54th Annual Grammy Awards

54th Annual Grammy Awards
Date	February 12, 2012 1:00–3:30 p.m. PST (Pre-Telecast Ceremony) 5:00–8:30 p.m. PST (54th Grammy Awards)
Location	Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Hosted by	LL Cool J
Most awards	Adele (6)
Most nominations	Kanye West (7)
Television/radio coverage
Network	CBS
Viewership	40 million viewers

The 54th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 12, 2012, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles being broadcast on CBS honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011. LL Cool J hosted the show. It was the first time in seven years that the event had an official host. Nominations were announced on November 30, 2011, on prime-time television as part of "The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live! – Countdown to Music's Biggest Night", a one-hour special broadcast live on CBS from Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live. Kanye West received the most nominations with seven. Adele, Foo Fighters, and Bruno Mars each received six nominations. Lil Wayne, Skrillex, and Radiohead all earned five nominations. The nominations were criticised by many music journalists as Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy missed out on a nomination for Album of the Year despite being highly critically acclaimed and topping many end of year charts. West's album went on to win Best Rap Album.

A total of 78 awards were presented following the Academy's decision to restructure the Grammy Award categories. Paul McCartney received the MusiCares Person of the Year award on February 10, 2012, at the Los Angeles Convention Center, two nights prior to the Grammy telecast.

On February 8, 2012, the Academy announced that the 54th Grammy Pre-Telecast Ceremony would stream live internationally. The ceremony took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center and was streamed live in its entirety internationally at Grammy's official website and CBS Television Network. The ceremony was co-hosted by Dave Koz and MC Lyte. A total of 68 awards were presented in the Pre-Telecast ceremony. The official poster was designed by Architect Frank Gehry.

The day before the ceremony, Whitney Houston died in Los Angeles, and the show's producers quickly planned a tribute in the form of Jennifer Hudson singing Houston's "I Will Always Love You". The awards show began with a Bruce Springsteen performance followed by an LL Cool J prayer for Whitney Houston. Adele won all of her six nominations, equalling the record for most wins by a female artist in one night, first held by Beyoncé. Adele became only the second artist in history, following Christopher Cross in 1981, to have won all four of the general field (Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year) awards throughout her career. Foo Fighters and Kanye West followed with five and four awards, respectively. With his win for Best Musical Theater Album (for The Book of Mormon: Original Broadway Cast Recording), producer Scott Rudin became the 11th person to become an EGOT winner.

Ratings

The anticipation for the show's tributes to the late Whitney Houston and the eventual record-tying wins by Adele greatly helped increased the ratings for the 54th Grammy Awards, which became the second highest in its history with 39.9 million viewers (trailing only behind the 1984 Grammys with 51.67 million viewers). The rating was 50% higher than in 2011. This remains the highest-rated Grammy telecast on 21st-century U.S. television.

Pre-telecast

Performers

• Kim Burrell, Le'Andria Johnson, Kelly Price and Trin-I-Tee 5:7
• Joyce DiDonato
• Steve Earle
• Rebirth Brass Band
• The Civil Wars

Presenters

• Gerald Clayton
• Chick Corea
• Brandon Heath
• Arturo O'Farrill
• OK Go
• Corinne Bailey Rae
• Esperanza Spalding
• Jimmy Jam

Main telecast

Performers

The following performed:

Artist(s)	Song(s)
Bruce Springsteen The E Street Band	"We Take Care of Our Own"
Bruno Mars	"Runaway Baby"
Alicia Keys Bonnie Raitt	Tribute to Etta James "A Sunday Kind of Love"
Chris Brown	"Turn Up the Music" "Beautiful People"
Jason Aldean Kelly Clarkson	"Don't You Wanna Stay"
Foo Fighters	"Walk"
Rihanna Coldplay	"We Found Love" "Princess of China" "Paradise"
Maroon 5 Foster the People The Beach Boys	Celebrating the Beach Boys' 50th anniversary "Surfer Girl" "Wouldn't It Be Nice" "Good Vibrations"
Paul McCartney Diana Krall Joe Walsh	"My Valentine"
The Civil Wars	"Barton Hollow"
Taylor Swift	"Mean"
Katy Perry	"E.T." "Part of Me"
Adele	"Rolling in the Deep"
The Band Perry Blake Shelton Glen Campbell	Homage to Glen Campbell "Gentle on My Mind" "Southern Nights" "Rhinestone Cowboy"
Tony Bennett Carrie Underwood	"It Had to Be You"
Jennifer Hudson	Tribute to Whitney Houston "I Will Always Love You"
Chris Brown David Guetta Lil Wayne Foo Fighters deadmau5	"I Can Only Imagine" "Rope" "Raise Your Weapon"
Nicki Minaj	"Roman's Revenge" (Intro) "Roman Holiday"
Paul McCartney Bruce Springsteen Dave Grohl Joe Walsh Rusty Anderson Brian Ray Paul Wickens Abe Laboriel Jr.	"Golden Slumbers" "Carry That Weight" "The End"

• Maceo Parker was scheduled to pay tribute to Clarence Clemons following the montage of those that had died in 2011 although his tribute was dropped in the 24 hours leading up to the awards show to make room for the Jennifer Hudson tribute to Whitney Houston.

Presenters

Nominees and winners

The winners per category were:

General

Record of the Year

• "Rolling in the Deep" – Adele
  • Paul Epworth, producer; Tom Elmhirst & Mark Rankin, engineers/mixers
• "Holocene" – Bon Iver
  • Justin Vernon, producer; Brian Joseph & Justin Vernon, engineers/mixers
• "Grenade" – Bruno Mars
  • The Smeezingtons, producers; Ari Levine & Manny Marroquin, engineers/mixers
• "The Cave" – Mumford & Sons
  • Markus Dravs, producer; Francois Chevallier & Ruadhri Cushnan, engineers/mixers
• "Firework" – Katy Perry
  • Stargate & Sandy Vee, producers; Mikkel S. Eriksen, Phil Tan, Sandy Vee & Miles Walker, engineers/mixers

Album of the Year

• 21 – Adele
  • Ryan Tedder, Jim Abbiss, Adele Adkins, Paul Epworth, Rick Rubin, Fraser T Smith & Dan Wilson, producers; Jim Abbiss, Philip Allen, Beatriz Artola, Ian Dowling, Tom Elmhirst, Greg Fidelman, Dan Parry, Steve Price, Mark Rankin, Andrew Scheps, Fraser T Smith & Ryan Tedder, engineers/mixers; Tom Coyne, mastering engineer
• Wasting Light – Foo Fighters
  • Butch Vig, producer; James Brown & Alan Moulder, engineers/mixers; Joe LaPorta & Emily Lazar, mastering engineers
• Born This Way – Lady Gaga
  • Paul Blair, DJ Snake, Fernando Garibay, Lady Gaga, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Jeppe Laursen, RedOne & Clinton Sparks, producers; Fernando Garibay, Lady Gaga, Bill Malina, Trevor Muzzy, RedOne, Dave Russell, Justin Shirley Smith, Horace Ward & Tom Ware, engineers/mixers; Gene Grimaldi, mastering engineer
• Doo-Wops & Hooligans – Bruno Mars
  • B.o.B, Cee Lo Green & Damian Marley, featured artists; Dwayne "Supa Dups" Chin-Quee, Needlz & The Smeezingtons, producers; Ari Levine & Manny Marroquin, engineers/mixers; Stephen Marcussen, mastering engineer
• Loud – Rihanna
  • Drake, Eminem & Nicki Minaj, featured artists; Ester Dean, Alex da Kid, Kuk Harrell, Mel & Mus, Awesome Jones, Makeba Riddick, The Runners, Sham, Soundz, Stargate, Chris "Tricky" Stewart, Sandy Vee & Willy Will, producers; Ariel Chobaz, Cary Clark, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Alex da Kid, Josh Gudwin, Kuk Harrell, Jaycen Joshua, Manny Marroquin, Dana Nielsen, Chad "C-Note" Roper, Noah "40" Shebib, Corey Shoemaker, Jay Stevenson, Mike Strange, Phil Tan, Brian "B-Luv" Thomas, Marcos Tovar, Sandy Vee, Jeff "Supa Jeff" Villanueva, Miles Walker & Andrew Wuepper, engineers/mixers; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer

Song of the Year

• "Rolling in the Deep"
  • Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth, songwriters (Adele)
• "All of the Lights"
  • Jeff Bhasker, Stacy Ferguson, Really Doe, Kanye West & Malik Yusef, songwriters (Kanye West featuring Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie)
• "The Cave"
  • Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, Marcus Mumford & Country Winston, songwriters (Mumford & Sons)
• "Grenade"
  • Brody Brown, Claude Kelly, The Smeezingtons & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Bruno Mars)
• "Holocene"
  • Justin Vernon, songwriter (Bon Iver)

Best New Artist

• Bon Iver
• The Band Perry
• J. Cole
• Nicki Minaj
• Skrillex

Pop

Best Pop Solo Performance

• "Someone like You" – Adele
• "Yoü and I" – Lady Gaga
• "Grenade" – Bruno Mars
• "Firework" – Katy Perry
• "Fuckin' Perfect" – P!nk

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

• "Body and Soul" – Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse
• "Dearest" – The Black Keys
• "Paradise" – Coldplay
• "Pumped Up Kicks" – Foster the People
• "Moves Like Jagger" – Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera

Best Pop Instrumental Album

• The Road from Memphis – Booker T. Jones
• Wish Upon a Star: A Tribute to the Music of Walt Disney – Jenny Oaks Baker
• E Kahe Malie – Daniel Ho
• Hello Tomorrow – Dave Koz
• Setzer Goes Instru-Mental! – Brian Setzer

Best Pop Vocal Album

• 21 – Adele
• The Lady Killer – Cee Lo Green
• Born This Way – Lady Gaga
• Doo-Wops & Hooligans – Bruno Mars
• Loud – Rihanna

Dance/Electronic

Best Dance Recording

• "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" – Skrillex

Sonny Moore, producer & mixer

• "Raise Your Weapon" – deadmau5 featuring Greta Svabo Bech
  • Joel Zimmerman, producer
• "Barbra Streisand" – Duck Sauce
  • Armand Van Helden & Alain Macklovitch, producers; Armand van Helden & Alain Macklovitch, mixers
• "Sunshine" – David Guetta & Avicii
  • Tim Bergling, David Guetta & Giorgio Tuinfort, producers; Tim Bergling, mixer
• "Call Your Girlfriend" – Robyn
  • Klas Åhlund & Billboard, producers; Niklas Flyckt, mixer
• "Save the World" – Swedish House Mafia
  • Steve Angello, Axel Hedfors & Sebastian Ingrosso, producers; Steve Angello, Axel Hedfors & Sebastian Ingrosso, mixers

Best Dance/Electronic Album

• Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites – Skrillex
• Zonoscope – Cut Copy
• 4x4=12 – deadmau5
• Nothing but the Beat – David Guetta
• Body Talk Pt. 3 – Robyn

Traditional Pop

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

• Duets II – Tony Bennett
• The Gift – Susan Boyle
• In Concert on Broadway – Harry Connick, Jr.
• Music Is Better Than Words – Seth MacFarlane
• What Matters Most – Barbra Streisand

Rock

Best Rock Performance

• "Walk" – Foo Fighters
• "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall" – Coldplay
• "Down By the Water" – The Decemberists
• "The Cave" – Mumford & Sons
• "Lotus Flower" – Radiohead

Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance

• "White Limo" – Foo Fighters
• "On the Backs of Angels" – Dream Theater
• "Curl of the Burl" – Mastodon
• "Public Enemy No. 1" – Megadeth
• "Blood in My Eyes" – Sum 41

Best Rock Song

• "Walk" – Foo Fighters
  • Foo Fighters songwriters
• "The Cave" – Mumford & Sons
  • Mumford & Sons, songwriters
• "Down By the Water" – The Decemberists
  • Colin Meloy, songwriter
• "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall" – Coldplay
  • Coldplay, songwriters
• "Lotus Flower" – Radiohead,
  • Radiohead songwriters

Best Rock Album

• Wasting Light – Foo Fighters
• Rock 'n' Roll Party (Honoring Les Paul) – Jeff Beck
• Come Around Sundown – Kings of Leon
• I'm With You – Red Hot Chili Peppers
• The Whole Love – Wilco

Alternative

Best Alternative Music Album

• Bon Iver, Bon Iver – Bon Iver
• Codes and Keys – Death Cab for Cutie
• Torches – Foster the People
• Circuital – My Morning Jacket
• The King of Limbs – Radiohead

R&B

Best R&B Performance

• "Is This Love" – Corinne Bailey Rae
• "Far Away" – Marsha Ambrosius
• "Pieces of Me" – Ledisi
• "Not My Daddy" – Kelly Price & Stokley Williams
• "You Are" – Charlie Wilson

Best Traditional R&B Performance

• "Fool for You" – Cee Lo Green featuring Melanie Fiona
• "Sometimes I Cry" – Eric Benét
• "Radio Message" – R. Kelly
• "Good Man" – Raphael Saadiq
• "Surrender" – Betty Wright & The Roots

Best R&B Song

• "Fool for You"
  • Cee Lo Green, Melanie Fiona, & Jack Splash, songwriters (Cee Lo Green featuring Melanie Fiona)
• "Far Away"
  • Marsha Ambrosius, Sterling Simms & Justin Smith, songwriters (Marsha Ambrosius)
• "Not My Daddy"
  • Kelly Price, songwriter (Kelly Price featuring Stokley Williams)
• "Pieces of Me"
  • Chuck Harmony, Claude Kelly & Ledisi, songwriters (Ledisi)
• "You Are"
  • Dennis Bettis, Carl M. Days, Jr., Wirlie Morris, Charlie Wilson & Mahin Wilson, songwriters (Charlie Wilson)

Best R&B Album

• F.A.M.E. – Chris Brown
• Second Chance – El DeBarge
• Love Letter – R. Kelly
• Pieces of Me – Ledisi
• Kelly – Kelly Price

Rap

Best Rap Performance

• "Otis" – Jay-Z & Kanye West
• "Look at Me Now" – Chris Brown, Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes
• "The Show Goes On" – Lupe Fiasco
• "Moment 4 Life" – Nicki Minaj & Drake
• "Black and Yellow" – Wiz Khalifa

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration

• "All of the Lights" – Kanye West featuring Rihanna, & Kid Cudi
• "Party" – Beyoncé & André 3000
• "I'm On One" – DJ Khaled, Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne
• "I Need a Doctor" – Dr. Dre, Eminem & Skylar Grey
• "What's My Name?" – Rihanna & Drake
• "Motivation" – Kelly Rowland & Lil Wayne

Best Rap Song

• "All of the Lights"
  • Jeff Bhasker, Really Doe, Kanye West & Malik Yusef, songwriters (Kanye West featuring Rihanna & Kid Cudi)
• "Black and Yellow"
  • Wiz Khalifa & Stargate, songwriters (Wiz Khalifa)
• "I Need a Doctor"
  • Alex da Kid, Dr. Dre, Eminem & Skylar Grey, songwriters (Dr. Dre featuring Eminem & Skylar Grey)
• "Look at Me Now"
  • Jean Baptiste, Chris Brown, Ryan Buendia, Diplo, Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes, songwriters (Chris Brown featuring Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes)
• "Otis"
  • Jay-Z & Kanye West, songwriters (with James Brown, Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly, Roy Hammond, J. Roach, Kirk Robinson & Harry M. Woods, songwriters) (Jay-Z & Kanye West) (featuring Otis Redding)
• "The Show Goes On"
  • Dustin William Brower, Jonathon Keith Brown, Daniel Johnson, Kane & Lupe Fiasco, songwriters (with Isaac Brock, Dann Gallucci & Eric Judy, songwriters) (Lupe Fiasco)

Best Rap Album

• My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy – Kanye West
• Watch the Throne – Jay-Z & Kanye West
• Tha Carter IV – Lil Wayne
• Lasers – Lupe Fiasco
• Pink Friday – Nicki Minaj

Country

Best Country Solo Performance

• "Mean" – Taylor Swift
• "Dirt Road Anthem" – Jason Aldean
• "I'm Gonna Love You Through It" – Martina McBride
• "Honey Bee" – Blake Shelton
• "Mama's Song" – Carrie Underwood

Best Country Duo/Group Performance

• "Barton Hollow" – The Civil Wars
• "Don't You Wanna Stay" – Jason Aldean & Kelly Clarkson
• "You and Tequila" – Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter
• "Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not" – Thompson Square

Best Country Song

• "Mean"
  • Taylor Swift, songwriter (Taylor Swift)
• "Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not"
  • Jim Collins & David Lee Murphy, songwriters (Thompson Square)
• "God Gave Me You"
  • Dave Barnes, songwriter (Blake Shelton)
• "Just Fishin'"
  • Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell & Ed Hill, songwriters (Trace Adkins)
• "Threaten Me with Heaven"
  • Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Will Owsley & Dillon O'Brian, songwriters (Vince Gill)
• "You and Tequila"
  • Matraca Berg & Deana Carter, songwriters (Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter)

Best Country Album

• Own the Night – Lady Antebellum
• My Kinda Party – Jason Aldean
• Chief – Eric Church
• Red River Blue – Blake Shelton
• Here for a Good Time – George Strait
• Speak Now – Taylor Swift

New Age

Best New Age Album

• What's It All About – Pat Metheny
• Northern Seas – Al Conti
• Gaia – Michael Brant DeMaria
• Wind, Rock, Sea & Flame – Peter Kater
• Instrumental Oasis, Vol. 6 – Zamora

Jazz

Best Improvised Jazz Solo

• "500 Miles High" – Chick Corea
• "All or Nothing at All" – Randy Brecker
• "You Are My Sunshine" – Ron Carter
• "Work" – Fred Hersch
• "Sonnymoon for Two" – Sonny Rollins

Best Jazz Vocal Album

• The Mosaic Project – Terri Lyne Carrington & Various Artists
• 'Round Midnight – Karrin Allyson
• The Gate – Kurt Elling
• American Road – Tierney Sutton (Band)
• The Music of Randy Newman – Roseanna Vitro

Best Jazz Instrumental Album

• Forever – Corea, Clarke & White
• Bond: The Paris Sessions – Gerald Clayton
• Alone at the Vanguard – Fred Hersch
• Bird Songs – Joe Lovano & Us Five
• Road Shows Vol. 2 – Sonny Rollins
• Timeline – Yellowjackets

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album

• The Good Feeling – Christian McBride Big Band
• The Jazz Ballad Song Book – Randy Brecker with DR Big Band
• 40 Acres and a Burro – Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
• Legacy – Gerald Wilson Orchestra
• Alma Adentro: The Puerto Rican Songbook – Miguel Zenón

Gospel/Contemporary Christian

Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance

• "Jesus" – Le'Andria Johnson
• "Do Everything" – Steven Curtis Chapman
• "Alive (Mary Magdalene)" – Natalie Grant
• "Your Love" – Brandon Heath
• "I Lift My Hands" – Chris Tomlin

Best Gospel Song

• "Hello Fear"
  • Kirk Franklin, songwriter (Kirk Franklin)
• "Sitting with Me"
  • Gerald Haddon, Tammi Haddon & Mary Mary, songwriters (Mary Mary)
• "Spiritual"
  • Donald Lawrence, songwriter (Donald Lawrence & Co. featuring Blanche McAllister-Dykes)
• "Trust Me"
  • Richard Smallwood, songwriter (Richard Smallwood & Vision)
• "Window"
  • Canton Jones, songwriter (Canton Jones)

Best Contemporary Christian Music Song

• "Blessings"
  • Laura Story, songwriter (Laura Story)
• "Hold Me"
  • Jamie Grace, Christopher Stevens & TobyMac, songwriters (Jamie Grace featuring TobyMac)
• "I Lift My Hands"
  • Louie Giglio, Matt Maher & Chris Tomlin, songwriters (Chris Tomlin)
• "Strong Enough"
  • Matthew West, songwriter (Matthew West)
• "Your Love"
  • Brandon Heath & Jason Ingram, songwriters (Brandon Heath)

Best Gospel Album

• Hello Fear – Kirk Franklin
• The Love Album – Kim Burrell
• The Journey – Andraé Crouch
• Something Big – Mary Mary
• Angel & Chanelle (Deluxe Edition) – Trin-i-tee 5:7

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album

• And If Our God Is for Us... – Chris Tomlin
• Ghosts Upon the Earth – Gungor
• Leaving Eden – Brandon Heath
• The Great Awakening – Leeland
• What If We Were Real – Mandisa
• Black & White – Royal Tailor

Latin

Best Latin Pop, Rock or Urban Album

• Drama y Luz – Maná
• Entren Los Que Quieran – Calle 13
• Entre La Ciudad Y El Mar – Gustavo Galindo
• Nuestra – La Vida Bohème
• Not So Commercial – Los Amigos Invisibles

Best Regional Mexican or Tejano Album

• Bicentenario – Pepe Aguilar
• Órale – Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea
• Amor A La Musica – Mariachi Los Arrieros Del Valle
• Eres Un Farsante – Paquita la del Barrio
• Huevos Rancheros – Joan Sebastian

Best Banda or Norteño Album

• MTV Unplugged: Los Tigres del Norte and Friends – Los Tigres del Norte
• Estare Mejor – El Guero Y Su Banda Centenario
• Intocable 2011 – Intocable
• El Árbol – Los Tucanes de Tijuana
• No Vengo A Ver Si Puedo ... Si Por Que Puedo Vengo – Michael Salgado

Best Tropical Latin Album

• The Last Mambo – Cachao
• Homenaje A Los Rumberos – Edwin Bonilla
• Mongorama – José Rizo's Mongorama

American Roots Music

Best Americana Album

• Ramble at the Ryman – Levon Helm
• Emotional Jukebox – Linda Chorney
• Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down – Ry Cooder
• Hard Bargain – Emmylou Harris
• Blessed – Lucinda Williams

Best Bluegrass Album

• Paper Airplane – Alison Krauss & Union Station
• Reason and Rhyme: Bluegrass Songs by Robert Hunter and Jim Lauderdale – Jim Lauderdale
• Rare Bird Alert – Steve Martin & Steep Canyon Rangers
• Old Memories: The Songs of Bill Monroe – Del McCoury Band
• A Mother's Prayer – Ralph Stanley
• Sleep with One Eye Open – Chris Thile & Michael Daves

Best Blues Album

• Revelator – Tedeschi Trucks Band
• Low Country Blues – Gregg Allman
• Roadside Attractions – Marcia Ball
• Man in Motion – Warren Haynes
• The Reflection – Keb' Mo'

Best Folk Album

• Barton Hollow – The Civil Wars
• I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive – Steve Earle
• Helplessness Blues – Fleet Foxes
• Ukulele Songs – Eddie Vedder
• The Harrow & The Harvest – Gillian Welch

Best Regional Roots Music Album

• Rebirth of New Orleans – Rebirth Brass Band
• Can't Sit Down – C.J. Chenier
• Wao Akua: The Forest of the Gods – George Kahumoku, Jr.
• Grand Isle – Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys
• Not Just Another Polka – Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra

Reggae

Best Reggae Album

• Revelation Pt. 1 – The Root of Life – Stephen Marley
• Harlem-Kingston Express Live! – Monty Alexander
• Reggae Knights – Israel Vibration
• Wild and Free – Ziggy Marley
• Summer in Kingston – Shaggy

World Music

Best World Music Album

• Tassili – Tinariwen
• AfroCubism – AfroCubism
• Africa for Africa – Femi Kuti
• Songs from a Zulu Farm – Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Children's

Best Children's Album

• All About Bullies ... Big and Small – Steve Pullara, Jim Cravero, Pat Robinson, Kevin Mackie and Gloria Domina, producers (Various Artists)
• Are We There Yet? – The Papa Hugs Band
• Fitness Rock & Roll – Miss Amy
• GulfAlive – The Banana Plant
• I Love: Tom T. Hall's Songs of Fox Hollow – Various Artists

Spoken Word

Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Story Telling)

• If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't) – Betty White
• Bossypants – Tina Fey
• Fab Fan Memories – The Beatles Bond – Various Artists
• Hamlet (William Shakespeare) – Dan Donohue & Various Artists – Oregon Shakespeare Festival
• The Mark of Zorro – Val Kilmer & Cast

Comedy

Best Comedy Album

• Hilarious – Louis C.K.
• Alpocalypse – "Weird Al" Yankovic
• Finest Hour – Patton Oswalt
• Kathy Griffin: 50 & Not Pregnant – Kathy Griffin
• Turtleneck & Chain – The Lonely Island

Musical Show

Best Musical Theater Album

• The Book of Mormon: Original Broadway Cast Recording
  • Josh Gad & Andrew Rannells, principal soloists; Anne Garefino, Robert Lopez, Stephen Oremus, Trey Parker, Scott Rudin & Matt Stone, producers; Robert Lopez, Trey Parker & Matt Stone, composers/lyricists
• Anything Goes – New Broadway Cast Recording
  • Sutton Foster & Joel Grey, principal soloists; Rob Fisher, James Lowe & Joel Moss, producers (Cole Porter, composer/lyricist)
• How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying – The 2011 Broadway Cast Recording
  • John Larroquette & Daniel Radcliffe, principal soloists; Robert Sher, producer (Frank Loesser, composer/lyricist)

Music for Visual Media

Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media

• Boardwalk Empire Volume 1: Music from the HBO Original Series – Various Artists
• Burlesque – Christina Aguilera
• Glee: The Music, Volume 4 – Glee Cast
• Tangled – Various Artists
• True Blood Volume 3 – Various Artists

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media

• The King's Speech
  • Alexandre Desplat, composer
• Black Swan
  • Clint Mansell, composer
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
  • Alexandre Desplat, composer
• The Shrine
  • Ryan Shore, composer
• Tron: Legacy
  • Daft Punk, composers

Best Song Written for Visual Media

• "I See the Light" (from Tangled)
  • Alan Menken & Glenn Slater, songwriters (Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi)
• "Born to Be Somebody" (from Justin Bieber: Never Say Never)
  • Diane Warren, songwriter (Justin Bieber)
• "Christmastime Is Killing Us" (from Family Guy)
  • Ron Jones, Seth MacFarlane & Danny Smith, songwriters (Bruce McGill & Seth MacFarlane)
• "So Long" (from Winnie the Pooh)
  • Zooey Deschanel, songwriter (Zooey Deschanel & M. Ward)
• "Where the River Goes" (from Footloose)
  • Zac Brown, Wyatt Durrette, Drew Pearson & Anne Preven, songwriters (Zac Brown)
• "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" (from Burlesque)
  • Diane Warren, songwriter (Cher)

Composing/Arranging

Best Instrumental Composition

• "Life in Eleven"
  • Béla Fleck & Howard Levy, composers (Béla Fleck and the Flecktones)
• "Falling Men"
  • John Hollenbeck, composer (John Hollenbeck, Daniel Yvinec & Orchestre National de Jazz (ONJ))
• "Hunting Wabbits 3 (Get Off My Lawn)"
  • Gordon Goodwin, composer (Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band)
• "I Talk to the Trees"
  • Randy Brecker, composer (Randy Brecker with DR Big Band)
• "Timeline"
  • Russell Ferrante, composer (Yellowjackets)

Best Instrumental Arrangement

• "Rhapsody in Blue"
  • Gordon Goodwin, arranger (Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band)
• "All or Nothing at All"
  • Peter Jensen, arranger (Randy Brecker with DR Big Band)
• "In the Beginning"
  • Clare Fischer, arranger (The Clare Fischer Big Band)
• "Nasty Dance"
  • Bob Brookmeyer, arranger (The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra)
• "Song Without Words"
  • Carlos Franzetti, arranger (Carlos Franzetti & Allison Brewster Franzetti)

Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)

• "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)"
  • Jorge Calandrelli, arranger (Tony Bennett & Queen Latifah)
• "Ao Mar"
  • Vince Mendoza, arranger (Vince Mendoza)
• "Moon Over Bourbon Street"
  • Rob Mathes, arranger (Sting & Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra)
• "On Broadway"
  • Kevin Axt, Ray Brinker, Trey Henry, Christian Jacob & Tierney Sutton, arrangers (The Tierney Sutton Band)
• "The Windmills of Your Mind"
  • William A. Ross, arranger (Barbra Streisand)

Package

Best Recording Package

• Scenes from The Suburbs
  • Vincent Morisset, art director (Arcade Fire)
• Chickenfoot III
  • Todd Gallopo, art director (Chickenfoot)
• Good Luck & True Love
  • Sarah Dodds & Shauna Dodds, art directors (Reckless Kelly)
• Rivers and Homes
  • Jonathan Dagan, art director (J.Viewz)
• Watch the Throne
  • Virgil Abloh, art director (Jay-Z & Kanye West)

Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package

• The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story
  • Dave Bett & Michelle Holme, art directors (Bruce Springsteen)
• The King of Limbs
  • Donald Twain & Zachariah Wildwood, art directors (Radiohead)
• 25th Anniversary Music Box
  • Matt Taylor & Ellen Wakayama, art directors (Danny Elfman & Tim Burton)
• 25 Years
  • James Spindler, art director (Sting)
• Wingless Angels (Deluxe Edition)
  • David Gorman, art director (Wingless Angels)