The 54th annual Grammy Awards are expected to take place on Sunday, February 12, 2012. This year's “Best Pop Solo Performance” is a combined category featuring both female and male nominated musicians; in previous years, it was awarded separately as “Best Male Pop Vocal Performance” and “Best Female Pop Vocal Performance” respectively. This was due to the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences' (NARAS) decision to consolidate categories.
Nominees Vying for Award
The 2012 “Best Pop Solo Performance” category consists of five nominees (four females and one male artist): Adele’s “Someone Like You,” Lady Gaga’s “You and I,” Bruno Mars’ “Grenade,” Katy Perry’s “Firework,” as well as Pink’s “Perfect.”
Analysis
Based on popularity, Lady Gaga has the greatest number of Twitter followers in the world; however, the Grammy awards are not a fan-voted award show. Artists who are honored with a prestigious Grammy are done so by industry personnel and their peers.
The favorite is Adele since she delivered a career-defining vocal in “Someone Like You,” and simultanesouly elevated the standards of pop music; moreover, Adele is a woman that let her vocals do the talking, and proved that she does not need to possess any superior dance skills or unique choreography for her music to gain attention and fame.
Katy Perry's “Firework,” Adele's “Someone Like You” and Bruno Mars' “Grenade” all peaked at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 Charts and stayed there for multiple weeks, and Pink's nominated single reached #2.
The most successful song chartwise was “Someone Like You,” since it stayed at the top position for five non-consecutive weeks, whereas Mars and Perry's nominated vocals held that spot for four weeks each.
Gaga's “You and I” did not even hit the Top 5, and only peaked at #6. If Gaga were nominated in this category for “Born This Way,” her chances of winning a Grammy would have been exponentially better. Her only advantage with “You and I” is that it was the only song on her latest album where she is credited as its sole composer.
From the five nominees this year, Katy Perry is the only artist that has yet to win a Grammy. If voters take this into account, they may want to reward Perry for co-writing and recording an inspirational and potent single that empowered pop music listeners worldwide, especially the teen population.
The Verdict
The Grammy for “Best Pop Solo Performance” should go to Adele. She is the epitome of talent, grace and elegance in pop music. If there were to be a surprise, it would come from Katy Perry or Bruno Mars. Gaga and Pink would have to settle with the nomination.
To find out which other artists are nominated for a 2012 Grammy award, visit their official website.
Markos Papadatos - Markos Papadatos holds over six years journalism experience, authoring over 700 articles, many of which are feature profile interviews.
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