day 2.361

grammy's 2011

last night the recording academy announced the list of nominees for next year's grammy awards. the list is the most representative of what music is actually popular and being played on radio that i think i've ever seen. i can't name one upset (the acts i could think of, like taylor swift and her latest release speak now, will be counted toward the 2012 show), but there were definitely some surprises. below is a list of the nominees in the major categories, and who i think will take home the statues when the show airs february 13 on cbs.

record of the year

• "nothin' on you," b.o.b. featuring bruno mars
• "love the way you lie," eminem featuring rihanna
• "fuck you," cee lo green
• "need you now," lady antebellum
• "empire state of mind," jay-z and alicia keys

no song generated as much buzz or permeated every facet of pop culture (i mean they used it in sex and the city 2, and glee did a cover, people) quite like "empire state of mind." i think the academy likes when unexpected collaborations become successful - it seems like only "love the way you lie" could compete with jay-z and alicia. but, if anyone will take the award away from new york's favorite duo, it will be "need you now," arguably the most over-played song of 2010.

album of the year

• the suburbs, arcade fire
• recovery, eminem
• need you now, lady antebellum
• the fame monster, lady gaga
• teenage dream, katy perry

depending on how the academy votes, i could see katy taking this one. her album is the most recent and has generated the most hits. gaga's fame monster could also be a contender, having produced multiple nominated tracks. i definitely think the competition will be perry v. gaga come grammy night.

song of the year

• "beg steal or borrow," ray lamontagne
• "fuck you," cee lo green
• "the house that built me," miranda lambert
• "love the way you lie," eminem featuring rihanna
• "need you now," lady antebellum

lady a will ride this nomination all the way to the grammy hall of fame. "need you now" seems like it got more radio play that any other song this year - i even started avoiding it, even though i really, really liked the song when it first came out. cee lo's song is too new, and along with "love the way you lie," is a bit controversial. lambert's "the house that built me" has racked up a lot of awards this season, but expect her to get her recognition in the country categories.

best new artist

• justin bieber
• drake
• florence and the machine
• mumford & sons
• esperanza spalding

the academy has a history of giving this award to the person most anticipated to have an impact on modern music, not the most popular or famous star. i think florence and the machine is popular enough, yet still indie enough, to steal the award from j biebs.

best female pop vocal performance

• "king of anything," sara bareilles
• "halo (live)," beyonce
• "chasing pirates," norah jones
• "bad romance," lady gaga
• "teenage dream," katy perry

this is probably one of the tougher categories. there are the traditional, super-talented vocalists (i.e. bareilles and jones), the pop stars who are half performance (gaga and perry) and the r&b superstar (which is beyonce, duh). as "halo" is a song very much about vocals, i can see it taking the trophy, but really anyone in this category could win.

best male pop vocal performance

• "haven't met you yet," michael buble
• "this is it," michael jackson
• "whataya want from me," adam lambert
• "just the way you are," bruno mars
• "half of my heart," john mayer

buble is the classic pop singer, and "haven't met you yet" was really his first original song to take off on radio. jackson most likely just garnered a nomination because he was michael jackson, king of pop. lambert could steal the statue, but chances are he's a little too much for the academy. mars is too new, and mayer's music all sounds the same - there's no good reason to give unoriginality an award.

best vocal performance by a duo or group with vocals

• "don't stop believin'" (regionals version), glee cast
• "misery," maroon 5
• "the only exception," paramore
• "babyfather," sade
• "hey, soul sister" (live), train

while i would really like the cast of glee to take this category, i'm betting that train will get it instead. train's career-launching track "drops of jupiter" (yes, these are the same people) was a huge awards magnet, and "hey, soul sister" was the track that brought train back into the pop culture realm. it would be a nice way to welcome the group back. plus, i thought sade was just one person...

best pop collaboration with vocals

• "airplanes - part ii," b.o.b. featuring hayley williams and eminem
• "imagine," herbie hancock, pink, india.arie, seal, konono no. 1, jeff beck & oumou sangare
• "if it wasn't for bad," elton john featuring leon russel
• "telephone," lady gaga featuring beyonce
• "california gurls," katy perry featuring snoop dog

"telephone" has the perfect mix of music credibility and popularity to take this category. you have two strong singers, who come from different genres, collaborating to make one of the biggest songs of 2010. gaga and beyonce will be hard to beat.

best pop vocal album

• "my world 2.0," justin bieber
• "i dreamed a dream," susan boyle
• "the fame monster," lady gaga
• "teenage dream," katy perry
• "battle studies," john mayer

gaga. gaga. gaga. lady gaga will take this category for every reason possible - she writes her own material, is original and is bringing music to a new place. vocally, she's the strongest of the group (maybe other than boyle, but i doubt her disc of covers will nab her the trophy).

to see the rest of the nominees (r&b, country, rock, rap, etc.) click here. look for my thoughts on those categories later this week.