So last week, the 50th Annual GRAMMY Nominees were announced in the wee hours of the morning in Hollywood. The GRAMMYs will air Sunday, February 2007 on CBS. I am not always a big fan of their nomination choices but I am usually a faithful GRAMMY fanboy. It’s always a huge production, the GRAMMYs usually don’t disappoint me, great performances and appearances, nice speeches, some unusual twists, occasional drama, what’s not to love? Anyway, below are the nominees for some of the major categories. I like to play “Rock The GRAMMYs” and pretend my opinion matters to the Academy so I put a little extra emphasis on those who I think should/will walk away with the golden gramophone.

Bold: Who Deserves To Win
Red-Bold: Who Will Most Likely Take It

Record Of The Year
• Irreplaceable
Beyoncé
• The Pretender
Foo Fighters
• Umbrella
Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z
• What Goes Around…Comes Around
Justin Timberlake
• Rehab
Amy Winehouse

Album Of The Year
• Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
Foo Fighters
• These Days
Vince Gill
• River: The Joni Letters
Herbie Hancock
• Graduation
Kanye West
• Back To Black
Amy Winehouse

Song Of The Year
• Before He Cheats
Josh Kear & Chris Tompkins, songwriters (Carrie Underwood)
• Hey There Delilah
Tom Higgenson, songwriter (Plain White T’s)
• Like A Star
Corinne Bailey Rae, songwriter (Corinne Bailey Rae)
• Rehab
Amy Winehouse, songwriter (Amy Winehouse)
• Umbrella
Shawn Carter, Kuk Harrell, Terius “Dream” Nash & Christopher
Stewart,
songwriters (Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z)

Best New Artist
• Feist
• Ledisi
• Paramore
• Taylor Swift
• Amy Winehouse

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
• Candyman
Christina Aguilera
• 1234
Feist
• Big Girls Don’t Cry
Fergie
• Say It Right
Nelly Furtado
• Rehab
Amy Winehouse

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
• Everything
Michael Bublé
• Belief
John Mayer
• Dance Tonight
Paul McCartney
• Amazing
Seal
• What Goes Around…Comes Around
Justin Timberlake

Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
• (You Want To) Make A Memory
Bon Jovi
• Home
Daughtry
• Makes Me Wonder
Maroon 5
• Hey There Delilah
Plain White T’s
• Window In The Skies
U2

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
• Steppin’ Out
Tony Bennett & Christina Aguilera
• Beautiful Liar
Beyoncé & Shakira
• Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
• The Sweet Escape
Gwen Stefani & Akon
• Give It To Me
Timbaland Featuring Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake

Best Pop Instrumental Performance
• Off The Grid
Beastie Boys
• Paris Sunrise #7
Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals
• Over The Rainbow
Dave Koz
• One Week Last Summer
Joni Mitchell
• Simple Pleasures
Spyro Gyra

Best Pop Instrumental Album
• The Mix-Up
Beastie Boys
• Italia
Chris Botti
• At The Movies
Dave Koz
• Good To Go-Go
Spyro Gyra
• Roundtrip
Kirk Whalum

Best Pop Vocal Album
• Lost Highway
Bon Jovi
• The Reminder
Feist
• It Won’t Be Soon Before Long
Maroon 5
• Memory Almost Full
Paul McCartney
• Back To Black
Amy Winehouse

Best Dance Recording
• Do It Again
The Chemical Brothers
• D.A.N.C.E.
Justice
• Love Today
Mika
• Don’t Stop The Music
Rihanna
• LoveStoned/I Think She Knows
Justin Timberlake

Best Electronic/Dance Album
• We Are The Night
The Chemical Brothers
• †
Justice
• Sound Of Silver
LCD Soundsystem
• We Are Pilots
Shiny Toy Guns
• Elements Of Life
Tiësto

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
• Call Me Irresponsible
Michael Bublé
• Cool Yule
Bette Midler
• Trav’lin’ Light
Queen Latifah
• Live In Concert 2006
Barbra Streisand
• James Taylor At Christmas
James Taylor

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance
• Timebomb
Beck
• Only Mama Knows
Paul McCartney
• Our Country
John Mellencamp
• Radio Nowhere
Bruce Springsteen
• Come On
Lucinda Williams

Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
• It’s Not Over
Daughtry
• Working Class Hero
Green Day
• If Everyone Cared
Nickelback
• Instant Karma
U2
• Icky Thump
The White Stripes

Best Hard Rock Performance
• Sweet Sacrifice
Evanescence
• The Pretender
Foo Fighters
• I Don’t Wanna Stop
Ozzy Osbourne
• Sick, Sick, Sick
Queens Of The Stone Age
• The Pot
Tool

Best Rock Instrumental Performance
• The Ecstasy Of Gold
Metallica
• Malignant Narcissism
Rush
• Always With Me, Always With You
Joe Satriani
• Once Upon A Time In The West
Bruce Springsteen
• The Attitude Song
Steve Vai

Best Rock Song
• Come On
Lucinda Williams, songwriter (Lucinda Williams)
• Icky Thump
Jack White, songwriter (The White Stripes)
• It’s Not Over
Chris Daughtry, Gregg Wattenberg, Mark Wilkerson & Brett Young,
songwriters
(Daughtry)
• The Pretender
Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel & Chris Shiflett, songwriters
(Foo Fighters)
• Radio Nowhere
Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen)

Best Rock Album
• Daughtry
Daughtry
• Revival
John Fogerty
• RB Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
Foo Fighters
• ont>Magic
Bruce Springsteen
• Sky Blue Sky
Wilco

Best Alternative Music Album (AMAZING NOMINEES!)
• Alright, Still…
Lily Allen
• Neon Bible
Arcade Fire
• Volta
Bjork
• Wincing The Night Away
The Shins
• Icky Thump
The White Stripes

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
• Just Fine
Mary J. Blige
• When I See You
Fantasia
• No One
Alicia Keys
• If I Have My Way
Chrisette Michele
• Hate On Me
Jill Scott

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
• Woman
Raheem DeVaughn
• B.U.D.D.Y.
Musiq Soulchild
• Because Of You
Ne-Yo
• Future Baby Mama
Prince
• Please Don’t Go
Tank

Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
• Same Girl
R. Kelly Featuring Usher
• Disrespectful
Chaka Khan Featuring Mary J. Blige
• Hate That I Love You
Rihanna Featuring Ne-Yo
• Baby
Angie Stone Featuring Betty Wright
• Bartender
T-Pain Featuring Akon

Best R&B Song
• Beautiful Flower
India.Arie & Joyce Simpson, songwriters (India.Arie)
• Hate That I Love You
M.S. Eriksen, T.E. Hermansen & Shaffer Smith, songwriters (Rihanna
Featuring
Ne-Yo)
• No One
Dirty Harry, Kerry Brothers & Alicia Keys, songwriters (Alicia Keys)
• Teachme
Ivan Barias, Adam W. Blackstone, Randall C. Bowland, Carvin Haggins,
Johnnie
Smith II & Corey Latif Williams, songwriters (Musiq Soulchild)
• When I See U
Louis Biancaniello, Waynne Nugent, Erika Nuri, Kevin Risto, Janet Sewel
& Sam
Watters, songwriters (Fantasia)

Best Rap Solo Performance
• The People
Common
• I Get Money
50 Cent
• Show Me What You Got
Jay-Z
• Big Things Poppin’ (Do It)
T.I.
• Stronger
Kanye West

Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group
• Southside
Common Featuring Kanye West
• Make It Rain
Fat Joe Featuring Lil Wayne
• Party Like A Rockstar
Shop Boyz
• Int’l Players Anthem (I Choose You)
UGK Featuring OutKast
• Better Than I’ve Ever Been
Kanye West, Nas & KRS-One

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
• I Wanna Love You
Akon Featuring Snoop Dogg
• Kiss, Kiss
Chris Brown & T-Pain
• Let It Go
Keyshia Cole Featuring Missy Elliott & Lil’ Kim
• Umbrella
Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z
• Good Life (S in tha mauS Scuola Furano Remix)
Kanye West Featuring T-Pain

Best Rap Song
• Ayo Technology
Nate (Danja) Hills, Curtis Jackson, Timothy Mosley & Justin
Timberlake,
songwriters (50 Cent Featuring Justin Timberlake & Timbaland)
• Big Things Poppin’ (Do It)
Clifford Harris & Byron Thomas, songwriters (T.I.)
• Can‘t Tell Me Nothing
A. Davis & Kanye West, songwriters (Kanye West)
• Crank That (Soulja Boy)
Soulja Boy Tell’Em, songwriter (Soulja Boy Tell’Em)
• Good Life
A. Davis, F. Najm & K. West, songwriters (J. Ingram & Q. Jones,
songwriters)
(Kanye West Featuring T-Pain)

Best Rap Album
• Finding Forever
Common
• Kingdom Come
Jay-Z
• Hip Hop Is Dead
Nas
• T.I. vs T.I.P.
T.I.
• Graduation
Kanye West

Best Female Country Vocal Performance
• Simple Love
Alison Krauss
• Famous In A Small Town
Miranda Lambert
• Nothin’ Better To Do
LeAnn Rimes
• Before He Cheats
Carrie Underwood
• Heaven, Heartache And The Power Of Love
Trisha Yearwood

Best Male Country Vocal Performance
• Long Trip Alone
Dierks Bentley
• A Woman’s Love
Alan Jackson
• If You’re Reading This
Tim McGraw
• Give It Away
George Strait
• Stupid Boy
Keith Urban

Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
• Proud Of The House We Built
Brooks & Dunn
• How Long
Eagles
• Moments
Emerson Drive
• Lucky Man
Montgomery Gentry
• Sweet Memories
The Time Jumpers

Best Country Collaboration With Vocals
• Days Aren’t Long Enough
Steve Earle & Allison Moorer
• Because Of You
Reba McEntire & Kelly Clarkson
• I Need You
Tim McGraw & Faith Hill
• Lost Highway
Willie Nelson & Ray Price
• Oh Love
Brad Paisley & Carrie Underwood

Best Country Song
• Before He Cheats
Josh Kear & Chris Tompkins, songwriters (Carrie Underwood)
• Give It Away
Bill Anderson, Buddy Cannon & Jamey Johnson, songwriters (George
Strait)
• I Need You
Tony Lane & David Lee, songwriters (Tim McGraw & Faith Hill)
• If You’re Reading This
Tim McGraw, Brad Warren & Brett Warren, songwriters (Tim McGraw)
• Long Trip Alone
Brett Beavers, Dierks Bentley & Steve Bogard, songwriters (Dierks
Bentley)

Best Country Album
• Long Trip Alone
Dierks Bentley
• These Days
Vince Gill
•Let It Go
Tim McGraw
• 5th Gear
Brad Paisley
• It Just Comes Natural
George Strait

Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or
Other Visual Media
• Across The Universe
Various Artists
• Dreamgirls
Various Artists
• Hairspray
Various Artists
• Love
(The Beatles)
• Once
Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova

Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
• Falling Slowly (From Once)
Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova, songwriters (Glen Hansard &
Marketa Irglova)
• Guaranteed (From Into The Wild)
Eddie Vedder, songwriter (Eddie Vedder)
• Love You I Do (From Dreamgirls)
Siedah Garrett & Henry Krieger, songwriters (Jennifer Hudson)
• The Song Of The Heart (From Happy Feet)
Prince Rogers Nelson, songwriter (Prince)
• You Know My Name (From Casino Royale)
David Arnold & Chris Cornell, songwriters (Chris Cornell)

Best Short Form Music Video
• God’s Gonna Cut You Down
Johnny Cash

• 1234
Feist
• Gone Daddy Gone
Gnarls Barkley
• B/RB D.A.N.C.E.
Justice
• Typical
Mute Math