2010 Grammy Nominations...With A Few Surprises

There were a few surprises, a few misses (as always) and a few snubs when this year's Grammy nominations were revealed last night. Here's a few observations, in my humble opinion, before we get into a few of the categories. First of all, a congratulations is in order to Toronto rapper Drake who is up for two Grammy Awards off a mixtape. And, another congrats to Toronto talent Melanie Fiona, who also nabbed a nom. These two are examples of wonderful surprises. Now, for the not-so-wonderful one. The song I'm On A Boat is up for Best Rap/Sung Collabo. Yes, I'm talking about the Saturday Night Live spoof featuring T-Pain. What state is rap in, or how disconnected are the people who choose these nominations that this song made it into the list. What makes it even worse is an epic snub that saw Lil Wayne receive no nominations. Please keep in mind that Lil Wayne sold more than a million records in his first week of his last release, topped the Billboard Hot 100 with Lollipop, has his album certified double platinum since its release. Now, I know he won Grammies last year, but Lil Wayne continued his success into this year. Anyways, enough of me blabbing, on with the nominees.

Record Of The Year:
• Halo (Beyoncé)
• I Gotta Feeling (The Black Eyed Peas)
• Use Somebody (Kings Of Leon)
• Poker Face (Lady Gaga)
• You Belong With Me (Taylor Swift)

Album Of The Year
• I Am... Sasha Fierce (Beyoncé)
• The E.N.D. (The Black Eyed Peas)
• The Fame (Lady Gaga)
• Big Whiskey And The Groogrux King (Dave Matthews Band)
• Fearless (Taylor Swift)

Song Of The Year
• Poker Face (Lady Gag)
• Pretty Wings (Maxwell)
• Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) (Beyonce)
• Use Somebody (Kings Of Leon)
• You Belong With Me (Taylor Swift)

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
• Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) (Beyonce)
• It Kills Me (Melanie Fiona)
• That Was Then (Lalah Hathaway)
• Goin' Thru Changes (Ledisi)
• Lions, Tigers & Bears (Jazmine Sullivan)

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
• The Point Of It All (Anthony Hamilton)
• Pretty Wings (Maxwell)
• Sobeautiful (Musiq Soulchild)
• Under (Pleasure P)
• There Goes My Baby (Charlie Wilson)

Best R&B Album
• The Point Of It All (Anthony Hamilton)
• Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics (India.Arie)
• Turn Me Loose (Ledisi)
• Blacksummers' Night (Maxwell)
• Uncle Charlie (Charlie Wilson)

Best Rap Solo Performance
• Best I Ever Had (Drake)
• Beautiful (Eminem)
• D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune) (Jay-Z)
• Day 'N' Nite (Kid Cudi)
• Casa Bey (Mos Def)

Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group
• Too Many Rappers (Beastie Boys & Nas)
• Crack A Bottle (Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent)
• Money Goes, Honey Stay (Fabolous & Jay-Z)
• Make Her Say (Kid Cudi, Kanye West & Common)
• Amazing (Kanye West & Young Jeezy)

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
• Ego (Beyoncé & Kanye West)
• Knock You Down (Keri Hilson, Kanye West & Ne-Yo)
• Run This Town (Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West)
• I'm On A Boat (The Lonely Island & T-Pain)
• Dead And Gone (T.I. & Justin Timberlake)

Best Rap Song
• Best I Ever Had (Drake)
• Day 'N' Nite (Kid Cudi)
• Dead And Gone (T.I. & Justin Timberlake)
• D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune) (Jay-Z)
• Run This Town (Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West)

Best Rap Album
• Universal Mind Control (Common)
• Relapse (Eminem)
• R.O.O.T.S. (Flo Rida)
• The Ecstatic (Mos Def)
• The Renaissance (Q-Tip)

Click here for a complete list of the nominations