It could be Adele's year at the Grammys

She's going to have it all.

Yes, Adele is going to be rolling in the deep with Grammy Awards tonight, expected to become the first artist to land all three of the top awards -- record, album and song of the year -- since the Dixie Chicks in 2007. The only real question is whether the British singer-songwriter will manage a sweep of six wins that would make her the biggest individual winner since Santana won a record-setting eight awards for "Supernatural" in 2000.

Given her lengthy winning streak with her sophomore album "21," it would be unwise to bet against Adele on anything.

So far, "21" has topped the album charts for 19 weeks, the longest time an album has spent at No. 1 since "The Bodyguard" soundtrack in 1992. It sold 5.82 million copies in 2011, making it the biggest seller since Usher's "Confessions" sold 8 million copies in 2004, while also topping numerous critics' year-end best-of lists. It has spawned three No. 1 singles -- "Rolling in the Deep," "Someone Like You" and the recent No. 1 song "Set Fire to the Rain." ("Someone Like You" also has the distinction of being the only No. 1 single in Billboard history to feature only piano and vocals.) And, of course, Adele's run is far from over.

"It's really up to Adele, at this point," says Steve Blatter, head of music programming for SiriusXM Radio, which has all three of her No. 1 hits still in rotation on its channels, as well as other album cuts and songs from her "Adele: Live at the Royal Albert Hall" album, which features concert versions of songs from "21." "That album is incredibly deep. If you don't own the album, there's a lot more there than most people realize."

In fact, Adele's only major 2011 setback was a hemorrhage in her vocal cords that required surgery in November and complete vocal rest since then. Her appearance at the Grammys will be her first performance since October, when she had to cancel her American tour due to the ailment.

"I'm immensely proud to have been asked to perform at this year's Grammy Awards," Adele said in a statement. "It's an absolute honor to be included in such a night, and for it to be my first performance in months is very exciting and of course nerve-racking, but what a way to get back into it all."

For a project born from the breakup of a tumultuous relationship, "21" looks like it will give the singer, now 23, a storybook ending beyond her wildest dreams.

"This is the year of Adele," says Stephen Hill, BET's president of music programming and specials, adding that the popularity of "21," which many credit for giving the music industry its first sales increase since 2004, is nothing short of "amazing."

Adele's success is rooted in her unusual combination of vocal power and incredibly relatable lyrics. "I think she made an album in which she was able to articulate the different ways she felt in one singular breakup," says Hill. "Falling in love and losing in love is something we've all experienced and we have very strong emotions associated with that. . . . We relate to that pain and therefore want to embrace her for being able to articulate it for us."

However, it may be Adele's likable personality that is her biggest weapon. "She's true to who she is," Blatter says. "She's really retained her authenticity as she's gotten more popular. Of all the artists that have been successful over the last several years, Adele has been a standout primarily not just because of her amazing voice and intelligent lyrics, but because she really sings from the heart and I think that's something that's been missing, particularly on mainstream radio."

Of course, there are other artists who have had skills similar to Adele's and some who have come close to her level of success and walked away from the Grammys disappointed.

"You never know with the Grammys," Blatter says. "There can always be surprises."

However, Adele's unique situation may insulate her from any of those Esperanza Spalding-like shocks. Grammy voters love young artists who embrace classic styles of music -- the way Norah Jones adapted jazz standards or Lauryn Hill modernized old-school soul. Adele does that with '60s folk and soul, while also appealing to fans who weren't born until the 21st century.

But, unlike other artists who have amassed multiple nominations -- take Kanye West, for example, who leads the night with seven nods -- Adele is also popular with the music industry establishment.

"People are breathing sighs of relief that music that touches your soul, that uses real musicians, that is about a real-life situation, still has a place and is successful," says BET's Hill. "I think people are really putting Adele on their shoulders and saying, 'Thank goodness. You are helping to prove to us that the way I grew up in music can still exist.'

"She is saying that kind of music can still thrive in an era of electronic beats, of 127 beats per minute, and AutoTuned vocals," Hill continues. "Something this pure -- and my-over-30-belief of real -- still exists."

And that will, no doubt, translate into lots of Grammy gold.

Critic Glenn Gamboa's Grammy picks

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Adele, "21"

Bruno Mars, "Doo-Wops and Hooligans"

RECORD OF THE YEAR

Adele, "Rolling in the Deep"

SONG OF THE YEAR

"All of the Lights" (Kanye West)

"The Cave" (Mumford and Sons)

"Grenade" (Bruno Mars)

"Holocene" (Bon Iver)

"Rolling in the Deep" (Adele)

BEST NEW ARTIST

Bon Iver

J. Cole

Nicki Minaj

Skrillex

BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM

Adele, "21"

Lady Gaga, "Born This Way"

Bruno Mars, "Doo-Wops and Hooligans"

Rihanna, "Loud"

BEST DANCE / ELECTRONICA ALBUM

Cut Copy, "Zonoscope"

Deadmau5, "4x4=12"

Skrillex, "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites"

BEST ROCK ALBUM

Jeff Beck, "Rock 'n' Roll Party Honoring Les Paul"

Foo Fighters, "Wasting Light"

BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM

Bon Iver, "Bon Iver"

Foster the People, "Torches"

BEST RAP ALBUM

The Throne, "Watch the Throne"

Nicki Minaj, "Pink Friday"

BEST COUNTRY ALBUM

Lady Antebellum, "Own the Night"

Blake Shelton, "Red River Blue"

George Strait, "Here for a Good Time"