Scorecard: Rock GRAMMY Predictions

Five out of eight. Is that good? I mean, really, can I put that on my resume? Or is it simply that, as the old adage goes, even a blind hog will eventually find an acorn?

My biggest "miss" was predicting that Paul McCartney would win the Male Pop Vocal Performance GRAMMY, or any GRAMMY at all for that matter. Sir Paul was allowed to perform two songs, one old ("Helter Skelter") and one new ("Fine Line") but he went 0 for 3 on the awards for which he was nominated.

Thank You x 5
Clearly, one couldn't go wrong by predicting U2 to win in any category in which they were nominated. Even our blind hog would have found that acorn. They won so many awards that toward the end of the evening, Bono ran out of people to thank, and started thanking the artists that the group beat out. I'm pretty sure that at one point he gave McCartney credit for having discovered America.

Scorecard
Frankly, I did better with my rock GRAMMY predictions than I thought I would. The unpredictability factor (you know, the one that causes Kelly Clarkson to win as many awards as she did) usually renders semi-educated guesswork no more accurate than a dart board.

• Album of the Year

  Winner: U2
  Prediction: U2
  What can I say? It was their night, and the competition wasn't all that formidable.

• Best Rock Album

  Winner: U2
  Prediction: U2
  See Album of the Year above.

• Song of the Year

  Winner: U2
  Prediction: U2
  See Best Rock Album above.

• Solo Rock Vocal

  Winner: Bruce Springsteen
  Prediction: Bruce Springsteen
  It's hard for GRAMMY voters to decide whether The Boss should be considered Rock, Folk or Pop so he usually gets nominations in all three genres. In this category, he was the logical choice.

• Best Hard Rock Performance

  Winner: System of a Down
  Prediction: Robert Plant
  I guess I just got too sentimental. I thought Plant would win it on the strength of being the elder statesman of the group. Any of the nominees could have won on merit, so there's nothing wonky about the way this one turned out.

• Best Rock Instrumental Performance

  Winner: Les Paul & Friends
  Prediction: Les Paul & Friends
  I'm happy about the outcome, but sad that the man himself couldn't be there since he's hospitalized with pneumonia. We wish him well, and it wouldn't surprise me if it turns out that this is NOT Les Paul's last GRAMMY.

• Best Male Pop Vocal Performance

  Winner: Stevie Wonder
  Prediction: Paul McCartney
  Do I get any credit for being half-right? I did predict that it would be between Wonder and McCartney. No, I guess "close" doesn't count. I'm not unhappy with this outcome, even if I did blow the prediction.

• Best Pop Vocal Album

  Winner: Kelly Clarkson
  Prediction: Fiona Apple
  Half right again. I predicted that McCartney would not win. Let's face it, I totally booted this one. I predicted Apple, and if I had ventured a second choice it would have been Gwen Stefani. This one was from way out past the bleachers in left field.

There Were Moments
The Madonna-Gorillaz opener was an ambitious, risky, ultimately perfectly executed production. The production enhanced the music, and that's rare.

The all-star tribute to New Orleans musicians was the best performance of the night. On a stage full of card-carrying heavy-hitters, nobody got in anybody else's way. This one was worth the price of admission.

Sly Stone's appearance was a bit surreal. Famously reclusive by nature, it was clear that he was not comfortable. Coupled with the mediocre tribute medley that preceded his appearance, this "event" didn't quite live up to its potential.

Is it possible to get every prediction right? Probably not, but it's fun trying. As the oft-repeated soundbite from losing coaches says, just wait 'til next year!