Grammy 2011 nominations
Rapper Kanye West led the field of Grammy contenders on Wednesday with seven nominations, including for his album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” and his joint venture with Jay-Z “Watch The Throne”.
But British singer Adele – whose album “21″ is the biggest-selling of 2011 – and R&B artist Bruno Mars were close behind with six apiece, including nods for the three big awards of album, song and record of the year.
Other leading contenders for the major music industry awards show include U.S. alternative rock band Foo Fighters, also with six nominations, while rapper Lil Wayne and newcomer Skrillex had five nominations apiece.
The nominations for the top awards were announced during a televised concert in Los Angeles featuring performances by Lady Gaga, Usher and up-and-coming country singers The Band Perry.
Winners in all 78 categories will be announced at the Grammy Awards ceremony and show on Feb. 12.
Traditional rock bands were largely missing from the leading categories, with hip-hop artists and female singers including Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Katy Perry grabbing the spotlight.
The best new artist category produced a particularly eclectic mix of female rapper Nicki Minaj, hip-hop artist J. Cole, country sensations The Band Perry, house and electropop performer Skrillex and American folk band Bon Iver.
Kanye West.
Kanye West has a chance to expand his already-huge collection of 14 Grammys and that he’s the top nominee for the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. Kanye picked up a leading seven nominations, while Adele, Bruno Mars and Foo Fighters are tied with six each.
Strangely, Kanye is only nominated in one of Grammys’ four main categories – Song of the Year, for “All of the Lights.” Conversely, Adele, Bruno and Foo Fighters appear in three of the Grammy’s biggest categories – Album, Record and Song of the Year. Adele has landed nominations for Record and Song of the Year for “Rolling in the Deep” and Album of the Year for 21. Bruno Mars got nods for Record and Song of the Year for “Grenade,” and Album of the Year for Doo-Wops and Hooligans, while Foo Fighters got an Album of the Year nod for Wasting Light.
Meanwhile, Lil Wayne and electronic musician Skrillex each are up for five awards – Skrillex, whose birth name is Sonny Moore, got a surprise nomination for Best New Artist. Also up for Best New Artist – The Band Perry, Nicki Minaj, singer/songwriter Justin Vernon, who records under the name Bon Iver [bonn ee-VAIR], and R&B star J. Cole. In addition, Rihanna, Radiohead, Bon Iver, Drake and Mumford & Sons each received four nods.
Among the most surprising nods were for Bon Iver’s song “Holocene,” a little-known track that somehow ended up in the Record and Song of the Year categories alongside hits like “Firework” and “Grenade.” Another unexpected nominee in the Record and Song of the Year categories was Mumford & Sons’ “The Cave.”
The nominees for Album, Record and Song of the Year and Best New Artist were announced during a one-hour CBS special that featured performances by, among others, Lady Gaga, The Band Perry, Jason Aldean, Ludacris, Usher, Sugarland and, via satellite, Rihanna. One of the highlights came when Lady Gaga teamed up with Sugarland to perform the hit “You and I” – Gaga and Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles had a ball trading verses and giving shout-outs to one another in the lyrics.
Gaga also opened the show by performing “Marry the Night” while wearing skeleton makeup and a blazer, black bra, panties and boots, while dancing on top of a heap of industrial garbage. Jason Aldean and Ludacris teamed up for Jason’s hit “Dirt Road Anthem,” and the Band Perry threw a bit of Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’” into their song “Independence.” Usher paid tribute to late songwriters Jerry Lieber and Nickolas Ashford by singing their songs “Stand By Me” and “You’re All I Need to Get By” respectively.
It was Adele’s year, and when the Grammy Awards are revealed next Feb., it very well may be her night.
But on Wednesday night, the British songstress shared in the Grammy nominations glory. While she was nominated for six trophies, including album of the year for “21″ and record and song of the year for her bitter groove “Rolling in the Deep,” Bruno Mars and the Foo Fighters also received six, and it was Kanye West who was the night’s top leader, with seven nominations.
West was nominated for song of the year for his all-star anthem “All of the Lights,” which featured everyone from Rihanna to Elton John. But even though the album from which it came, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” heralded an epic album by critics when it was released last year, it was not featured in the best album category – so far, no obligatory West rant has surfaced in response.
Bon Iver, the folky indie rock act that was a key part of “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” and received a popularity boost from its association with Kanye, was one of the night’s big winners, receiving four nominations, including for best artist, and song and record of the year for “Holocene.” And last year’s critical darlings, Mumford & Sons, were once again nominated, receiving among their bids for song and record of the year for “The Cave.”
Other multiple nominees were Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, Radiohead, and dubstep artist Skrillex, who landed a bid for best new artist among his surprising five nominations.
Among the evening’s biggest eye-openers were the artists not mentioned in certain categories. Taylor Swift, who won best album in 2010 for “Fearless” and was considered to be a key favorite for her multiplatinum “Speak Now,” only got her three nominations in the country fields, and Tony Bennett, who had a feel-good story as his “Duets II” album made him the oldest act to debut an album at Number 1 at age 85, was not nominated for album of the year, as some critics had predicted.
West’s joint album with Jay-Z, “Watch the Throne,” was also ignored for best album.