day 2.363

the grammys, take 2

here are some more nominees, and my picks for who will take home the grammy trophies in february.

best alternative music album

• the suburbs, arcade fire
• infinite arms, band of horses
• brothers, the black keys
• broken bells, broken bells
• contra, vampire weekend

arcade fire blew up this year, and because of that i think the academy will give them the nod. if not them, look for perennial nominees vampire weekend to take home the statue.

best female r&b performance

• "gone already," faith evans
• "bittersweet," fantasia
• "everything to me," monica
• "tired," kelly price
• "holding you down (going in circles)," jazmine sullivan

the return of monica! the '90s radio-staple made quite the comeback in 2010, and i expect the star to top of her return year with a grammy.

best male r&b performance

• "second chance," el debarge
• "finding my way back," jaheim
• "why would you stay," kem
• "we're still friends," kirk whalum & musiq soulchild
• "there goes my baby," usher

usher is the only name on this list that everyone knows, and because of that expect him to take home the trophy. 2010 was also the year of the comeback for usher, though he never faded quite like monica did.

best r&b performance by a duo or group with vocals

• "love," chuck brown, jill scott and marcus miller
• "take my time," chris brown and tank
• "you've got a friend," ronald isely and aretha franklin
• "shine," john legend and the roots
• "soldier of love," sade

this category is tricky - will the academy go old school with aretha? or will something more modern be rewarded. i'm going to say it will come down to john legend and sade (who i still think is just one person, but she keeps being nominated as a group so i don't know. based on the theme of return that i've chosen for the r&b categories so far, i'm going to say sade will get this award.

best r&b album

• the love and war masterpiece, raheem devaughn
• back to me, fantasia
• another round, jaheim
• wake up!, john legend and the roots
• still standing, monica

hands down, john legend and the roots will grab this one.

best contemporary r&b album

• graffiti, chris brown
• untitled, r. kelly
• transition, ryan leslie
• the archandroid, janelle monae
• raymond v. raymond, usher

usher. no explanation needed.

best rap solo performance

• "over," drake
• "not afraid," eminem
• "how low," ludacris
• "i'm back," t.i.
• "power," kanye west

it's the year of the comeback, right? that's why eminem will grab this one. he came back stronger than ever, and nabbed more nominations that anyone else for this year's grammys.

best rap/sung collaboration

• "nothin' on you," b.o.b. featuring bruno mars
• "deuces," chris brown, tyga and kevin mccall
• "love the way you lie," eminem and rihanna
• "empire state of mind," jay-z featuring alicia keys
• "wake up! everybody," john legend and the roots

because this is the rap category, i think eminem and rihanna's "love the way you like" will take home the award.

best rap album

• the adventures of bobby ray, b.o.b.
• thank me later, drake
• recovery, eminem
• the blue print 3, jay-z
• how i got over, the roots

even though it wasn't as radio-friendly as eminem's recovery, jay'z the blue print 3 challenged music as it is now, and is far more artistic than a lot of the other rap you hear. i expect mr. beyonce to take home this trophy.

best female country vocal performance

• "satisfied," jewel
• "the house that built me," miranda lambert
• "swingin'," leann rimes
• "temporary home," carrie underwood
• "i'd love to be your last," gretchen wilson

this year's award show darling has been miranda lambert, and i expect her to be just as successful at the grammys as she has been the rest of the year.

best male country vocal performance

• "macon," jamey johnson
• "cryin' for me," toby keith
• "turning home," david nall
• "'til summer comes around," keith urban
• "gettin' you home," chris young

to be honest, i don't know any of these songs. so, based on the artists alone, i'm going to say keith urban will take this trophy - but don't count on my word.

best country performance by a duo or group with vocals

• "free," zac brown band
• "elizabeth," dalley & vincent
• "need you now," lady antebellum
• "little white church," little big town
• "where rainbows never die," the steel drivers

lady antebellum, end of story.

best country album

• up on the ridge, dierks bentley
• you get what you give, zac brown band
• the guitar song, jamey johnson
• need you now, lady antebellum
• revolution, miranda lambert

it won it at the cma's, and it will win it again at the grammy's. miranda lambert's revolution proved that the former nashville star-contestant is a forced to be reckoned with in the country world. revolution produced multiples hits, and i can only expect one or two more off the record before lambert releases another.

and, again, to see the full list of nominees, click here.