Last night's GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live! was a surprisingly enjoyable watch with a handful of good performances. It was awesome to hear Usher singing soul music again (someone please get him away from David Guetta's clutches ASAP) and witnessing "The Message" being brought to life on live television was a dope piece of hip-hop history and refreshing to see Lupe Fiasco remember this song's lyrics. But what everyone here at SBHQ was really waiting on were the nominations. Since only the major categories (Album/Record/Song of the Year and Best New Artist) were announced on-air, we had to wait until the nominees list was posted online after the show. After a few clicks, we got the official word, and, although there are some head-scratching inclusions and omissions, overall SoulBounce faves are well represented in the R&B and Rap categories at the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards.
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Kanye West snagging seven nominations -- the most this year -- was the biggest shocker of the evening (as well as My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy not getting an Album of the Year nod) since it was almost a foregone conclusion that Adele would come out on top. Don't shed too many tears for her, however, because she did walk away with six nominations including noms for Album, Record and Song of the Year. It may just be the Adele show at the next GRAMMY Awards, and we won't be the least bit mad.
On the R&B side of things, our girl Ledisi rope-a-doped three nominations and so did Kelly Price. Other SoulBounce faves up for consideration include Marsha Ambrosius, Eric Benét, Raphael Saadiq, Cee-Lo Green, Melanie Fiona, and The Roots for the collabo with Betty Wright.
Over in the Rap field, a few artists who we dig and songs that we've been grooving to have been recognized. This is where Ye got the majority of his nominations, even going up against himself in two categories for his solo work and alongside Jay-Z. Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland will duke it out with four other nominees for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.
Check out nominees in selected categories below (you can find the complete list on GRAMMY.com). What do you think of this year's nominations? Did all of your faves make the cut or did the GRAMMY Awards miss the mark?
Album Of The Year
- 21 - Adele
- Wasting Light - Foo Fighters
- Born This Way - Lady Gaga
- Doo-Wops & Hooligans - Bruno Mars
- Loud - Rihanna
Record Of The Year
- "Rolling In The Deep" - Adele
- "Holocene" - Bon Iver
- "Grenade" - Bruno Mars
- "The Cave" - Mumford & Sons
- "Firework" - Katy Perry
Best New Artist
- Advertisement -- The Band Perry
- Bon Iver
- J. Cole
- Nicki Minaj
- Skrillex
Song Of The Year
- "All Of The Lights" - Jeff Bhasker, Malik Jones, Warren Trotter & Kanye West, songwriters (Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie)
- "The Cave" - Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, Marcus Mumford & Country Winston, songwriters (Mumford & Sons)
- "Grenade" - Brody Brown, Claude Kelly, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Bruno Mars & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Bruno Mars)
- "Holocene" - Justin Vernon, songwriter (Bon Iver)
- "Rolling In The Deep" - Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth, songwriters (Adele)
Best R&B Performance
- Advertisement -- "Far Away" - Marsha Ambrosius
- "Pieces Of Me" - Ledisi
- "Not My Daddy" - Kelly Price & Stokley
- "Is This Love" - Corinne Bailey Rae
- "You Are" - Charlie Wilson
Best Traditional R&B Performance
- "Sometimes I Cry" - Eric Benét
- "Fool For You" - Cee-Lo Green & Melanie Fiona
- "Radio Message" - R. Kelly
- "Good Man" - Raphael Saadiq
- "Surrender" - Betty Wright & The Roots
Best R&B Song
- Advertisement -- "Far Away" - Marsha Ambrosius, Sterling Simms & Justin Smith, songwriters (Marsha Ambrosius)
- "Fool For You" - Cee-Lo Green & Jack Splash, songwriters (Cee-Lo Green & Melanie Fiona)
- "Not My Daddy" - Kelly Price, songwriter (Kelly Price & Stokley)
- "Pieces Of Me" - Charles Harmon, Claude Kelly & Ledisi Young, songwriters (Ledisi)
- "You Are" - Dennis Bettis, Carl M. Days, Jr., Wirlie Morris, Charlie Wilson & Mahin Wilson, songwriters (Charlie Wilson)
Best R&B Album
- F.A.M.E. - Chris Brown
- Second Chance - El DeBarge
- Love Letter - R. Kelly
- Pieces Of Me - Ledisi
- Kelly - Kelly Price
Best Rap Performance
- Advertisement -- "Look At Me Now" - Chris Brown, Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes
- "Otis" - Jay-Z & Kanye West
- "The Show Goes On" - Lupe Fiasco
- "Moment 4 Life" - Nicki Minaj & Drake
- "Black And Yellow" - Wiz Khalifa
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
- "Party" - Beyoncé & André 3000
- "I'm On One" - DJ Khaled, Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne
- "I Need A Doctor" - Dr. Dre, Eminem & Skylar Grey
- "What's My Name?" - Rihanna & Drake
- "Motivation" - Kelly Rowland & Lil Wayne
- "All Of The Lights" - Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie
Best Rap Song
- Advertisement -- "All Of The Lights" - Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie
- "Black And Yellow" - Wiz Khalifa
- "I Need A Doctor" - Dr. Dre, Eminem & Skylar Grey
- "Look At Me Now" - Chris Brown, Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes
- "Otis" - Jay-Z & Kanye West
- "The Show Goes On" - Lupe Fiasco
Best Rap Album
- Watch The Throne - Jay-Z & Kanye West
- Tha Carter IV - Lil Wayne
- Lasers - Lupe Fiasco
- Pink Friday - Nicki Minaj
- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West
Who will take home these awards? It's anybody's guess right now, but tune into the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards on CBS on February 12, 2012 to find out. SoulBounce will be on the scene delivering the 411 on as the R&B Community Blogger so be sure to follow us closely here, on Twitter, on Facebook, on Tumblr, and on GRAMMY.com.
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