The 54th Grammy Awards air this Sunday on CBS at 7 p.m. CST. Here are my views on who should and will win some of the major awards. (I wanted to cover them all, but really, who cares about Best Americana or Best Tropical Latin Albums?)

Denver-based pop-rock band The Fray is known for its massive choruses, catchy hooks and lead singer Isaac Slade’s heart-wrenching vocals. With the release of The Fray’s third album, “Scars and Stories,” it seems that not much has changed.

For us, gym class in 1997 meant games of tag and doing the locomotion. For the band that the Congress of the South 40 (CS40) is bringing to campus, gym class in 1997 was where Travie McCoy and Matt McGinley came together to start making music.

Madonna. Lady Gaga. Usher. Lil Wayne. Dr. Dre. All of these artists are releasing new albums in 2012, but I believe that the year will truly belong to M.I.A. The British rapper, best known for her hit “Paper Planes,” has been off the radar for a while, but coming off a performance at the Super Bowl and with a new album on the way, she’ll be on everyone’s minds.

Many reviews of Lana Del Rey’s “Born to Die” have been released already, and they seem to focus on whether or not she’s a true indie songstress or a just label-created pop product. I, however, think she can be a fusion of the two, as not all pop has to be dance-y Britney beats and ballads. Lana Del Rey’s brand of pop instead recalls earlier times.

It seems as though all the top stars have released Christmas albums, putting their own spin on our favorite holiday classics. Some renditions work and become integrated into the holiday repertoire, while others simply don’t. Here’s my take on your holiday music playlist.

When you’re studying for finals, you need quality music to fit your mood. (We know that calm music may be good when writing a paper, but it can’t be too calm that it’ll make you fall asleep when catching up on all the reading for that psychology final.) Instead of wasting time aimlessly searching for music, here are some playlists with song suggestions.

Aubrey Drake Graham, more commonly known as Drake, has now almost become rap royalty. Many major hip-hop and R&B artists have collaborated with him, and his debut album, “Thank Me Later,” sold a million and a half copies with only one top 10 single.

Not one to leave its old music alone, Chicago heavy metal band Disturbed just released “The Lost Children” while on hiatus. The album, featuring B-sides and covers, fits into Disturbed’s recognizable style: riffs are aggressive and groovy, and the vocalist employs a percussive singing style that goes along with the beat.

Whitechapel is a deathcore band from Knoxville, Tenn., notable for employing 8-string guitars and featuring three guitarists. They play a skull-crushingly heavy style of deathcore—a blend of death metal and metal core. Unlike many other bands in the same genre, however, they are a very creative bunch, and the listening experience is challenging but rewarding.