Lil Wayne, Coldplay: The Grammys finally get it right

Did you watch the 2009 Grammy Nomination Concert that aired last night on CBS? I did, but only because I was asked to keep an eye out for eligible artists who were unfairly overlooked for our Grammy Snubs gallery. Not unlike the increasingly low-rated Grammy Award telecasts of late, it was predictably out of touch, outdated, and tired. (For more on the show, check out our Grammy concert recap.) But after reviewing the full roster of nominees, which was not revealed during the concert (!), only one name immediately came to mind: Santogold, who should’ve been nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance. Overall, I think the Academy finally got it right this year. All of the obvious frontrunners (Lil Wayne, Coldplay) got noms, in addition to several welcome surprises (M.I.A., Adele), plus a few worthy dark horse contenders (Jazmine Sullivan, my dear friend Maiysha). For an award show that remains woefully stuck in the past, many of this year’s nominees represent a much-needed infusion of young, fresh, and new talent that makes me almost look forward to finding out who’ll win at the sure-to-be-lame main event in February.