Sunday’s ceremony will mark the first time the Grammys have had a host since 2004. And that host is LL Cool J — something we’re well aware of, thanks to his feisty and playful promo clips for the awards show with Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj. (Co-hosts will be Cali jazz saxophonist Dave Koz and pioneering “Keep On, Keepin’ On” rapstress MC Lyte.)

MOST-NOMINATED ARTISTS

“Ni**as In Paris” hit-maker Kanye West will walk into the ceremony with seven nominations — the most racked up by any artist this year. Right behind him are Adele, Bruno Mars and Foo Fighters, who each earned six nods. Relative newcomer Skrillex is tied with veterans Radiohead and Lil Wayne with five nominations, and Bon Iver, Drake, Jay-Z, Mumford & Sons, Nicki Minaj and Rihanna each have four.

CONFLICTED NOMINEES

At some point last year, before the Grammy nominations were announced, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon was interviewed by the New York Times. At that time, he talked about what he would say in his acceptance speech if, hypothetically, he were to be nominated and win. “‘Everyone should go home, this is ridiculous. You should not be doing this. We should not be gathering in a big room and looking at each other and pretending that this is important.’ That’s what I would say,” stated Vernon. Turns out he was nominated four times. Oops!

Meanwhile, Vernon’s buddy Kanye West (the two collaborated on My Beautiful Dark Fantasy tracks “Monster” and “Lost In The World”) is also having mixed emotions. During a rambling two-hour Twitter rant early last month, Yeezy tweeted the following: “I appreciate having the most nominations at the Grammies but I feel so conflicted by the fact that award shows sometimes are completely……illogical… Good logic tells me smile Kanye… the world likes you again… red or blue pill? … aaaaand Swallow lol”

Here’s an idea: instead of the pills, ‘Ye, swallow your pride, crack a bottle of bubbly and enjoy yourself.

THE ADELE FACTOR

Look, there’s no denying the fact that Adele Adkins is going into this whole shebang with a gold-plated halo above her head. She had the best-selling LP of 2011 with 21, the best-selling single of 2011 with “Rolling In The Deep” (“Someone Like You” didn’t do too shabby, either) and, since her sophomore set was released nearly a year ago, she’s been on top of the album chart for 19 (non-consecutive) weeks and counting.

As mentioned above, Adele has six Grammy nominations: Album Of The Year (21), Record Of The Year (”Rolling In The Deep”), Song Of The Year (”Rolling In The Deep”), Best Pop Vocal Album (21), Best Pop Solo Performance (”Someone Like You”) and Best Short Form Music Video (”Rolling In The Deep”).

But let’s look at her track record at the various music awards ceremonies from the past few months. Adele won three of the four American Music Awards she was up for in the fall, but nabbed only three of her seven potential MTV VMAs — and those three were all technical ones (Art Direction, Cinematography and Editing) for the “Rolling In The Deep” video. The London-based singer was left empty-handed after both the People’s Choice Awards, where she was nominated four times, and the Soul Train Music Awards, where she stood to win in three categories.

Adele also struck out in the three Teen Choice Awards categories she was nominated for, failed to nab the Mercury Prize for Album Of The Year and emerged from the MOBO Awards with one win (Best UK R&B/Soul Act) out of four.

There seems to be the mindset that the singer will be and should be the night’s big winner. But if history has taught us one thing, it’s to go into the Grammys with a cautious, open mind.

WHO’S PERFORMING?

In addition to current chart movers and shakers like Adele, Bruno Mars, Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift taking the stage, as well as veteran acts like Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Maceo Parker and Joe Walsh, there are also several pair-ups scheduled for Grammy night:

* Coldplay & Rihanna will presumably be performing “Princess Of China”

* Jason Aldean & Kelly Clarkson are singing their nominated duet “Don’t You Wanna Stay”

* Chris Brown, Deadmau5, Foo Fighters, David Guetta & Lil Wayne are doing some sort of dance music performance

* Alicia Keys & Bonnie Raitt will tribute the late Etta James

* The Beach Boys (!!) will be joined by Foster The People & Maroon 5

* Glen Campbell, The Band Perry & Blake Shelton have the country collab box ticked

* Tony Bennett, who performed at the very first Grammys, will perform a duet of “It Had to be You” with Carrie Underwood.

AND THE WINNERS ARE…

Well, silly, we don’t know that yet. But you can check out our predictions for who’s going to win in the Pop and Dance categories, as well as Best New Artist, Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year.

While tuning in to the Grammy Awards this Sunday, be sure to log on right here at Idolator (as well as our Twitter and Facebook), where we’ll be providing coverage of the ceremony all night!

Coldplay — “Charlie Brown”

Per usual, Coldplay makes us feel ecstatic, energized, and melancholy all at the same time in this appropriately beautiful video for such a haunting track. Which might be exactly what the titular Peanuts character meant when he always said: “Good grief.”

But hey, at least the colors are bright!

Are you a fan? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter or in the comments.

For better or for worse, UK-based music magazine NME has rolled out its shortlist of nominees for its 2012 NME Awards. Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and Adele each earned noms across the various irreverent categories — some more forgiving than others. (Born This Way and Under the Mistletoe both came in under Worst Album, oof!) Also scoring nods were newcomers Lana Del Rey and Azealia Banks and awards veterans Coldplay, The Throne and Katy Perry. See the full list of 2012 NME Award nominees below.

The winners will be announced on February 29 at the O2 Academy, Brixton in London. You can vote for your faves now at NME.com.

BEST BRITISH BAND
Arctic Monkeys
Bombay Bicycle Club
The Horrors
Kasabian
Muse

BEST INTERNATIONAL BAND
Arcade Fire
Foo Fighters
Justice
Odd Future
The Strokes

BEST SOLO ARTIST
Adele
Florence + The Machine
Frank Turner
Laura Marling
Miles Kane
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds

BEST NEW BAND
Foster The People
Lana Del Rey
Tribes
The Vaccines
Wu Lyf

BEST LIVE BAND
Arctic Monkeys
Kasabian
Muse
Pulp
Two Door Cinema Club

BEST ALBUM
Arctic Monkeys – ‘Suck It And See’
The Horrors – ‘Skying’
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – ‘Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’
PJ Harvey – ‘Let England Shake’
The Vaccines – ‘What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?’

BEST TRACK
Arctic Monkeys – ‘The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala’
Bombay Bicycle Club – ‘Shuffle’
Florence + The Machine – ‘Shake It Out’
Hurts – ‘Sunday’
Lana Del Rey – ‘Video Games’

DANCEFLOOR ANTHEM
Azealia Banks – ‘212′
Foster The People – ‘Pumped Up Kicks’
Justice – ‘Civilization’
Katy B – ‘Broken Record’
Metronomy – ‘The Bay’

BEST VIDEO
Arctic Monkeys – ‘Suck It And See’
Beyoncé – ‘Countdown’
Hurts – ‘Sunday’
Lana Del Rey – ‘Video Games’
Tyler, The Creator – ‘Yonkers’

BEST TV SHOW
‘Dr Who’
‘Fresh Meat’
‘Misfits’
‘Never Mind The Buzzcocks’
‘This Is England ’88′

BEST FESTIVAL
Bestival
Glastonbury
Reading & Leeds
T In The Park
V Festival

BEST FILM
‘Black Swan’
‘Drive’
‘Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2′
‘The Inbetweeners Movie’
‘Submarine’

BEST MUSIC FILM
‘Back And Forth’ – Foo Fighters
‘Living In The Material World’ – George Harrison
‘Talihina Sky’ – Kings Of Leon
‘There Are No Innocent Bystanders’ – The Libertines
‘Upside Down – The Creation Records Story’

GREATEST MUSIC MOMENT OF THE YEAR
Brian May joins My Chemical Romance onstage at Reading Festival
Kasabian see in 2012 with their epic London O2 Arena show
Noel Gallagher launches his solo career with press conference
Pulp steal the show at Glastonbury with secret set
The Stone Roses reunite

BEST RE-ISSUE
Manic Street Preachers – ‘National Treasures’
Nirvana – ‘Nevermind’
Primal Scream – ‘Screamadelica’
The Rolling Stones – ‘Some Girls’
The Smiths – ‘Complete Re-issues’

BEST BOOK
Jared Leto – ‘Notes From The Outernet’
Jarvis Cocker – ‘Mother, Brother, Lover: Selected Lyrics’
Malcolm X – ‘A Life Of Reinvention’
Noel Fielding – ‘The Scribblings Of A Madcap Shambleton’
Shaun Ryder – ‘Twisting My Melon’

HERO OF THE YEAR
Alex Turner
Dave Grohl
Matt Bellamy
Noel Fielding
Noel Gallagher

VILLAIN OF THE YEAR
David Cameron
Justin Bieber
Lady Gaga
Liam Gallagher
Nick Clegg

WORST ALBUM
Coldplay – ‘Mylo Xyloto’
Justin Bieber – ‘Under The Mistletoe’
Lady Gaga – ‘Born This Way’
One Direction – ‘Up All Night’
Viva Brother – ‘Famous First Words’

WORST BAND
Beady Eye
Coldplay
Muse
One Direction
Viva Brother

BEST ALBUM ARTWORK
Arctic Monkeys – ‘Suck It And See’
Bombay Bicycle Club – ‘A Different Kind Of Fix’
Bjork – ‘Biophilia’
Friendly Fires – ‘Pala’
Jay-Z and Kanye West – ‘Watch The Throne’

BEST BAND BLOG OR TWITTER
@Example
Frank-Turner.com/blog
@KanyeWest
@LadyGaga
@Theohurts
(New award)

BEST SMALL FESTIVAL
Field Day
Hop Farm
Kendal Calling
Latitude
RockNess

MOST DEDICATED FANS
30 Seconds To Mars
Arctic Monkeys
Hurts
Muse
My Chemical Romance

HOTTEST MALE
Andy Biersack, Black Veil Brides
Dominic Howard, Muse
Gerard Way, My Chemical Romance
Jared Leto, 30 Seconds To Mars
Matt Bellamy, Muse

HOTTEST FEMALE
Amy Lee, Evanescence
Florence Welch, Florence + The Machine
Hayley Williams, Paramore
Katy Perry
Marina Diamandis, Marina And The Diamonds

Who are you rooting for this year? Let us know below or hit us up on Facebook and Twitter.

Can’t get enough Grammy Awards news? Follow @idolator on Twitter for the latest Grammys updates, predictions and photos. Plus watch along with us as we live-tweet the show starting at 5 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 12!

Kelly sounds amazing on all three songs, though that’s hardly a surprise that she’s pretty adept at performing live. However, as much as we love Cee Lo’s tune, it’s been covered by everyone from Gywneth Paltrow to Muppet chickens. We think it’s about time to retire that track — unless, of course, anyone dares to utter the naughty F-word and cover the uncensored version instead.

“Fix You” (Coldplay cover)

“I Know You Won’t” (Carrie Underwood cover)

“Forget You” (Cee Lo Green cover)

Adele, who underwent throat surgery in November, has been asked to perform at the Grammy ceremony on February 12, but won’t be able to confirm until the beginning of that month. Not that we don’t love staring at her gorgeous face, but what we really want is to hear her belt out “Set Fire To The Rain”, so we hope she is able to play both awards shows.

21 is out now on XL/Columbia. If you haven’t bought it already (what’s wrong with you?!), purchase it on eMusic.

[Via Examiner]

Adele is also up for British Female Solo Artist and British Album Of The Year, the latter of which also garnered nominations for Florence + The Machine’s Ceremonials, Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto, PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake and Ed Sheeran’s +.

American acts who stand to win at the BRITs include Bruno Mars, Bon Iver and Ryan Adams, who are up for International Male Solo Artist, and International Female Solo Artist nominees Beyonce and Lady Gaga.

Likewise, Foo Fighters, Jay-Z and Kanye West (known together as The Throne), Maroon 5 and Lady Antebellum were recognized in the International Group category, while the International Breakthrough Act pool (Nicki Minaj, Lana Del Rey, Foster The People, Aloe Blacc and Bon Iver) is entirely comprised of acts from the States. (Well, technically, Minaj wasn’t born in the States, but she was raised here after the age of 5.)

As previously announced, Emeli Sande will be the recipient of this year’s Critics’ Choice Award at the BRITs. She’ll also compete with Jessie J for British Breakthrough Act.

Damon Albarn’s pre-Gorillaz band Blur have been singled out for Outstanding Contribution To Music this year. The 32nd BRIT Awards will be held on February 21.

2012 BRIT AWARDS NOMINEES

British Male Solo Artist
Ed Sheeran
James Blake
James Morrison
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
Professor Green

British Female Solo Artist
Adele
Florence + the Machine
Jessie J
Kate Bush
Laura Marling

British Breakthrough Act
Anna Calvi
Ed Sheeran
Emeli Sandé
Jessie J
The Vaccines

British Group
Arctic Monkeys
Chase & Status
Coldplay
Elbow
Kasabian

British Single
Adele, “Someone Like You”
Ed Sheeran, “The A Team”
Example, “Changed The Way You Kissed Me”
Jessie J feat. B.o.B, “Price Tag”
JLS feat. Dev, “She Makes Me Wanna”
Military Wives/Gareth Malone, “Wherever You Are”
Olly Murs feat. Rizzle Kicks, “Heart Skips A Beat”
One Direction, “What Makes You Beautiful”
Pixie Lott, “All About Tonight”
The Wanted, “Glad You Came”

Mastercard British Album of the Year
Adele, 21
Coldplay, Mylo Xyloto
Ed Sheeran, +
Florence + The Machine, Ceremonials
PJ Harvey, Let England Shake

International Male Solo Artist
Aloe Blacc
Bon Iver
Bruno Mars
David Guetta
Ryan Adams

International Female Solo Artist
Beyoncé
Bjork
Feist
Lady Gaga
Rihanna

International Group
Fleet Foxes
Foo Fighters
Jay Z & Kanye West
Lady Antebellum
Maroon 5

International Breakthrough Act
Aloe Blacc
Bon Iver
Foster The People
Lana Del Rey
Nicki Minaj

Outstanding Contribution to Music
Blur

Critics’ Choice
1st – Emeli Sandé
2nd – Maverick Sabre
3rd – Michael Kiwanuka

British Producer
Paul Epworth
Flood
Ethan Jones