Backstage Pass

Welcome to Grammy night! We'll be here live-blogging through the entire ceremony, one of the most wide-open nights in recent history. Will fun. have a fun night? Will Frank Ocean have a career-making night? We'll find out.

11:28 p.m. -- The Grammys close on a Strong Island note, bringing on Public Enemy's Chuck D for the hip-hop finale, alongside LL Cool J.

11:20 p.m. -- Mumford and...

Adele's “21” was both a sales sensation and a near-unanimous critical darling. This year, the field has neither, making the album of the year sweepstakes a wide open affair. Grammy favorites, internal industry politics and campaigning will all come into play to settle the nominations, which will be announced tonight.

The likely nominees will be: Black Keys, “El Camino.” The blues-rock duo...

This is one of those years where the difference between the record of the year Grammy, which tends to go to the song that encapsulated the year, and the song of the year Grammy, which goes to the songwriters of what voters feel is the most important song, comes into play.

Is “Call Me Maybe” an important song? Not really. But is it catchy as all get-out? Will it be forever linked to the summer...

What a difference a year makes. Last year, at this time, we were all ready for the Grammy coronation of Adele, who ended up sweeping all three top categories.

This year? The field is wide open. Adele is not eligible for many awards this time, even though her “21” seems set to repeat as the year's top-seller (a feat that has only happened once — 30 years ago when Michael Jackson's “Thriller”...