Image courtesy of Creative Commons user, Wonker

Who will nab the golden tickets when the nominees for the 52nd Grammy Awards are announced on Dec. 2nd?

Its been a pretty amazing year for music, so there’s no clear front-runner, but there will be plenty of familiar faces in the running. Billboard runs down some of the leading contenders. Naturally, we’ll have all the details on Dec. 2nd so listen here to see who makes the list – and, of course, who doesn’t.

Lady Gaga has had a year for the history books, becoming the first artist in the 17-year history of Billboard’s Pop Songs chart to notch four No. 1s from a debut album, and she sold more than 1.5 million copies of her album “The Fame.” The Gaga seems like a shoe-in for multiple Grammy nominations, including Record, Album and Song of the year.

Green Day reemerged from its five-year, self-imposed exile, with a brand new rock opera called “21st Century Breakdown,” which sent the pioneering pop punk band back to the top of the Billboard 200 the week it was released. Now, with a stage musical version of “American Idiot” headed to Broadway, Green Day may add to its Grammy collection. And maybe even its Tony collection (the Grammys of Broadway)?

The ever-present Black Eyed Peas (Oh, gosh they’re EVERYWHERE) spent 14 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with “I Gotta Feeling. It’s the longest No. 1 stay this decade.

Owl City, the electro-pop group’s lead single “Fireflies” shot up to No. 1 on the Hot 100 this fall. So they’re contenders.

Kings of Leon finally had a certified hit with “Sex on Fire” the first single from their 4th album “Only by the Night.” But they outdid themselves with the follow-up single “Use Somebody,” reaching No. 2 on Rock Songs and No. 4 on the Hot 100.

It’s going to be a great year for music at the Grammys. Stay tuned to 95.5 for all of your music news.

-Nicky G with Billboard