Nominations for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards have been announced, and there are definitely some surprises in the bunch. To be nominated, the music in question had to have been released between October 1, 2008, and August 31, 2009. Some highlights among the nominees, in alphabetical order:
Neko Case (2): Best Contemporary Folk Album (Middle Cyclone), Best Recording Package (Middle Cyclone)
Stephen Colbert: Best Comedy Album (A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift Of All!)
Coldplay (2): Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals ("Life In Technicolor II"), Best Short Form Music Video ("Life In Technicolor II")
Death Cab For Cutie: Best Alternative Music Album (The Open Door EP)
Green Day (3): Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals ("21 Guns"), Best Rock Song ("21 Guns"), Best Rock Album (21st Century Breakdown)
Imogen Heap (2): Best Pop Instrumental Performance ("The Fire"), Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical (Ellipse)
Kings Of Leon (4): Record Of The Year ("Use Somebody"), Song Of The Year ("Use Somebody"), Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals ("Use Somebody"), Best Rock Song ("Use Somebody")
Lamb Of God: Best Metal Performance ("Set To Fail")
Metallica: Best Hard Rock Performance ("The Unforgiven III")
MGMT (2): Best New Artist, Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals ("Kids")
Patton Oswalt: Best Comedy Album (My Weakness Is Strong)
Paramore: Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media ("Decode")
Pearl Jam: Best Rock Song ("The Fixer")
Katy Perry: Best Female Pop Vocal Performance ("Hot N Cold")
Phoenix: Best Alternative Music Album (Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix)
Silversun Pickups: Best New Artist
Slayer: Best Metal Performance ("Hate Worldwide")
Bruce Springsteen (4): Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals ("Sea Of Heartbreak," with Roseanne Cash), Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance ("Working On A Dream"), Best Rock Song ("Working On A Dream"), Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media ("The Wrestler")
Taylor Swift (8): Record Of The Year ("You Belong With Me"), Album Of The Year (Fearless), Song Of The Year ("You Belong With Me"), Best Female Pop Vocal Performance ("You Belong With Me"), Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals ("Breathe," with Colbie Caillat), Best Female Country Vocal Performance ("White Horse"), Best Country Song ("White Horse"), Best Country Album (Fearless)
The Ting Tings: Best New Artist
Twilight soundtrack: Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
Underoath: Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package (Lost In The Sound Of Separation (Deluxe Edition))
U2 (3): Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals ("I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight"), Best Rock Song ("I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight"), Best Rock Album (No Line On The Horizon)
Wilco: Best Americana Album (Wilco (The Album))
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Best Alternative Music Album (It's Blitz!)
The ceremony will take place at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles on Jan. 31, 2010, and will air on CBS from 8-11:30 p.m. EST. You can find the full list of nominees here.
