The nominations for the 2013 Grammy Awards are officially in, and although most of the names on the various lists were already seen as shoe-ins, there were a few surprises here and there.  Taylor Swift and LL Cool J delivered the news via a series of awkwardly staged dialogues, but in the end we got the information we needed… though some of it was better news than others.

Perhaps no one was surprised that Justin Bieber didn’t get any nominations – no one but his manager, that is.  Scooter Braun took to Twitter after the ceremony was over, saying that he felt his client deserved to be recognized, and that he thought the Grammy board “blew it on this one.”

Nicki Minaj was likely also shocked that her album didn’t get any Grammy love this year.  It was a huge commercial success and full of catchy singles, but for some reason it just didn’t grab the attention of the voting committee.

Some, though, have commented that the exclusion of the darlings of cheap radio pop indicates that the music industry is finally waking up and seeing where the real talent is.  The nominee lists in many of the categories were rock– and alternative-heavy, with a strong leaning toward the folk and Americana side of the spectrum.  Gotye, Ed Sheeran, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Jack White all got nominations, and even Bjork managed to pick up a nod in the Alternative Music category.

Others, however, raked in nomination after nomination.  Six seemed to be the number of the night, with Frank Ocean, Fun. Mumford & Sons, Jay-Z, Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, and Kanye West all pulling in six nominations each.  Fun. seemed particularly surprised by their success, even though they were told ahead of time that they were strong favorites to get nominated in several categories.  They weren’t sure whether to believe the hype, so they stopped listening to any rumors about the Grammys weeks ago, and described their reaction to the news as “emotional.”

Of course those who were surprised by the nominations should know by now that this is only the beginning – the 2013 Grammy Awards will air on February 10, and there are sure to be some upsets and triumphs on the night.