Grammy Award Nominees 2009

11 months ago 04th Dec 09:37

Lil Wayne is sitting pretty with 8 nominations

The Grammy Awards is arguably one of the most coveted ceremonies in the music calendar and last night the highly anticipated nominees were announced in a concert-like affair.

Lil Wayne is sitting pretty with the most nominations of the year - eight in total - after finding unrivalled success with his 2008 top-selling album Tha Carter III. This could be the first year that the rapper takes home a gong, after being nominated in the past but always leaving empty-handed.

Hot on Lil Wayne’s tail though was British band Coldplay, with seven nominations, which is unsurprising considering their album, Viva La Vida, was one of the year's best-selling CDs. However, they will need to battle it out with Radiohead's groundbreaking In Rainbows, Ne-Yo's Year of the Gentleman, and Robert Plant's collaboration with Alison Krauss, Raising Sand for the Album Of The Year trophy.

Coldplay, Plant and Krauss are also set to do battle in the Record Of The Year category for with the respective songs Viva La Vida and Please Read the Letter. They will face British songstress Leona Lewis in the bid for the gong ad she gets a nod for Bleeding Love; and another British newcomer, Adele, is in the running with Chasing Pavements. M.I.A. makes up the final nominee with her breakthrough hit, Paper Planes.

As always, there are some surprising omissions for this years list, with Katy Perry, who had one of the year's biggest hits with I Kissed a Girl, being ignored in the Record Of The Year and Best New Artist categories.

One of the greatest comeback bands of the year, Metallica, were rewarded with three nominations, but, ironically, their huge comeback record "Death Magnetic" didn't get a nod for album of the year despite being a top seller in 2008.

FemaleFirst favourite, The Jonas Brothers were nominated in the Best New Artist category; and the teen sensations join soul singers, Duffy and Adele, singer-songwriter Jazmine Sullivan (who has clocked up five nominations in total) and breakout country act Lady Antebellum.

Other multiple nominees included Jay-Z, Ne-Yo and Kanye West, who had six each; Krauss, who has numerous Grammy wins, got five nominations as well as another Grammy favourite, John Mayer, while Jennifer Hudson got four, including best R&B album for her self-titled CD.

In a change of tact this year, The Recording Academy has shied away from announcing the nominations in a morning news conference but instead choose to launch it in a high profile concert complete with performances from past Grammy winners such as Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera and the Foo Fighters.

Held at the Nokia Theatre, the show also celebrated the Saturday opening of the new Grammy Museum next door, but don’t worry if you’re not on the guest list, The Grammy Awards are scheduled for live broadcast on CBS on Feb 8.

FemaleFirst - Ruth Harrison