Grammy Nominations - General

Here they are! The Grammy nominees were announced last night, following a CBS performance special (which I didn't watch, but heard was actually pretty good). Not as many surprises or upsets in the general categories this year as last. Let's take a look:

Album of the Year

• Coldplay - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
• Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III
• Ne-Yo - Year of the Gentleman
• Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
• Radiohead - In Rainbows

Coldplay snags their first nomination in the AOTY category. Surely they are the frontrunner, although I wouldn't discount Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, who would appear to be this year's "nostalgia" choice. Biggest omission would have to be The Eagles, who were talked about for last year's Long Road Out of Eden. This isn't quite the snub that the omission of Bruce Springsteen's Magic was last year or Bob Dylan's The Modern Times the year before. I'm very happy to see Radiohead here for In Rainbows, one of my favorite albums of last year. This is the band's third AOTY nomination, after OK Computer and Kid A. They are the only act to have been nominated in the category before (Krauss appeared as one of many artists on 2002's AOTY, The Oh Brother Where Art Thou Soundtrack). Ne-Yo is a surprise, but not a bad one, and I'm certainly glad he got it over Alicia Keys' As I Am, which I didn't care for.

Record of the Year

• Adele - Chasing Pavements
• Coldplay - Viva la Vida
• Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love
• M.I.A. - Paper Planes
• Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Please Read the Letter

Look at all those Brits! No matter what wins, this year's ROTY will go to a British artist--the sole American being Alison Krauss (with Brit Robert Plant). Brits have won this award earlier this year (Amy Winehouse) and in 2004 (Coldplay). Everyone but Coldplay is a first time nominee. I predicted three of these--didn't think Adele would get in, and I'm disappointed they picked her instead of Duffy, nor did I think Plant and Krauss would make it, although I really like "Please Read the Letter." I'm surprised not to see OneRepublic's "Apologize," and disappointed they didn't honor Estelle and Kanye West's "American Boy."

Song of the Year

• William Adams, Keith Harris, Josh Lopez, Caleb Speir, John Stephens, Estelle Swaray & Kanye West - American Boy (performed by Estelle and Kanye West)
• Adele Adkins and Eg White - Chasing Pavements (performed by Adele)
• Jason Mraz - I'm Yours (performed by Jason Mraz)
• Sara Bareilles - Love Song (performed by Sara Bareilles)
• Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion & Chris Martin - Viva la Vida (performed by Coldplay)

This is that weird category that honors the songwriters rather than the performers. It's always a rather odd comparison with Record of the Year. What does it really say? Hey Estelle and Kanye--you wrote a great song in "American Boy" but your performance wasn't up to snuff? I tend to ignore this category, so I won't say anything more.

Best New Artist

• Adele
• Duffy
• Jonas Brothers
• Lady Antebellum
• Jazmine Sullivan

I'm glad to see Duffy and Adele here (and hope Duffy wins), but frankly, none of these people were major forces in music this year. Jonas Brothers really don't deserve to be "new." They released their first album in 2005 after all. Too bad Leona and Estelle didn't make it.