In 2010, Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream — an unashamedly-bubblegum album executive-produced by pop maestros Dr. Luke and Max Martin — scored the California gurl an Album Of The Year Grammy nomination, not to mention nods for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (for the LP’s title song). And this year, pop veteran Britney Spears and her latest album Femme Fatale — another hit-laden bubblegum offering (though not nearly as hit-laden as Perry’s) helmed by Luke and Martin — got zero Grammy love when nominees were announced last night. But Brit was hardly the only one snubbed this year by the National Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences!
A rundown of those overlooked for this year’s Grammy nominations:
A rundown of those overlooked for this year’s Grammy nominations:
* Britney Spears. She had a #1 album that yielded a trio of hits. So what gives? Well, for one, Britney isn’t exactly known for wading into that whole “singing live” pool. Katy Perry is hardly a legendary vocalist, but, despite the sometimes mixed results, she does actually perform live during her shows and appearances. That goes a long way toward establishing credibility. Likewise, Spears doesn’t really play the game much anymore, as far as giving interviews, doing the talk show rounds, etc. Just an observation.
* Kanye West. Okay, we’re not going to cry too much for Kanye. He did, after all, score the most nominations (seven). That said, it’s curious that My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy — an album that landed on dozens of Best Of The Year lists in December 2010 — was overlooked for Album Of The Year. And yet, somehow, Rihanna’s Loud gets a nod in that category? We’ll point out once again — RiRi plays the game (often in skimpy clothing). As for West? He occasionally plays it, but sometimes it’s with what’s perceived to be a bad attitude.
* Taylor Swift. No Album Of The Year kudos for best seller Speak Now, either. Hey, Kanye and Taylor — great opportunity to go have a drink together!
* Miguel. We’ll let his post-nominations tweet do the talking here: “I’m Fucking Pissed Yo. I don’t think I’m Gods gift to music but I know the Album or at LEAST Sure Thing should have been Nominated.” Oh, well — at least now the thrill of performing at our South By Southwest Pray For Pop Party earlier this year will remain the highlight of Miguel’s year.
* Beyonce. Bey’s already got 16 Grammys cluttering up her and Jay-Z’s mantle at home. And, yes, she does stand to add two more to the collection this year. Still, Best Long Form Video (for I Am… World Tour) and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (for “Party” with Andre 3000) are hardly the sexiest nominations to land, are they? Guess, to borrow from Beyonce’s past, the writing is on the wall: 4 really didn’t produce a single breakout hit.
* Dr. Luke & Max Martin. They shared the ASCAP Songwriter Of The Year award this year, and deservedly so — between the two of them, they wrote and/or produced undeniable hits like the following: Katy Perry’s “E.T.” and “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)”, Britney Spears’ “Hold It Against Me”, “Till The World Ends” and “I Wanna Go”, Jessie J’s “Price Tag”, Ke$ha’s “We R Who We R” and “Blow” and Pink’s “F***in’ Perfect”. But no Producer Of The Year (Non Classical) nomination? Is pop still considered to be such a dirty word, NARAS?
* Christina Perri. We had this Pennsylvania singer-songwriter down for getting a few nominations (including Best New Artist) when we whipped up our predictions this week. But alas, she got nothing, despite “Jar Of Hearts” being inescapable this year. She can at least take consolation in the fact that, for someone who’s only just starting out, she’s off to a great start. We’ve got a feeling bigger things are still to come for Perri.
Who else were you surprised to see overlooked when it came to this year’s Grammy nominations? Let us know in the comments below, or by hitting us up on Facebook and Twitter!
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