GRAMMY NOMS TURN SOME HEADS
Though that didn't include the warmed-over coffee, danish and bagels with cream cheese. What, no lox?
And while leading eight-time nominee Kanye West would appear an odds-on favorite for Album of the Year, that was his only nod in the major categories for the awards show, which will be broadcast, as always, by CBS from the Staples Center in L.A. on Sunday, Feb. 10.
Six-time nominee Amy Winehouse was really the big winner, earning mention in all four major categories, as comic George Lopez joked: "Someone wake her up this afternoon and let her know."
And while the success of West and Winehouse was expected, there were a few surprises.
The nominations of the Foo Fighters' Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (RCA), Vince Gill's These Days (MCA Nashville) and Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters (Verve) in the Album category raised some eyebrows, but the presence of the Foos' Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins, Gill and and Hancock on-stage to make the announcements could have been an indication.
Bruce Springsteen, who received four nominations in the Rock field, was conspicuous by his absence in the big four as well.
The Foo Fighters' "The Pretender" received an unexpected nod for Record of the Year alongside Beyonce's "Irreplaceable," Rihanna's "Umbrella," Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around... Comes Around" and Winehouse's "Rehab."
In Song of the Year, the Plain White T's "Hey There Delilah" was the sleeper, while Corinne Bailey Rae's "Like a Star" wasn't exactly among the prognosticators' picks beforehand.
When the Best New Artist nominees were announced by the Foo Fighters, Taylor Swift seemed genuinely thrilled at her nod, hugging one and all with honest-to-goodness giddiness. Ledisi, a New Orleans-born R&B singer, now living in the Bay Area, who made her major label debut this year with an album on Verve Forecast, was the nominee that had people scratching their heads in a category that also included Feist, Paramore and Winehouse. Ledisi's Lost & Found also received a nod in the Best R&B Album category.
Among those expected to do better was Fergie, who received a single nod for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
Some other things to note:
-Robert Plant and Alison Krauss received a Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals nomination for "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)," though the album itself was not eligible due to its release date.
-Beastie Boys will go head-to-head with Chris Botti, Dave Koz, Spyro Gyra and Kirk Whalum for Best Pop Instrumental Album.
-UGK's collaboration with OutKast battles it out with Common f/Kanye West, Fat Joe f/Lil Wayne, Shop Boyz and Kanye West, Nas & KRS-One in the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group category.
-Peter Case goes up against David Bromberg, Cathy Fink, Levon Helm and Charlie Louvin for Best Traditional Folk Album.
-Tia Carrere was nominated for Best Hawaiian Music Album. Who knew?
-Jimmy Sturr and his Orchestra are once again up for Best Polka Album, with neo-classicists Brave Combo among the competition.
-Barack Obama was nominated for Best Spoken World Album in a category that includes Maya Angelou, Alan Alda and former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.
-Flight of the Conchords get a well-deserved Best Comedy Album nod, where they will yuck it up against George Lopez, Lisa Lampanelli, Steven Wright and Harry Shearer.
-The Once soundtrack (Canvasback/Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax) received a nod for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Televison or Other Visual Media, but it will be facing a pair of Beatles-related albums (Love and Across the Universe) as well as Dreamgirls and Hairspray, which should keep Glen Brunman sleepless until awards night. "Falling Slowly," the song performed in the movie by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, was also nominated for Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.
-Timbaland appears the odds-on favorite in the Producer of the Year, Non-Classical category, with Howard Benson, Joe Chiccarelli, Mike Elizondo and Mark Ronson his chief competition.
