December 5, 2011
It’s no surprise Kanye West and British singer Adele garnered the most nods for the 2012 Grammy Awards, but the elimination of 31 categories shook up the award show and has led to a slew of snubs and surprises.
Despite receiving the most nominations of the night, Mr. West will have to fight the urge to interrupt Adele, Foo Fighters, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars or Rihanna when one of them accepts a gold-plated gramophone for Album of the Year.
Addressing a Chicago crowd during his Watch the Throne tour, ‘Ye surprisingly blamed himself for being left out of the top category, admitting he should have spaced out the release dates of his last two albums. I agree, but that’s still not a good enough reason to relegate “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” to Best Rap Album of the Year when it’s arguably one of the best albums of the year and a defining record of his career.
The first lady to the other half of the throne probably should have changed the release date of her album as well. Beyoncé’s “4” was released so late in the year it never gained traction with voters and only earned two nods. Still, with her nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Long Form Video of the Year, Bey’ finally surpassed country singer Dolly Parton as the most nominated female artist of all time.
Mother-to-be, Queen B will have to take a back seat to Adele on awards night, Feb. 12. With six nominations and the highest selling album of the year, all hell should break loose if Adele doesn’t take home at least three awards for her work on “21”. Troubled by vocal trauma, the 23-year-old cancelled her US tour, hasn’t performed live in months, and has kept mum about whether she will perform on Grammy night. I’ve been dying to hear her do an Amy Winehouse tribute, so somebody needs to invent a magical potion for her to drink and make that happen on the biggest night of her career.
Looking to eliminate categories with low number of entries, the Academy eliminated and merged several categories, causing some artists to feel snubbed. The Best Contemporary R&B album was one of those eliminated, inevitably causing albums by more traditional artists like El DeBarge to be nominated over top-selling artists such as Jill Scott and Ne-Yo. Clearly disappointed, Jill tweeted, “0 nominations. I'm speechless. Cover of Billboard, #1 cd in the country, tied/broke the record for Urban radio. Ok...so...ok. Wow."
Newcomer Miguel also took to Twitter to say he was “really hurt”. The singer had a breakout year but he’ll have to watch J.Cole, The Band Perry, Bon Iver, Nicki Minaj or Skrillex take home the award for Best New Artist.
Los Angeles native Skrillex may not be a household name, but the high-priced DJ received three nods, the same number as Gaga. Skrillex definitely shouldn’t take the trophy over front-runner, Nicki Minaj, but ever since Esmeralda Spalding stunned the world and snatched Best New Artist from Selena Gomez’s boyfriend, anything could happen.
I just hope the drama happens live. Award shows haven’t been incredibly entertaining since Kanye pushed pause on Taylor in 2009, but with a large number of top artists noticeably left out of the game, the 54th Grammy Awards is shaping up to be anything but typical. Peep here for a complete list of nominees.
