Should Solange Been Nominated For A Grammy?

The list of nominees for this year’s Grammy Awards isn’t particulary different from previous years. Commercial heavyweights are peppered with critical favorites and a few quirky newcomers. Business as usual. Sure, there’s something amusing about Lil Wayne’s leading eight nominations. Album of the year pits him against Coldplay, Ne-Yo (a nice addition), Robert Plant & Alison Krauss and Radiohead. But I never warmed to Tha Carter III‘s crass, loopy rhymes. Lollipop? I’ll pass.

Kanye West’s six nominations were a nice surprise, but they’re all for collaborations with other artists (Estelle, Young Jeezy, Lil Wayne). It’s nice to see Kylie Minogue in the mix for best/electronic dance album. And Jazmine Sullivan’s terrific Fearless disc stands to earn some well-deserved attention thanks to her five nods.

Shame on Grammy voters, however, for inexplicably excluding Leona Lewis from the best new-artist race. Lewis’ debut disc, Spirit, is a just-OK collection of diva balladry that could have made better use of her talent. But her singles have been sterling, and Bleeding Love was the sing-along song of 2008. She’s clearly a star on the rise.

Instead, we get Sullivan (good), British songbirds Adele and Duffy (not bad), the Jonas Brothers (OMG!) and Lady Antebellum, whose name is almost as groan-inducing as the country trio’s music.

Notably absent, even in the R&B categories, is Solange’s Sol-Angel at the Hadley Street Dreams. It wasn’t a huge radio success, but the Houston singer’s fantastic, retro-electro disc should have merited some sort of recognition.

I’ll likely be looking to the evening’s performances for real electricity. The evening’s most emotional moment is likely to come from Oscar-winner and Grammy nominee Jennifer Hudson, who is slowly re-emerging after a horrible family tragedy. Will she belt a single, her nominated duet with Fantasia Barrino (I’m His Only Woman) or a soaring gospel tribute?

Carrie Underwood will also add to the Idol lustre, and count on Chris Brown for slick dance moves and serious lip-synching.

There will be big band moments from U2, Radiohead and Coldplay; duets from Estelle/Kanye, Plant/Krauss and T.I./Justin Timberlake; and A-list pop from Rihanna, Katy Perry, the JoBros and a Miley Cyrus/Taylor Swift pairing that should immediately rack up the hits on YouTube.

Whatever the results of the evening, we’ll likely be talking, Twittering or texting about it.

SOURCE: Chron