Grammy Awards 2013 - Katy Perry Wide Awake Performance Part Of Me, Firework
Grammy Awards 2013: This year it's more about the song than the artist
The change reflects the dominance of downloading; top contenders include Frank Ocean, Mumford & Sons, Black Keys, fun., Taylor Swift and more
Have the Grammys gone bipolar? This year, it's looking that way.
If you scan the nominees in the three top categories - the ones that nab the next day's headlines - you'll see two distinct types of contenders.
On the one hand, there are the oh-so-serious album artists, the sort of singers and musicians better known for a long body of work, and for sustained personas, than for individual songs.
On the other hand, we've got pop figures better identified with hits - in some cases, just one of them.
This year, substantial stars like the Black Keys, Jack White, Mumford & Sons, and even the ample new Frank Ocean, square off against potential one-hit wonders like Gotye, Carly Rae Jepsen and Ed Sheeran.
Even stars with several, or many, hits to their name - like Kelly Clarkson, fun. and Taylor Swift - most likely earned these nominations more through the undeniable popularity of their latest singles than for those songs' innate profundity.
In years gone by, you'd see something very different. Grammy pets - like U2, Paul Simon, Kanye West or Radiohead - would be nominated across the top categories.