I remember that middle school English reminder not to use the word you're trying to define when defining it, that explaining that something is amazing because it truly is amazing is an infinite loop. But with apologies to my 6th grade teacher, Mrs. DiLorenzo, my favorite of the tracks nominated for best pop solo performance of the year is my favorite because it's the best pop solo performance.

The nominees for this Grammy are:

Someone Like You

Adele
From 21 

Yoü And I

Lady Gaga
From Born This Way 

Grenade

Bruno Mars
From Doo-Wops & Hooligans 

Firework

Katy Perry

Fuckin' Perfect

Pink

And my choice for the 2012 Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance of the Year is:

Someone Like You

Great pop in this section. And now that the Academy has combined a few former categories (Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, and Best Pop Instrumental Performance), we get the best of what would've been in those categories rolled into one.

Yoü And I is great stadium pop. It's loud, has a bit of country in it, and is so catchy that it has this Jersey kid ready to profess love for Nebraska at the top of his lungs. The vocal is powerful, gritty, and contagious.

And Katy Perry's Firework, the chorus: it's clean (almost no vibrato), and grows into something explosive and bright. The musicality is strikingly obvious. It's almost visual.

But Someone Like You hurts. It hurts.

It's in the phrasing. It's in her fragility at the peak of the chorus. It's in the story. It's so full, so rich, from the first breath to the last. It's an absolutely incredible performance.