The road Wally De Backer has travelled to get to the 55th Grammy Awards ceremony in downtown Los Angeles has been a long one, with plenty of potholes, detours and the odd breakdown.
But just like his hit song with Kiwi songstress Kimbra, Somebody That I Used to Know, which ended up becoming the biggest selling single in the US in 2012, the 32-year-old who goes by the stage name Gotye would just not go away.
While most Australians will be sitting down to lunch on Monday (1200 AEDT), Gotye's marathon journey from unknown Melbourne musician to global somebody will hit a new peak inside the 20,000 seat Staples Center as he competes for three Grammys - Record of the Year, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Alternative Album.
If the musician, who made just 50 copies of his first four-track CD in 2001 and sent them to Australian radio stations in the hope of scoring airplay, claims Record of the Year, he will be become the first Aussie man to win the prestigious award and carve a place in music history alongside past winners - Olivia Newton-John (1975's I Honestly Love You), Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, The Eagles, Billy Joel, U2, Coldplay, Simon & Garfunkel and Eric Clapton.
The Grammys, voted on by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, is the most unpredictable major award ceremony of the year, but if critics, music editors, awards watchers and bookmakers are correct, Gotye is a great chance of walking out of Staples Center with three trophies.
Pundits in the Gotye camp point to the massive sales he racked up in the US, something that helped British diva Adele sweep last year's Grammys.
"Somebody That I Used To Know was number one on Billboard's Hot 100 of 2012 and number one on VH1's Top 20 of 2012, as was last year's Record of the Year winner Rolling In The Deep by Adele," David Schnelwar, an editor at Goldderby.com, said.
"I predict Somebody That I Used To Know will win Record of the Year."
Standing in Gotye's way for Record of the Year are some of the titans of the music industry: Taylor Swift (We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together), Kelly Clarkson (What Doesn't Kill You) and The Black Keys (Lonely Boy).
In the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category, Gotye takes on Florence and the Machine (Shake it Out); LMFAO (Sexy and I Know It); and Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa (Payphone).
In the race for the Best Alternative Album Grammy, Gotye's challengers include Fiona Apple for The Idler Wheel, Tom Waits (Bad as Me) and Bjork (Biophilia).
Gotye, who was born in Belgium and moved to Australia with his family when he was two years old, didn't do himself any favours when he told Rolling Stone magazine recently he wouldn't vote for himself in the category.
"As much as this is one category where I'd like to get recognised, I have to pick Biophilia," Gotye said.
"Bjork's ambition and creativity are amazing.
"Her sounds are so complex, but in other aspects they're quite raw - it's impressive."
While Gotye is competing in categories with the likes of Swift, Clarkson, Apple, Maroon 5 and Waits, another newcomer has emerged as his biggest threat for Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
There are plenty of experts tipping New York indie pop band fun., best known for their huge hit We Are Young, to dominate the Grammys.
"Being upbeat and youth-oriented should give it the edge over Gotye," Newsday music critic Glenn Gamboa, in choosing fun. over Gotye for Record of the Year, announced in his publication on Saturday.
