The 56th annual Grammy Awards will be presented January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. The nominees are voted on and winners selected by members of the Recording Academy.

The Grammy Awards give out over 70 different trophies. These are my predictions of the winners in the general and pop categories.

General

Record of the Year

• Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams - "Get Lucky"
• Imagine Dragons - "Radioactive"

• Lorde - "Royals"
• Bruno Mars - "Locked Out Of Heaven"
• Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell - "Blurred Lines"

Record of the Year feels more wide open this year than in most recent years.  It is likely to come down to a battle among Lorde, Imagine Dragons and Daft Punk.  All are stellar records in their own right.  However, the sheer power of "Royals" coming seemingly out of nowhere from the 17 year old singer and fellow New Zealand artist Joel Little as producer should rule the night.  "Royals" is a recording that sets a real atmosphere around itself, and that is the hallmark of an outstanding record.

 

Album of the Year

• Sara Bareilles - The Blessed Unrest
• Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
• Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, M.A.A.D City
• Macklemore and Ryan Lewis - The Heist
• Taylor Swift - Red

This is the category where Daft Punk truly shine.  Random Access Memories is an elegant creation that both brought back disco and reminded everyone how great much of 1970s pop music really was.  Look for a win by the robots unless one of the pair of strong hip hop nominees from Kendrick Lamar and the duo of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis sneak in.

 

Song of the Year

• Lorde - "Royals"
• Macklemore and Ryan Lewis - "Same Love"
• Bruno Mars - "Locked Out Of Heaven"
• Katy Perry - "Roar
• Pink featuring Nate Ruess - "Just Give Me a Reason"

In most years "Royals" could be a shoo-in for this award.  However, "Same Love" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis carries hefty meaning in support for marriage equality coming out of the hip hop community.  This is a historically important song, and I expect to see the Grammy Awards recognize that fact.

 

Best New Artist

• James Blake
• Kendrick Lamar
• Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
• Kacey Musgraves
• Ed Sheeran

Since somehow Lorde wasn't nominated for this award, I expect to see singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran slip into the winners' circle.  He is an artist that looks destined for a long, successful career and his breakthrough "The A Team" was nominated last year for Song Of the Year.  However, alternative artists have done well in this category in recent years, so James Blake should be considered the dark horse.

 

Pop

Best Pop Solo Performance

• Sara Bareilles - "Brave"
• Lorde - "Royals"
• Bruno Mars - "When I Was Your Man"
• Katy Perry - "Roar"
• Justin Timberlake - "Mirrors"

Sticking my neck out here I'm looking for the woman who received a surprise Album of the Year nomination to take home an award.  Sara Bareilles' "Brave" is the kind of feel good record that makes everyone smile and appeals across a very wide range of the musical spectrum.

 

Best Pop Duo or Group Performance

• Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams - "Get Lucky"
• Pink featuring Nate Ruess - "Just Give Me a Reason"
• Rihanna featuring Mikky Ekko - "Stay"
• Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell Williams - "Blurred Lines"
• Justin Timberlake featuring Jay-Z - "Suit and Tie"

With no competition from Lorde, I look for Daft Punk's disco throwback to be victorious.  An award here will also recognize a stellar year for Pharrell Williams.  However, don't be shocked if Pink sneaks in for a victory.

 

Best Pop Instrumental Album

• Herb Alpert - Steppin' Out
• Boney James - The Beat
• Earl Klugh - HandPicked
• Dave Koz, Gerald Albright, Mindi Abair, and Richard Eliot - Summer Horns
• Jeff Lorber Fusion - Hacienda

Herb Alpert has a legendary career as both musician and record label executive.  He won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.  His new release looks like a winner here among mostly jazz oriented fellow nominees.

 

Best Pop Vocal Album

• Lana Del Rey - Paradise
• Lorde - Pure Heroine
• Bruno Mars - Unorthodox Jukebox
• Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines
• Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience: The Complete Experience

Justin Timberlake was welcomed back this year with open arms by fans and the music industry alike.  Look for Grammy voters to add to his accolades.  Lana Del Rey should be seen as a dark horse here with the most distinctive album among the nominees.

 

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

• Tony Bennett and Various Artists - Viva Duets
• Michael Buble - To Be Loved
• Gloria Estefan - The Standards
• Cee Lo Green - Cee Lo's Magic Moment
• Dionne Warwick - Now

Look for this category to be a showdown between 11 time winner in this category Tony Bennett and three time winner Michael Buble.  This time I'm going with Michael Buble on what truly is a stronger collection.