And the Grammy goes to...

It doesn’t take a crystal ball to predict many of the sights and sounds at the 52^nd Annual Grammy Awards Sunday. The actual awards, on the other hand, are not as easy to forecast, but I’ll give it a go.

Without any help from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, TMZ or tarot cards I can tell you that Houston-born Beyoncé, who will arrive at the Staples Center in Los Angeles for the ceremony with a leading 10 nominations, will be dressed fabulously in a gown that bears the mark of her fashion designer mother, Tina Knowles. I can say with some certainty that pop diva Lady Gaga, another nominations leader, will make headlines for what she wears for completely different reasons.

During the show—between performances by Beyoncé, Gaga, and other multiple nominees like the Black Eyed Peas and country darling Taylor Swift as well the Dave Matthews Band, Green Day, Bon Jovi and more—the dominating themes of the evening will be compassion for Haiti and a final farewell to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.

It should make for a night mixed with entertainment and solemn tribute. Who will actually walk away with those golden gramophones, however, is a little harder to forecast, but it’s looking as if this will be “ladies' night” at the Grammys with most of the leading nominees being members of the fairer sex.

The big question is will any one of the previously mentioned leading nominees sweep the field and take home an arm-load of gold or will the most coveted awards be evenly distributed?

Let’s take a look at the major categories and see if any trends emerge:

Record of the Year

• "Halo" – Beyoncé
• "I Gotta Feeling" – Black Eyed Peas
• "Use Somebody" – Kings of Leon
• "Poker Face" – Lady Gaga
• "You Belong With Me" – Taylor Swift

The winner: “I Gotta Feeling" – Black Eyed Peas

Tenure plays a huge part in every Grammy balloting and will be the tipping factor for many voters when having to pick between newbies Swift and Lady Gaga or more established superstars like Beyoncé or the Black Eyed Peas. Once down to those two (sorry Kings of Leon, you were a distant last place in this vote), B.E.P. takes the prize with “I Gotta Feeling,” which was the unoffical feel-good anthem of 2009.

Beyoncé won’t have to lick any wounds, however, as her award will be waiting in the next category.

Song of the Year

• "Poker Face" – Lady Gaga
• "Pretty Wings" – Maxwell
• "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" – Beyoncé
• "Use Somebody" – Kings of Leon
• "You Belong With Me" – Taylor Swift

The winner:    "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" – Beyoncé

It was decent of the academy to include Maxwell and Kings of Leon on this ballot, but really this boils down to the ladies. It’s also might be the closest race of the night. In the end Taylor Swift will be thought of as too green and Lady Gaga too vulgar to surpass Grammy darling Beyoncé for her strongest hit of last year.

Album of the Year

• “I Am... Sasha Fierce” – Beyoncé
• “The E.N.D.” – Black Eyed Peas
• “The Fame” – Lady Gaga
• “Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King” – Dave Matthews Band
• “Fearless” – Taylor Swift

The winner: “I Am… Sasha Fierce” - Beyoncé

In what may be the best five-way race for the most coveted award of the night in the history of the Grammy Awards, our local diva will be standing in tears and thanking the heavens for her good fortune. A case could be made for any one of these albums to win, but in the end practicality will win out.

Voters will reason that Swift’s best work is still ahead of her and DMB’s had stronger efforts than “Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King.” the Lady Gaga album feels old and the the Peas, while selling oodles of copies, didn’t release singles to radio in any sort of conventional fashion.

Beyoncé, by contrast, followed the traditional single-by-single release formula followed a powerful support tour that was one of the most well-attended international events of last year. She will be rewarded for it.

• Black Eyed Peas, Grammy Awards, Kings of Leon, Staples Center
• Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift

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