Grammy Best New Artists 3: Frank Ocean

GRAMMY FEVER, BEST NEW ARTIST EDITION (PART THREE): Orange is the new gold. By which we mean that Best New Artist nominee Frank Ocean's Def Jam/IDJ release Channel Orange has officially been certified gold. We congratulate this groundbreaking artist, who'd already written for the likes of Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, John Legend and other stars when his 2011 mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra put him on every hipster's radar. Esteemed New York Times critic Jon Pareles placed Ocean in the company of such icons as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Prince. The gifted singer-songwriter's now-notorious blog post about his past romantic feelings prompted much speculation and analysis, but it's the open-ended emotional terrain of his music that really deserves your attention. (1/30p)