Sara Bareilles' 'Blessed' Album Of The Year Nod

Released last summer following a three-year break since her last album, Sara Bareilles' "The Blessed Unrest" continued to display the 33-year-old's reliability as a pop singer-songwriter, with a No. 2 debut on the Billboard 200 chart and a durable radio hit with "Brave" (which just reached a new Hot 100 peak, at No. 26, in its 28th week on the chart). 

However, very few expected Bareilles' third studio effort to be in the running for album of the year and edge out heavy favorites like Justin Timberlake's "The 20/20 Experience" and Bruno Mars' "Unorthodox Jukebox" in the process. Bareilles -- who scored a song of the year nomination with her breakout hit "Love Song" at the 2009 Grammys -- will compete against Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Taylor Swift, Daft Punk and Kendrick Lamar in the category, while "Brave" is also up for best pop solo performance.