The land of nods
GRAMMYS | Event wasn't revolutionary, but it was televised
For the first time in their 51-year history, Grammy sponsors the Recording Academy announced the nominees for 2008 not at a boring, overblown press conference — but during a boring, overblown television special that aired live Wednesday night from Los Angeles.
Leading the pack with eight nominations was the filthy-minded dirty South rapper Lil Wayne. Moody rockers Coldplay garnered seven nods, and rap and R&B stars Jay-Z, Ne-Yo and Chicago's Kanye West claimed six each.
(AP)
PHOTO GALLERY
Grammy nominations
West's nods were all for productions for or collaborations with other artists, including Lil Wayne and R&B chanteuse Estelle. Because of the odd way the Grammys define "a year," West's 2008 release "808s & Heartbreak" will not be eligible for consideration until 2009.
Following on his mentor West's heels, South Side rapper Lupe Fiasco was honored with four nods for best rap/sung collaboration and best rap song ("Superstar" with local singer Matthew Santos), best rap album ("The Cool") and best rap solo performance ("Paris, Tokyo").
In the major categories, vying for the album of the year are Coldplay ("Viva La Vida"), Lil Wayne ("Tha Carter III"), Ne-Yo ("Year of the Gentleman"), Robert Plant and Alison Krauss ("Raising Sand") and Radiohead ("In Rainbows").
Nominees for record of the year, which honors the best single recording, were Adele ("Chasing Pavements"), Coldplay ("Viva La Vida"), Leona Lewis ("Bleeding Love"), M.I.A. ("Paper Planes) and Plant and Krauss ("Please Read the Letter").
Nominees for song of the year, which honors the songwriters, were "American Boy" (recorded by Estelle, featuring Kanye West), "Chasing Pavements" (recorded and co-written by Adele), "I'm Yours" (recorded and written by Jason Mraz), "Love Songs" (recorded and written by Sara Bareilles) and "Viva La Vida" (recorded and written by Coldplay).
In a misguided attempt to drum up interest for this year's telecast, which will air on CBS on Feb. 8, the Recording Academy for the first time announced the 2008 nominees -- or at least a small fraction of them-during a live TV special hyperbolically entitled "The Grammy Nominations Concert Live!! -- Countdown to Music's Biggest Night." Tied to the opening of a new Grammy Museum, the show featured a selection of ultra-mainstream pop stars performing "classic songs from Grammy history," with little thought given to the pairings.
The Vegas-glitzy Celine Dion blustered through Janis Ian's nakedly soulful "At Seventeen"; the self-obsessed Foo Fighters demolished Carly Simon's "You're So Vain;" the young country ingénue Taylor Swift added nothing to Brenda Lee's "I'm Sorry" and Christina Aguilera hammed it up through "I Loves You Porgy" from "Porgy and Bess."
On the list of other Chicago honorees, Jennifer Hudson was nominated for best R&B album ("Jennifer Hudson"), best R&B vocal performance ("Spotlight") and best R&B performance by a duo or group ("I'm His Only Woman" with Fantasia) and former Chicagoans Ministry got a nod for best metal performance ("Under My Thumb" from "Cover Up").
jimdero@jimdero.com