As the world waits with anticipation for Adele 's first live vocal performance since her surgery at this Sunday's Grammy awards, the 'Someone Like You' singer is considered the favourite in most of the categories that she's been nominated in, which include Record of the Year (for 'Rolling in the Deep') and Album of the Year (for 21). In fact, the general consensus seems to be that victory is inevitable for Adele and that this year's Grammy awards, is merely a 'race for second place.'

The London-based singer had best not rest on her laurels though, and her competitors might want to take the security measure of scribbling a thank you speech because as history dictates, awards ceremonies don't always go as expected. Even at the nominations stages, eyebrows were raised at the inclusion of Skrillex in the Best New Artist category; with his curious Stateside-take on dubstep seeming like a weak contender in comparison to the Madonna-endorsed ambitious rap stylings of Nicki Minaj. Still, let's not forget that in 1998, the Grammy awards panel decided that Will Smith was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for 'Men In Black' (a lightweight theme song for the film of the same name), over rap heavyweights like Busta Rhymes and the Notorious BIG.

And, reminding everyone that sometimes even the 'experts' really get it wrong, Milli Vanilli won a Grammy in 1989. Milli Vanilli. The band that were eventually outed for not actually being the people that sang on their record. Their Grammy may have been revoked, eventually, but the whole episode serves as a bitter reminder about the subjectivity involved in awards ceremonies. It's a fine balance between choosing what is perceived as incredible musical talent and acknowledging a degree of popularity. With Adele though, both of those factors seem to have been taken care of. And with 18 weeks at the top of the US charts, the safe money is still on her to sweep the board.