Raised in New Orleans, Frank Ocean lost his studio to Hurricane Katrina and moved to Los Angeles.
More surprising was six-time nominee Frank Ocean not winning any of the big awards he was up for.
There was also an increase in sales of albums from other Brit award nominees Taylor Swift, Alt-J, Frank Ocean and Muse.
When it came to conventional album sales, Frank Ocean's debut, "Channel Orange, " didn't crack the top 50 of 2012's best sellers.
In the international categories, the Black Keys won best group, Frank Ocean was named best male and Lana Del Rey picked up best female.
The motion also accused Brown of violating probation by punching singer Frank Ocean at a Hollywood recording studio last month, threatening to "bust" -- or shoot -- the singer.
Fun. took home major awards best new artist, in something of an upset over Frank Ocean, and song of the year for the transcendent anthem "We Are Young, " featuring Janelle Monae.
On her forthcoming album - she was recently signed up by Island Records - Haze hopes to work with an eclectic range of collaborators including Jason Mraz, Frank Ocean and The Weeknd.
Other artists in the top five in previous years include Frank Ocean (Sound of 2012), The Vaccines (Sound of 2011), Marina and the Diamonds (Sound of 2010), Florence and the Machine (Sound of 2009), Foals (Sound of 2008) and Plan B (Sound of 2006).
The boy this time was Frank Carson of the Chicago Inter Ocean, a once-respected newspaper that had declined in recent years.
"Shipwrecks help to fill in some of the unwritten pages of history, " said Frank Cantelas, a maritime archaeologist with NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration and Research.
Frank Lepore of the National Hurricane Center said scientists were looking at warmer ocean temperatures as a possible factor in this year's forecast.
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