There were no major surprises for Adele's team, as the singer was nominated six times over for Record of the Year, Song of the Year (as a songwriter), Album of the Year, among others. Kanye West had an even bigger night, with seven total nominations, the highest number of nods of anyone this year.
Katy Perry also had a big year, but she only saw two nominations, for "Firework" in the Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance categories. (Teenage Dream was nominated last year but didn't win.) Although "E.T." was eligible, it was overlooked in major categories like Record of the Year and Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical -- did you hear any of those deserving dubstep remixes?!
Similarly, Rihanna earned three nominations for her solo work, including Loud for Album of the Year. Nicki Minaj scored a Best New Artist nomination, a Best Rap Performance for "Moment 4 Life" and a Best Rap Album for Pink Friday, despite such a big year for her single "Super Bass," which didn't see a single nomination. Why "Super Bass" didn't nab a Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (Minaj collaborating with her multiple personas should absolutely count here) is baffling.
Who was the most surprising artist to receive more than one Grammy nomination? Bruno Mars. His annoyingly inescapable "Grenade" scored multiple nominations, and Doo-Wops & Hooligans, his debut, was even nominated for Album of the Year. Yet in no way was Doo-Wops as genre-pushing or exploratory as its more deserving competitors, Adele's 21 or Lady Gaga's Born This Way.
Also, somewhat surprisingly but still very deservedly, Robyn's "Call Your Girlfriend" was nominated for Best Dance Recording -- alongside Deadmau5, Swedish House Mafia and "Barbra Streisand" by Duck Sauce -- and Body Talk, Pt. 3 for Best Dance/Electronica album.
Bon Iver strangely saw a nomination for Best New Artist, despite the fact that the singer-songwriter released an album in 2007, For Emma, Forever Ago. Thus points out the strange nomination rules of the Grammys: eligibility for nominations is from Oct. 1, 2010 to Sept. 30, 2011. Artists may be considered for the Best New Artist category if they have released at least one album but no more than three as the performing artist.
So other artists who are having big quarter four performances, like Drake, aren't eligible for the 2012 Grammys and will instead have to wait for 2013. Likewise, Foster The People, which has released only one album so far, could still be nominated for Best New Artist in 2013. However, the Recording Academy did good to nominate Skrillex for Best New Artist, even if he may not have a hope of getting the trophy.
2012 Grammy Nominations, nine major categories: (Full list posted at Grammy.com):
RECORD OF THE YEAR Rolling In The Deep - Adele Holocene - Bon Iver Grenade - Bruno Mars The Cave - Mumford & Sons Firework - Katy Perry
SONG OF THE YEAR "All Of The Lights" - Kanye West "The Cave" - Mumford & Sons "Holocene" - Bon Iver "Grenade" - Bruno Mars "Rolling In The Deep" - Adele (The songwriters are nominated, but these are the artists which recorded the songs.)
BEST NEW ARTIST The Band Perry Bon Iver J. Cole Nicki Minaj Skrillex
ALBUM OF THE YEAR 21 - Adele Wasting Light - Foo Fighters Born This Way - Lady Gaga Doo-Wops & Hooligans - Bruno Mars Loud - Rihanna
BEST POP SOLO PERFORMANCE "Someone Like You" - Adele "You And I" - Lady Gaga "Grenade" - Bruno Mars "Firework" - Katy Perry "F***in' 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 VOCAL ALBUM 21 - Adele The Lady Killer - Cee Lo Green Born This Way - Lady Gaga Doo-Wops & Hooligans - Bruno Mars Loud - Rihanna
BEST RAP/SUNG COLLABORATION "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 "All Of The Lights" - Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie
BEST RAP ALBUM Watch The Throne - Jay-Z & Kanye West Tha Carter IV - Lil Wayne Lasers - Lupe Fiasco Pink Friday - Nicki Minaj My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West