The Grammy nominations were announced, and as expected, Beyoncé topped the list of nominees with 11 overall, while Taylor Swift garnered eight. The Black Eyed Peas, Maxwell, and Kanye West each earned six nominations, with Jay-Z and Lady Gaga receiving five.
The nominations were announced during the one-hour “Grammy Nominations Concert Live!!” special, which was broadcast live on CBS from Club Nokia in L.A.
The show featured performances by the Black Eyed Peas, DJ-producer Guetta, Maxwell, Nick Jonas & The Administration, Sugarland, and host LL Cool J. Among the presenters were Linkin Park, George Lopez, Katy Perry, Smokey Robinson, Ringo Starr, T-Pain, and Dwight Yoakam. Smokey Robinson couldn’t resist taking a dig at Kanye West, casually remarking: “Don’t worry, Taylor. Kanye West is not here,” in what has to be the 1, 237th reference to West’s infamous interruption of Swift’s acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.
Drake’s monster hit single, “Best I Ever Had,” was nominated in the best rap song category, prompting a wave of criticism from music bloggers and fans because he has yet to release a proper album. But the song was huge, and his not having released an album doesn’t really matter — he’s nominated for best song, not album. It’s no different than if he had a hit song from a soundtrack nominated, or if an artist released a single prior to his album being released and the single received a nomination.
Kanye West’s nominations came mostly from collaborations with other artists — the one exception being his Best Rap Performance by a Duo or a Group nod for “Amazing” from his 808s & Heartbreak album. Some pundits are assuming that this is a result of continued fallout from the Swift VMAs controversy, but isn’t it more likely that he just … gasp … didn’t drop that great an album this time around?
Both Jay-Z’s “Run This Town” and “Death of Auto-Tune” were nominated in the best rap category, but it doesn’t guarantee a win with Drake’s mega-hit and the ubiquitous “Day N Nite” by Kid Cudi also receiving nods.
It’s good to see some underappreciated neo-soul singers getting some love, including Eric Roberson, Melanie Fiona, and The Foreign Exchange. But the big winner in the soul genre has to be comeback kid, Maxwell. The “Pretty Wings” singer received six nominations, including Song of the Year for “Pretty Wings,” and Best R&B Album for his long-awaited BLACKsummers’night.
–todd williams
