible vocal performance. Her voice jumps out of the speakers – it's the kind of voice that can just send chills down your spine.

Kaskade: I mean, I know Adele made her big mark last year – but "Set Fire to the Rain" should get some more recognition. That song is awesome. Katy Perry's song is great, too, though. It's a tossup between those two for me.

Vegas Odds Favor:
Adele 2-5

Does anyone even have the slightest doubt about this one? Adele dominated the Grammys last year – look for her to go home with one more trophy for this unstoppable live performance.

Nominees
• Fiona Apple The Idler Wheel …
• Tom Waits Bad as Me
• Gotye Making Mirrors
• M83 Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
• Björk Biophilia

The Experts Say:

Gotye: As much as this is one category where I'd like to get recognized, I have to pick Biophilia. Björk’s ambition and creativity are amazing. Her sounds are so complex, but in other aspects they’re quite raw – it’s impressive.

Kaskade: I think M83 is going to take this. Their album was one of the biggest records of 2012 for me. It has this future-retro sound: It's electronic and forward-thinking, but it also felt like 1984. It could be on a soundtrack to a John Hughes film or something.

Kelly Clarkson: Wow, Tom Waits! I like all the artists in this category. But I think most people will go for Gotye. He’s a little more mainstream than the others, but just different enough to make mainstream people go, "Ooh, refreshing."

Vegas Odds Favor:
Gotye 8-5

Her comeback album blew our minds with its raw honesty. Fiona's best ever.

Nominees
• Swedish House Mafia feat. John Martin "Don't You Worry Child"
• Calvin Harris feat. Ne-Yo "Let's Go"
• Al Walser "I Can't Live Without You"
• Avicii "Levels"
• Skrillex feat. Sirah "Bangarang"

The Experts Say:

Kaskade: Hands down, it's Skrillex. I think he can find some space on the bookshelf for his fourth Grammy [laughs]. He walks this line between music, energy, power and noise, and he makes it work so well.

Nate Ruess: "Bangarang," without a doubt. I saw Skrillex about a year ago, and it was such an incredible experience. Now I go out of my way to see him any chance I get. And I don’t even do drugs!

Gotye: It's a hard choice between Skrillex and Avicii for me. But I'll go with Skrillex. What he's done is incredible – there’s a whole legion of followers of the sound he's come up with. Just because of how significant he is, it's Skrillex in this category.

Vegas Odds Favor:
Al Walser 2-1

We're with our unanimous expert panel on this one – no EDM artist did more to change the sound of pop (Taylor Swift knows what we're talking about) than young Sonny Moore.

Nominees
• fun.
• Alabama Shakes
• The Lumineers 
• Hunter Hayes
• Frank Ocean

The Experts Say:

Nate Ruess: Hunter Hayes is 21 years old, and he plays every instrument, records all his stuff. I think he's going to stick around for a while.

Kaskade: It's between Frank Ocean and the Lumineers. I'm going with the Lumineers – I'm always rooting for the indie-rock guys. Maybe it’s the underdog in me.

Gotye: I saw Alabama Shakes play at Music Hall of Williamsburg a while back, and it was a fantastic show – amazing vocals. Brittany Howard is an incredible presence. You can’t take your eyes off her.

Kelly Clarkson: I'm going with fun. Bands are always cooler than solo artists. And that's coming from a solo artist! [Laughs]

Vegas Odds Favor:
Frank Ocean 8-5

Fun. were bigger on the charts, but Ocean's crazy-inventive future-soul sound deserves this prize.