This, surely, is a sign of things—namely, awards—to come (hear that, Recording Academy?).
The nominees were announced for the 2011 American Music Awards this morning, and they more or less went as follows: Adele. Adele. Adele. Adele. Everyone else.
OK, so it wasn't quite that big a landslide, but the British chanteuse with the inescapable songs led all nominees for the awards show, scoring a leading four nods, including Artist of the Year, Pop/Rock Female Artist, Pop/Rock Favorite Album and Adult Contemporary Favorite Artist of the Year.
Hardly surprising given the critical and commercial success of her album 21 and her anthemic, ever-tappable tunes "Someone Like You" and "Rolling in the Deep."
Her closest competition: Katy Perry, Lil Wayne, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Taylor Swift and The Band Perry, all of whom pulled in behind the Brit with three nominations apiece.
And if you think that reads like a list of usual awards show suspects, well, so does the list of artists who racked up two nominations: Beyoncé, Bruno Mars, Chris Brown, Jason Aldean, Kanye West, LMFAO, Nicki Minaj and Pitbull, the latter two of which had the honors of announcing this morning's nominees.
The biggest prize of the night, Artist of the Year, is a five-way battle, this time pitting Adele against Perry, Gaga, Lil Wayne and Swift. But it's some of the other categories that provide the most intrigue.
Lil Wayne's protégé Nicki Minaj is up against her mentor in two categories, Rap/Hip-Hop Favorite Artist and Favorite Album. Rihanna and Chris Brown vie against each other for Soul/R&B Favorite Album (alongside Beyoncé), while B herself is up against not only Rihanna, but her fellow former child of destiny Kelly Rowland as Soul/R&B Favorite Female Artist.
Nothing like a little friendly rivalry to move the night along, eh?
Winners will be determined, as always, by online voting. Perry and Pitbull have already been announced as performers of the 39th annual show, which airs live Nov. 20.
Here's the complete list of nominees:
Artist of the Year
Adele
Lady Gaga
Lil Wayne
Katy Perry
Taylor Swift
Pop/Rock
Favorite Male Artist
Justin Bieber
Bruno Mars
Pitbull
Favorite Female Artist
Adele
Lady Gaga
Katy Perry
Favorite Band, Duo or Group
LMFAO
Maroon 5
OneRepublic
Favorite Album
Adele, 21
Lady Gaga, Born This Way
Rihanna, Loud
Country Music
Favorite Male Artist
Jason Aldean
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
Favorite Female Artist
Sara Evans
Miranda Lambert
Taylor Swift
Favorite Band, Duo or Group
The Band Perry
Zac Brown Band
Lady Antebellum
Favorite Album
Jason Aldean, My Kinda Party
The Band Perry, The Band Perry
Taylor Swift, Speak Now
Rap/Hip-Hop
Favorite Artist
Lil Wayne
Nicki Minaj
Kanye West
Favorite Album
Jay-Z and Kanye West, Watch the Throne
Lil Wayne, Tha Carter IV
Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday
Soul/R&B
Favorite Male Artist
Chris Brown
Trey Songz
Usher
Favorite Female Artist
Beyoncé
Rihanna
Kelly Rowland
Favorite Album
Beyoncé, 4
Chris Brown, F.A.M.E.
Rihanna, Loud
Alternative Rock
Favorite Artist
Black Keys
Foo Fighters
Mumford & Sons
Adult Contemporary
Favorite Artist
Adele
Bruno Mars
Katy Perry
Latin Music
Favorite Artist
Enrique Iglesias
Jennifer Lopez
Pitbull
Contemporary Inspirational
Favorite Artist
Casting Crowns
Tobymac
Third Day
Sprint New Artist of the Year
Hot Chelle Rae
The Band Perry
Miguel
Wiz Khalifa