Taylor's reign, Madonna gaffes and other talking points for Grammys 2015

1. Madonna has to be the talking point for the right reasons
She was a geisha for Nothing Really Matters in 1999, lycra-clad in 2006 for Hung Up and presided over 33 marriages in 2014, but there’s a sense that this year’s Madonna Grammy performance is the one that has to stick. It’s unclear which aspect of the campaign for new album Rebel Heart has been more damaging; the endless leaks or the Instagram naivety. While the release of six songs last December hasn’t exactly set the charts alight (they’ve only sold 131,000 downloads in America so far), Madonna’s at her best with her back to the wall so hopefully we’ll see controlled rebelliousness, tabloid-baiting controversy and a liberal smattering of unnecessary hashtags.
2. Sam Smith will lead a British invasion
Tom Petty fan Sam Smith’s polite ballads have dominated the charts on both sides of the Atlantic and the feeling is his current chart momentum (his album’s been in the US top 10 for 32 weeks) could see him clean up in the six categories he’s nominated in. Certainly odds are in his favourto walk away with best new artist (over fellow Brits Bastille), and despite the presence of Beyoncé – more of whom later – it would be a shock if the generally risk-averse voting panel didn’t award In The Lonely Hour album of the year. Other Brits in with a shout include stand-in Radiohead alt-j for best alternative music album; Ed Sheeran; and Arctic Monkeys.
3. Could the Iggy Azalea backlash harm her chances?

All white on the night? Iggy Azalea performs at Sundance. Photograph: Mat Hayward/Getty Images

The success or otherwise of another Brit, Charli XCX, could depend on whether the backlash against Australian rapper Iggy Azalea manifests itself in the voting, with their collaboration Fancy up for two awards alongside Iggy’s nods for best new artist and best rap album. In a recent article detailing their Grammy predictions, Stereogum suggested Iggy was a favourite for the latter, before sarcastically adding, “OK, Eminem has a chance too because white people have really taken this hip-hop thing to a new level.” Expect Kendrick Lamar’s disappointing i single to win big by way of recompense for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis beating his Good Kid, M.A.A.D City to the rap album honour last year.
4. The duets should offer a chance for a loo break
Forcing artists together for one night of musical experimentation has become an award show staple and the Grammys are no exception. Who could forget Usher and Celine Dion doing unspeakable things to Michael Jackson’s Earth Song in 2010? For reasons people with fully functioning ears are still investigating, this year finds former Voice UK co-workers Jessie J and Tom Jones uniting to, I assume, over-sing each other into oblivion. Other random pairings include Annie Lennox with Hozier, Beck with Chris Martin, Gwen Stefani with Adam Levine and Lady Gaga with Tony Bennett, the latter of course having taken the art of unnecessary pairings to a whole new level. There’s also a trio – Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney playing snoozy new single FourFiveSeconds.
5. It’s crunch time for Lady Gaga’s jazz odyssey

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga peform at the Montreal Jazz Festival. Photograph: Handout/Getty Images

During the release of Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett’s Cheek to Cheek last September, Gaga retweeted every positive review, referring to each journalist as a “music connoisseur”. Nominated for best traditional pop vocal album, a gong Bennett has won 11 times already, you sense a win for Gaga would mean more than any of the five Grammys she’s won to date. Nothing adds an authentic seal of approval to a leftfield career move following an under-performing album than a Grammy, and a win could help her move on from needlessly trying to prove she’s more than a great pop star. Either that or she’ll see it as one big thumbs up and we’ll get Cheek to Cheek volume 2 faster than you can say Michael Bublé.
6. Sia could steal the whole night
Singer, songwriter and sudden recluse Sia announced she was performing at the Grammys in a very Sia way. Continuing the theme for her 1000 Forms Of Fear album campaign, the announcement was made on Ellen from under an ill-fitting blonde wig while standing in a box that covered her from the neck down. This melding of the surreal with the mainstream sums up Sia’s last 12 months, her videos for Chandelier and Elastic Heart encasing massive pop songs in thought-provoking imagery. Nominated for four awards – including record and song of the Year for Chandelier – Sia could well be the surprise highlight, especially if she can pull off a performance as spellbinding as this.
7. It’s Max Martin’s time to shine
Given that he’s co-written and co-produced 19 US No 1 singles, it’s odd that Swedish pop overlord Max Martin has never previously been nominated for Producer of the Year. This year he’s honoured for his work on albums by warbling mini-Mariah Ariana Grande and Katy Perry, as well as Taylor’s Shake It Off and collaboration pile-up Bang Bang by Jessie J, Grande and Nicki Minaj. In other words, the majority of pop’s biggest songs of the last 12 months. Basically he has to win or I’m launching a Facebook campaign.
8. Will Katy Perry ever win a Grammy?

Katy Perry at the Super Bowl on Sunday: Grammy loser. Photograph: David J Phillip/AP

Despite five MTV VMA awards, six Billboard Music Awards and a Brit, Katy Perry has left the Grammys empty-handed every year since 2009. Nominated 13 times – including the two this year for best vocal pop album for Prism and best pop duo/group performance for Dark Horse – Perry wouldn’t exactly be paranoid in thinking there’s some sort of vendetta against her, especially when you consider 2011’s Teenage Dream equalled Michael Jackson’s record for most No 1 singles from one album – five made the top slot. Maybe, a bit like Martin Scorsese and the Oscars, Perry will finally nab a Grammy when she least deserves it – in other words, for Dark Horse.
9. Beyoncé may have peaked too soon

Beyonce with her 2004 Grammys haul. Photograph: Frederick M Brown/Getty Images

Performing at last year’s ceremony just three months after she shock-released her album, Beyoncé had every right to feel smug. The album had shifted over a million copies in under two weeks and its release strategy was being heralded as some sort of new dawn for pop royalty. You can’t help but feel, however, that she’d be disappointed that the album’s momentum has all but disappeared, and so while she’ll probably clean up in the R&B categories, her inclusion in the best surround sound album category probably doesn’t make up for being snubbed for both song and record of the year. Mind you, she already has 17 Grammy-shaped bookends so chances are she’ll get over it.
10. Taylor Swift will rule the 2016 Grammys
With her album 1989 – almost 6m global sales and counting – released too late to be eligible for this year’s awards, it feels like Taylor’s three nominations for Shake It Off this year are a mere prelude for the dominance that should take place in February 2016. This was all but confirmed when she announced she wouldn’t be performing this year. With 1989 boasting two US No 1 singles already and having spent 10 weeks topping the album charts, it feels like the campaign is only just getting started. Expect Taylor’s acceptance speeches this year – should she get to make any – to feature a very knowing sense of “This is nothing, just you wait until next year when I’m clumsily holding 10 gold gramophones while trying not to drop one.”