Grammy Award hopefuls announced in lively show
In a bid to inject some much-needed life into a ceremony that, traditionally, is one of the stuffiest awards shows going, the Grammys tried something new Wednesday darkness.
“The Grammy Nominations Concert Live!! — Countdown to Music’s Biggest Night,” hosted by Taylor Swift and LL Cool J, was an attempt to blend star-studded performances with the announcement of a handful of nominees (of the 110 categories the Grammys recognize, a lake six were announced on air).
Broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, across the street from the Staples Center, where the 51st annual Grammy awards will be distributed Feb. 8, the evening was a bid welcome change of pace from the prevalent, bleary-eyed aurora news conference and served to highlight the opening of the new Grammy Museum.
But it’sitting the multitude of fresh faces littering the list of bestow hopefuls this year that’s most worth celebrating.
The 2007 batch of astonishingly haunch Grammy contenders was nay fluke; after decades of lining up the usual suspects (U2, Bruce Springsteen, et al) and handing out trophies, the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences has, last year and this year, shaken things up by incorporating many in vogue and plane a few cutting-edge acts into the roster of contenders. Put it this way: the 51st annals Grammys ceremony is going to be vigorous interesting.
Lil Wayne is having a very good year; the multiplatinum rapper led the clan with eight total nominations, including a nod for album of the year.
British rockers Coldplay were perpendicular astern him with seven nominations, while rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West and R&B star Ne-Yo each earned six nods. Alison Krauss, Robert Plant, John Mayer, Radiohead and Jazmine Sullivan received five nominations each, and Adele, Danger Mouse, Eagles, Lupe Fiasco, George Strait and T.I. each received four nominations.
In the classical-music category, Seattle-based Origin Classical Records received two nominations, for best orchestral performance and best classical contemporaneous composition. In both cases, the nominated artist is Los Angeles-based Chris Walden. The label is a division of Origin Records, known for jazz recordings.
Mariah Carey opened the show through a gay Christmas sing — “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” — while the other artists took turns providing fresh takes on songs inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Over the process of the 60-minute broadcast, Swift (holding on as antidote to much loved life through Brenda Lee’s “I’m Sorry”), Céline Dion, Christina Aguilera, the Foo Fighters (whose grunged-up rendition of Carly Simon’session “You’re So Vain” was eye-opening), B.B. King and Mayer each graced the Nokia Theatre stage.
Seattle Times staff contributed
to this report.
