Pulse
Don't Know Why Norah shouldn't win
Hell on Stilts
Jenn RourkeComing up Sunday are the 45th annual Grammy Awards, as selected by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (read: a bunch of retired producers who supposedly earned the right to play God over the music world).
Anyway, the awards return to New York City for the first time in five years, airing on CBS live from Madison Square Garden. I've gone through the list of nominees and want to make a few predictions of my own.
Norah Jones has come away with five nominations, and one would think she deserves to win with her critically acclaimed album "Come Away With Me," but Norah faces some tough competition (although I suppose this goes without saying in terms of Grammys). Norah is up against Bruce Springsteen for Song and Album of the Year and against Sheryl Crow in Best Pop Female Performance (Crow and Springsteen seem to be NARAS favorites). The Academy always seems to favor the older artists over newcomers who will have their day when they're more experienced (hence last year's Steely Dan victory in the Record of the Year Category).
This will bode well for Norah in the Best New Artist category, however, as Norah sounds the most mature among contenders such as Ashanti and Michelle Branch. You might think that with talent like Norah's, there's no way the Academy could deny her a Grammy. But just last year, the incredibly gifted India.Arie was snubbed; after capturing seven nominations she went home empty-handed.
India acquired a few more nominations this year, and hopefully she can redeem herself. Avril Lavigne is also nominated for five awards. I'd like to predict a shutout for Avril, who just racked up a slew of honors during Canada's Juno Awards (those poor, misguided Canadians). Fortunately Avril is up against Norah in three categories, and I'd be shocked to tears if the Academy picks screaming Avril over soulful Norah. Avril's only shot would be the Best Rock Female Vocal category, except she finds herself stacked against Sheryl Crow and Bonnie Raitt here, and maturity typically triumphs over young blood with this Academy.
A few artists have garnered one nomination, the underdog of their category. It's unlikely they'll take home a statue, but I'd like to root for them anyway. One such case is Bowling for Soup. "Girl All the Bad Guys Want," off the group's latest release "Drunk Enough to Dance," was a surprise in the list of Grammy nods. Although Hell would have to freeze over before BFS beats out competitors Dave Matthews and Bon Jovi, I'm staying loyal to this band of losers.
Speaking of Hell freezing over, how did Britney Spears earn two nominations? On a similar note, whose kids did R. Kelly promise not to touch to snag his nomination for "World's Greatest?" Moving on...
Other artists I'm supporting even though their victory is highly unlikely: Nappy Roots, Dirty Vegas, The Flaming Lips, Jimmy Fallon and Ludacris (not only because he's one of rap's most comical artists, but because he shows up when he's supposed to.) And lastly, I'm all about Coldplay. In the Best Rock Performance By A Duo/Group w/ Vocal they face six competitors, including Aerosmith and U2, but I think Coldplay can pull it off. And their nomination in the Best Alternative Album category should produce a Grammy as well. The Brits know how to rock.
Among performances to watch out for, Elvis Costello and Bruce Springsteen will pay homage to The Clash's Joe Strummer, who died of a heart attack in December, and 'NSYNC will perform a tribute to Maurice Gibb, member of the BeeGees who died in January. The BeeGees will receive the annual Grammy Legend Award. If the BeeGees aren't incentive to watch, I don't know what is.
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