Last Updated on January 22, 2013 by
2013 Grammy prediction: Best Dance / Electronica Album nominees
• Wonderland, Steve Aoki
• Don’t Think, the Chemical Brothers
• >Album Title Goes Here<, deadmau5
• Fire & Ice, Kaskade
• Bangarang, Skrillex
The Best Dance Album category at the Grammys always make me laugh, because of the Recording Academy’s continued use of the term “electronica,” which hasn’t been a thing since the late ’90s.
Skrillex won this award last year for Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites – one of three awards he took home. That haul makes him, by default, the most well-known EDM artist in the Recording Academy. And that makes him the big favorite once again to win this award, even if Bangarang didn’t experience the same level of success as Scary Monsters. Once you become a favorite of Grammy voters, that label never wears off (see Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Paul Simon, John Mayer, etc.)
As noted in our list of every Best Dance Album winner in history, the Chemical Brothers have taken home this trophy twice and have been nominated three times previously. We have great respect for those guys, but they’re not the groundbreaking act they were ten years ago, and the fact they lost this award in 2011 to La Roux seems to indicate the Academy has moved on.
If there’s going to be a challenge to Skrillex, it will come from deadmau5, whose profile has grown dramatically over the past couple of years, particularly when he co-headlined Lollapalooza 2011. deadmau5 was nominated last year, and a lot of people will be rooting for him to win. The only thing working against him is the lack of a hit single from >Album Title Goes Here<.
Steve Aoki and Kaskade also made it to the final five, and deservedly so, but they don’t figure to have much chance of winning against acts with greater name recognition.
The final prediction? deadmau5 deserves to win, and he may come close, but voters will go for Skrillex once again.
2013 Grammy Awards: Best Dance / Electronica Album prediction
Deserves to win: >Album Title Goes Here<, deadmau5
Will win: Bangarang, Skrillex
Should have also been nominated: Magic Hour, Scissor Sisters
Check out the list of every Best Dance/Electronica Album winner and nominee in history.
