
Many newbies have a lot to celebrate as the Grammy Award nominations were announced Wednesday on the CBS during the Grammy Nomination Concert Special. The special was hosted by LL Cool J and Taylor Swift with performances by Maroon 5, Fun., NeYo, Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley and The Band Perry.
The National Academy of Arts and Sciences (NARAS) made sure to spread the love around. Six artists lead the pack with 6 nominations each. Kanye West, Mumford & Sons, Fun., Frank Ocean, Jay-Z, and Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach. Miguel snagged a well deserved 5 nominations for his sophomore album Kaleidoscope Dream. Personally, I think his debut album was better but this one a very, very close second. The Black Keys also received 5 nominations. Other big nominees were Kelly Clarkson with 4, Taylor Swift with 3 and Carly Rae Jepsen with 2 nominations. The Grammys will take place Sunday, February 10, 2013 at 8/7c on CBS.
Album of the Year:
Black Keys, El Camino
Fun., Some Nights
Mumford & Sons, Babel
Frank Ocean, Channel Orange
Jack White, Blunderbuss
Song of the Year:
Ed Sheeran, “The A Team”
Carly Rae Jepsen, “Call Me Maybe”
Miguel, “Adorn”
Kelly Clarkson, “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
Fun. feat. Janelle Monae, “We Are Young”
Record of the Year:
Black Keys, “Lonely Boy”
Kelly Clarkson, “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
Fun. feat. Janelle Monae, “We Are Young”
Gotye feat. Kimbra, “Somebody That I Used to Know”
Frank Ocean, “Thinkin Bout You”
Taylor Swift, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
Best New Artist:
Alabama Shakes
Fun.
Hunter Hayes
The Lumineers
Frank Ocean
Pop Vocal Album:
Kelly Clarkson, Stronger
Florence + the Machine, Ceremonials
Fun., Some Nights
Maroon 5, Overexposed
P!nk, The Truth About Love
Best Rock Album:
The Black Keys, El Camino
Coldplay, Mylo Xyloto
Muse, The 2nd Law
Bruce Springsteen, Wrecking Ball
Jack White, Blunderbuss
Best Alternative Music Album:
Fiona Apple, The Idler Wheel…
Bjork, Biophilia
Gotye, Making Mirrors
M83, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
Tom Waits, Bad as Me
Best Rap Album:
Drake, Take Care
Lupe Fiasco, Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1
Nas, Life Is Good
The Roots, Undun
Rick Ross, God Forgives, I Don’t
2 Chainz, Based on a T.R.U. Story
Best Country Album:
Zac Brown Band, Uncaged
Hunter Hayes, Hunter Hayes
Jamey Johnson, Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran
Miranda Lambert, For the Record
The Time Jumpers, The Time Jumpers
Best Dance/Electronica Album:
Steve Aoki, Wonderland
The Chemical Brothers, Don’t Think
Deadmau5, > Album Title Goes Here <
Kaskade, Fire & Ice
Skrillex, Bangarang
Country Solo Performance:
Dierks Bentley, “Home”
Eric Church, “Springsteen”
Hunter Hayes, “Wanted”
Ronnie Dunn, “Cost of Livin’”
Blake Shelton, “Over”
Carrie Underwood, “Blown Away”
For the full list of nominees click here.

Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler both announced this week that they will be leaving the American Idol judging panel. There has been speculation for weeks about Lopez’s exit but Tyler’s came a little as a surprise. But not that surprising as there were rumors of major shake ups on Idol coming (Budget cuts, lots of firings). There are even some talks about Randy Jackson moving towards being a mentor towards contestants and not being a judge. Now that these two have left, who is going to take their place? Some of the names being tossed around as replacements are Adam Lambert (season 8 Idol runner-up), Celine Dion, Charlie Sheen, Mary J. Blige and Mariah Carey. I love Mariah and I think she would be great. It still wouldn’t get me to watch the show though. I don’t think anything could. All these big names they want are expensive though and I don’t see any of them except Lambert taking less than $15 million for the gig. Just to put it into perspective Lopez made $20 million per year as a judge. That isn’t going to save them any money at all. I’m sure that in the coming weeks there will be more speculation and a ton more names thrown out there as replacements. It’s always funny watching the process unfold.

Yay more Hunger Games news. Lionsgate has announced that they are going to be splitting up the third installment of the series, Mockingjay into 2 parts. They will start with Catching Fire hitting theaters on November 22, 2013, Mockingjay, Part 1on November 21, 2014, and Mockingjay, Part 2 on Nov. 20, 2015. This way, like the Harry Potter and Twilight franchises, every Thanksgiving families can head out to the theaters and see kids kill each other. Entertainment Weekly has a nice article on the possible places where they could 






