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Grammys 2014: Who Will Win In The General Field Categories?

Kathy Zerbib |
January 24, 2014 | 2:13 a.m. PST

Film Editor

Will fresh-faced Lorde dominate Sunday's Grammys alongside Daft Punk and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis? (Twitter/@LordeUpdates)
Will fresh-faced Lorde dominate Sunday's Grammys alongside Daft Punk and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis? (Twitter/@LordeUpdates)
The 56th Annual Grammy Awards will be held on Jan. 26, 2014. In lieu of the grand ceremony, the time has arrived to predict some of Sunday night's winners.

In the general field division, there are four categories: Record of the year, album of the year, song of the year, and best new artist. Since the prediction for best new artist has already been made, the other three categories are up for debate.

READ MORE: Grammys 2014: Best New Artist Predictions

First up is record of the year. The nominees are: "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk (featuring Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers), "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons, "Royals" by Lorde, "Locked Out Of Heaven" by Bruno Mars, and "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke (featuring Pharrell Williams and T.I.). 

Congratulations are an order for Pharrell. He is nominated twice in one category, and both songs are two strong candidates favored to win. Rolling Stone hailed "Get Lucky" as its number one song of 2013 for topping song charts in 55 countries. Daft Punk broke one million sales in the UK in only 69 days. As for "Blurred Lines," the single has sold over 1.44 million copies, making it the biggest selling single of 2013. Billboard made "Blurred Lines" its 2013 song of the summer. Clearly, these two are at the forefront of the competition. "Blurred Lines" seems to have more of an edge to take the title, but, given its controversy, Daft Punk may just be able to scoot ahead.

READ MORE: Banning 'Blurred Lines' Won't Kill Rape Culture

Still, don't rule out the underdogs just yet. Lorde's "Royals" has also been hitting the number one mark week after week and may just snag the award from under her male competitors. Imagine Dragons and Bruno Mars have good songs, but are buried under the other nominees. They, too, fared well. We just have our eyes on more promising sights.

Next is album of the year, and the nominees are: "The Blessed Unrest" by Sara Bareilles, "Random Access Memories" by Daft Punk, "Good Kid, M.A.A.D City" by Kendrick Lamar, "The Heist" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and "Red" by Taylor Swift. 

This year could very well be Macklemore's year. His album "The Heist" with Ryan Lewis surpassed a million copies sold and hit platinum. His hit songs "Thrift Shop," "Can't Hold Us," and "White Walls" have all made their way to formidable heights on Billboard charts. But then we must consider Daft Punk is also in the running, and "Get Lucky" help propelled the band to the top of the sales charts, too. 

With two top contenders going head to head, Kendrick Lamar's own "Good Kid, M.A.A.D City" might not match the pressure. He, too, surpassed the one million sale mark and dropped back-to-back hit singles ("Swimming Pools," "Poetic Justice," and "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe"). By no means should he be disregarded in this category.

As for Sara Bareilles and Taylor Swift… Well, congratulations on the nomination. That alone is no weak feat.

The nominees for song of the year are: "Just Give Me A Reason" by Pink (featuring Nate Ruess), "Locked Out Of Heaven" by Bruno Mars, "Roar" by Katy Perry, "Royals" by Lorde, and "Same Love" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (featuring Mary Lambert).

The three automatic standouts in this category are "Royals," "Roar," and "Same Love" (Yes, in that order). These three songs were always on the radio, and we can all single along to them. Rolling Stones named "Royals" its top number two song of 2013, just after "Get Lucky." Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Lorde are expected to be big winners on Sunday, so it will be interesting to see who manages to secure this category. However, "Royals" seems to be much bigger of a song than "Same Love," though Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are perhaps more recognizable than Lorde. If anything, this would be a battle between Lorde and Katy Perry, with Lorde coming out on top.

READ MORE: 7 Signs That Katy Perry's Chest Was Predicted By Scripture

Once again, Bruno Mars is congratulated but set aside in the presence of more dominating candidates. He and Pink both made great songs this year, though. 

Find more Grammys 2014 coverage here.

Reach Film Editor Kathy Zerbib here. Follow her on Twitter here.



 

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