Grammys flashback: How did Bruno Mars beat Justin Timberlake and Lorde in 2014?

The 2014 Grammys were star-studded with nominees ranging from Daft Punk to Taylor Swift to Ed Sheeran. That itself was a reflection of how much impactful music was released from late-2012 to mid-2013. Among the albums released were three by some of the most influential pop hitmakers of the 2010s, and they were nominated against each other in the Best Pop Vocal Album category: Lorde’s “Pure Heroine,” Justin Timberlake’s “The 20/20 Experience – The Complete Experience,” and the eventual winner, Bruno Mars’s “Unorthodox Jukebox.” The three albums would definitely have been winners in most other years, but only one could take home the award in that contest, so how did voters make their choice?

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Before diving deep into the three-horse race, let’s consider the other two albums nominated. The first was Lana Del Rey’s “Paradise.” While the album, an extension of Del Rey’s massive debut “Born to Die,” was a great seller, Del Rey didn’t enjoy the acclaim back then that she has now. The other nominee was Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines,” which probably just coat-tailed off the success of its eponymous single. In the end, the race was down to Lorde, Mars, and Timberlake.

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Mars started the season off as the front-runner, and for good reason. His album was commercially successful, reaching the top of the Billboard 200 and racking up four hit singles, including two chart-toppers (“Locked Out of Heaven” and “When I Was Your Man”). Mars was rivaled by Timberlake, whose album was split in two. The first part was a massive hit, moving almost a million copies in its first week in the United States alone. The second part was less successful, but still achieved over 300,000 units in its first week. And then came Lorde, whose album didn’t produce as many hit singles as the other two, but was very acclaimed and carried the massive smash “Royals.” So, all three had something going for them: Mars had the hits, Timberlake had the album sales, and Lorde had the most acclaim as well as the biggest single.

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When a race is so tight, everything matters. Timberlake’s decision to submit the complete edition of his album could’ve hurt, since the second part was not as well received as the first. However, Timberlake’s absence in the general field might have been a product of the nominations review committee, so voters could have rectified this by giving him the win in the pop field, especially since his album was such a bestseller. That’s why publications like Paste and Slant went for him for their predictions, citing mostly his massive sales success.

The lack of enthusiasm for that project as a whole helped Bruno Mars. As Amanda Dobbins and Lindsey Webber stated in a correct prediction for Vulture, “[Bruno is] the populist choice, and the Grammys will want to give him a vote of confidence.” This is the exact reason why, inversely, Lorde might’ve lost: her album was big with the indie crowd, but it didn’t have enough populist appeal for Best Pop Vocal Album. It also didn’t help that pop voters like spreading the wealth, and “Royals” was already a very obvious winner for Best Pop Solo Performance.

Mars was just too prominent on the radio for voters to ignore him: in 2013 he ruled the airwaves with “Treasure,” “When I Was Your Man,” and “Locked Out of Heaven.” Pop Vocal Album has consistently gone to albums with multiple pop hits for a while, and 2014 was not going to be the exception. Also to his advantage was that he was performing at the Super Bowl, which meant he was the talk of the town for that reason too. So with his rivals either being too indie or having waning enthusiasm, the category was his to lose. His win also really stands the test of time: he has become a full-on Grammy darling in recent years, and “Unorthodox” is one of his best albums, mixing the pop sensibilities of his debut with what would later become his signature retro R&B sound. And given that Timberlake and Lorde were on track to win other awards that night anyway, it’s nice to know Mars left the show with something at the very least.

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