The Grammy Awards announced their 2010 nominations today, and as usual, they're a train wreck.
There are some bright spots: MGMT is an inspired candidate for Best New Artist, The Lonely Island and T-Pain scored an unlikely nomination, and Maxwell's "Pretty Wings" adds a bit of grace to a Song of the Year pool that otherwise seems to prioritize song success over song quality. But otherwise the list is a Fergie-infested cespool, with the Black Eyes Peas honored in five categories.
I've posted some of the nominees below; the "Album of the Year" category is a particular atrocity--then again, none of the nominees are as embarrassingly obsolete as the album that actually took home the award in 2008.
[A quick side note on the Grammy's confusing definition of "year": To be eligible for an award, recordings must be released between Oct. 1, 2008 and Aug. 31, 2009 (though the Silversun Pickups' nomination for Best New Artist suggests that releases from 2006 also qualify.)]
SONG OF THE YEAR
Beyonce, “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
Kings Of Leon, “Use Somebody”
Lady Gaga, “Poker Face”
Maxwell, “Pretty Wings”
Taylor Swift, “You Belong With Me”
RECORD OF THE YEAR
Beyonce, “Halo”
The Black Eyed Peas, “I Gotta Feeling”
Kings Of Leon, “Use Somebody”
Lady Gaga, “Poker Face”
Taylor Swift, “You Belong With Me”
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Beyonce, I Am… Sasha Fierce
The Black Eyed Peas, The E.N.D.
Lady Gaga, The Fame
Dave Matthews Band, Big Whiskey And The GrooGrux King
Taylor Swift, Fearless
BEST NEW ARTIST
Keri Hilson
MGMT
Silversun Pickups
The Ting Tings
Zac Brown Band
BEST FEMALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE
Adele, “Hometown Glory”
Beyonce, “Halo”
Katy Perry, “Hot N Cold”
Pink, “Sober”
Taylor Swift, “You Belong With Me”
BEST MALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE
John Legend, “This Time”
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Maxwell, “Love You”
Jason Mraz, “Make It Mine”
Seal, “If You Don’t Know Me By Now”
Stevie Wonder, “All About The Love Again”
BEST POP COLLABORATION WITH VOCALS
Rosanne Cash & Bruce Springsteen, “Sea Of Heartbreak”
Ciara & Justin Timberlake, “Love Sex Magic”
Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat, “Lucky”
Willie Nelson & Norah Jones, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”
Taylor Swift & Colbie Caillat, “Breathe”
BEST PERFORMANCE BY POP DUO OR GROUP
The Black Eyed Peas, “I Gotta Feeling”
Bon Jovi, “We Weren’t Born To Follow”
The Fray, “Never Say Never”
Daryl Hall & John Oates, “Sara Smile”
MGMT, “Kids”
BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM
The Black Eyed Peas, The E.N.D.
Colbie Caillat, Breakthrough
Kelly Clarkson, All I Ever Wanted
The Fray, The Fray
Pink, Funhouse
BEST DANCE RECORDING
The Black Eyed Peas, “Boom Boom Pow”
David Guetta, & Kelly Rowland, “When Love Takes Over”
Lady Gaga, “Poker Face”
Madonna, “Celebration”
Britney Spears, “Womanizer”
BEST ELECTRONIC/DANCE ALBUM
The Crystal Method, Divided By Night
David Guetta, One Love
Lady Gaga, The Fame
LMFAO, Party Rock
Pet Shop Boys, Yes
BEST ROCK SONG
Pearl Jam, “The Fixer”
U2, “I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight”
Green Day, “21 Guns”
Kings Of Leon, “Use Somebody”
Bruce Springsteen, “Working On A Dream”
BEST ROCK ALBUM
AC/DC, Black Ice
Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood, Live At Madison Square Garden
Green Day, 21st Century Breakdown
Dave Matthews Band, Big Whiskey And The GrooGrux King
U2, No Line On The Horizon
BEST ROCK SOLO VOCAL PERFORMANCE
Bob Dylan, “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’”
John Fogerty, “Change In The Weather”
Prince, “Dreamer”
Bruce Springsteen, “Working On A Dream”
Neil Young, “Fork In The Road”
BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS
Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood, “Can’t Find My Way Home”
Coldplay, “Life In Technicolor II”
Green Day, “21 Guns”
Kings Of Leon, “Use Somebody”
U2, “I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight”
BEST HARD ROCK PERFORMANCE
AC/DC, “War Machine”
Alice In Chains, “Check My Brain”
Linkin Park, “What I’ve Done”
Metallica, “The Unforgiven III”
Nickelback, “Burn It To The Ground”
BEST METAL PERFORMANCE
Judas Priest, “Dissident Aggressor”
Lamb Of God, “Set To Fail”
Megadeth, “Head Crusher”
Ministry, “Señor Peligro”
Slayer, “Hate Worldwide”
BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM
David Byrne & Brian Eno, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
Death Cab For Cutie, The Open Door
Depeche Mode, Sounds Of The Universe
Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, It’s Blitz!
BEST FEMALE R&B VOCAL PERFORMANCE
Beyonce, “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
Melanie Fiona, “It Kills Me”
Lalah Hathaway, “That Was Then”
Ledisi, “Goin’ Thru Changes”
Jazmine Sullivan, “Lions, Tigers & Bears”
BEST MALE R&B VOCAL PERFORMANCE
Anthony Hamilton, “The Point Of It All”
Maxwell, “Pretty Wings”
Musiq Soulchild, “Sobeautiful”
Pleasure P, “Under”
Charlie Wilson, “There Goes My Baby”
BEST R&B PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP
Jamie Foxx & T-Pain, “Blame It”
India.Arie & Musiq Soulchild, “Chocolate High”
Musiq Soulchild & Mary J. Blige, “Ifuleave”
Robert Randolph & The Clark Sisters, “Higher Ground”
Calvin Richardson & Ann Nesby, “Love Has Finally Come At Last”
BEST RAP SOLO PERFORMANCE
Drake, “Best I Ever Had”
Eminem, “Beautiful”
Jay-Z, “D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune)”
Kid Cudi, “Day ‘N’ Nite”
Mos Def, “Casa Bay”
BEST RAP/SUNG COLLABORATION
Beyonce & Kanye West, “Ego”
Keri Hilson, Kanye West & Ne-Yo, “Knock You Down”
Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West, “Run This Town”
The Lonely Island & T-Pain, “I’m On A Boat”
T.I. & Justin Timberlake, “Dead And Gone”
BEST RAP SONG
Drake, “Best I Ever Had”
Kid Cudi, “Day ‘N’ Nite”
T.I. & Justin Timberlake, “Dead And Gone”
Jay-Z, “D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune)”
Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West, “Run This Town”
BEST RAP ALBUM
Common, Universal Mind Control
Eminem, Relapse
Flo Rida, R.O.O.T.S.
Mos Def, The Ecstatic
Q-Tip, The Renaissance
