Not too bad, given the slim pickings on the ballot this year. Taylor Swift is the top country nominee with eight noms. Keith Urban earned four, while Willie Nelson, George Strait, Lee Ann Womack, and Zac Brown Band earned three.
Country Categories
Best Country Album
- Zac Brown Band, The Foundation
- George Strait, Twang
- Taylor Swift, Fearless
- Keith Urban, Defying Gravity
- Lee Ann Womack, Call Me Crazy
Best Female Country Vocal Performance
- Miranda Lambert, “Dead Flowers”
- Martina McBride, “I Just Call You Mine”
- Taylor Swift, “White Horse”
- Carrie Underwood, “Just a Dream”
- Lee Ann Womack, “Solitary Thinkin’”
Best Male Country Vocal Performance
- Trace Adkins, “All I Ask For Anymore”
- Billy Currington, “People Are Crazy”
- Jamey Johnson, “High Cost of Living”
- George Strait, “Living For the Night”
- Keith Urban, “Sweet Thing”
Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals
- Brooks & Dunn, “Cowgirls Don’t Cry”
- Zac Brown Band, “Chicken Fried”
- Lady Antebellum, “I Run to You”
- Rascal Flatts, “Here Comes Goodbye”
- Sugarland, “It Happens”
Best Country Vocal Collaboration
- Dierks Bentley & Patty Griffin, “Beautiful World”
- Kenny Chesney & Mac McAnally, “Down the Road”
- Brad Paisley & Keith Urban, “Start a Band”
- Carrie Underwood & Randy Travis, “I Told You So”
- Lee Ann Womack & George Strait, “Everything But Quits”
Best Country Song
- Casey Beathard & Tim James, “All I Ask For Anymore”
- Jamey Johnson & James Slater, “High Cost of Living”
- Tom Douglas, Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley & Hillary Scott, “I Run to You”
- Bobby Braddock and Troy Jones, “People Are Crazy”
- Liz Rose & Taylor Swift, “White Horse”
Best Country Instrumental Performance
- Alison Brown, “Under the (Five) Wire”
- The Greencards, “The Crystal Merchant”
- Sarah Jarosz, “Mansinneedof”
- Steve Wariner, “Producer’s Medley”
Best Bluegrass Album
- Jim Lauderdale, Could We Get Any Closer?
- Steve Martin, The Crow/New Songs for the Five String Banjo
- Michael Martin Murphey, Buckaroo Blue Grass
- Bryan Sutton and Friends, Almost Live
- Rhonda Vincent, Destination Life
Best Americana Album
- Bob Dylan, Together Through Life
- Levon Helm, Electric Dirt
- Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel, Willie and the Wheel
- Wilco, Wilco (The Album)
- Lucinda Williams, Little Honey
Other Categories with Country Nominees
Album of the Year
- Beyoncé, I Am…Sasha Fierce
- The Black Eyed Peas, The E.N.D.
- Lady Gaga, The Fame
- Dave Matthews Band, Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King
- Taylor Swift, Fearless
Record of the Year
- Beyoncé, “Halo”
- The Black Eyed Peas, “I Gotta Feeling”
- Kings of Leon, “Use Somebody”
- Lady Gaga, “Poker Face”
- Taylor Swift, “You Belong With Me”
Song of the Year
- Lady Gaga & RedOne, “Poker Face”
- Hod David & Musze, “Pretty Wings”
- Thaddis Harrell, Beyoncé Knowles, Terius Nash & Christopher Stewart, “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)”
- Caleb Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill & Nathan Followill, “Use Somebody”
- Liz Rose & Taylor Swift, “You Belong With Me”
Best New Artist
- Zac Brown Band
- Keri Hilson
- MGMT
- Silversun Pickups
- The Ting Tings
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
- Adele, “Hometown Glory”
- Beyoncé, “Halo”
- Katy Perry, “Hot N Cold”
- Pink, “Sober”
- Taylor Swift, “You Belong With Me”
Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
- Rosanne Cash & Bruce Springsteen, “Sea of Heartbreak”
- Ciara & Justin Timberlake, “Love Sex Magic”
- Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat, “Lucky”
- Willie Nelson & Norah Jones, “Baby It’s Cold Outside”
- Taylor Swift & Colbie Caillat, “Breathe”
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
- Tony Bennett, A Swingin’ Christmas
- Michael Bublé, Michael Bublé Meets Madison Square Garden
- Harry Connick Jr., Your Songs
- Liza Minnelli, Liza’s at the Palace
- Willie Nelson, American Classic
Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Gospel Album
- Jason Crabb, Jason Crabb
- Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, Dream On
- Tracy Lawrence, The Rock
- Barry Scott & Second Wind, In God’s Time
- Triumphant Quartet, Every Day
Additionally, Johnny Cash and Keith Urban picked up nominations for Best Long Form Music Video and Dolly Parton earned a nomination for composing and producing the cast album for the Broadway adaption of 9 to 5.
The year of rewarding people who can sell albums in a recession.
The year of rewarding people who can sell albums in a recession.
Perfect.
I’m amused that Brad Paisley was nominated in the Best Rock Instrumental Performance category, but none of the tracks from Play could land in the corresponding Country category, which only has four nominees… Way to be, NARAS. Way to be.
Wow. 8 nominations for Taylor Swift…really? I mean, seriously?! All I can say if she beats Carrie in the vocal race then I would lose most if not all respect in the NARAs because “Just a Dream” has the best vocals of all the nominated songs…not to mention it’s a better written song than “White Horse.”
And since she’s nominated in the all genre album that’s basically a lock for her to win the country one right?? You guys are good researchers…has any country album that has been nominated in the all genre category NOT won the country album Grammy??
Oh, it’s so bad.
Anyone know what other songs Sugarland submitted?
@Tara: “It Happens” was actually their only submission, I believe.
My biggest wish would be for “Sea of Heartbreak” to pick up a trophy. Compared to last year, the country categories are super weak. I’m excited to see Womack with three nominations.
This has to be the most mainstream list, at least in the general field, we’ve ever seen. I expected these exact top contenders, but never thought they’d rack up so many nods. Beyonce’s great, but ten nominations? Really? And do not even start me off on Black Eyed Peas.
That Swift and Katy Perry topped Kelly Clarkson for Female Pop Vocal makes my skin crawl.
I predict that this will be the worst Grammys ever based on Dan Milliken’s reasoning.
What I really want to know is how “Halo” got the nod for Record over “Single Ladies.” How does that work on any level?
To paraphrase Ulysses Everett McGill: It’s a fool who looks for logic in the chambers of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
“Single Ladies” was, for whatever reason, submitted for Record of the Year last year before it was actually a hit, so it was ineligible to be submitted in that category this year… But not in any of the other categories that it wasn’t submitted in last year, like Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.
Beyonce only submitted “Halo” and “If I Were a Boy” for Record of the Year this year.
That Swift and Katy Perry topped Kelly Clarkson for Female Pop Vocal makes my skin crawl.
This. What.the.heck.
That Swift and Katy Perry topped Kelly Clarkson for Female Pop Vocal makes my skin crawl.
I completely and wholeheartedly agree. Right now, pretty much nobody can touch Kelly for vocals. Her voice is ridiculous.
But I am super excited about Lee Ann picking up 3 nominations. It almost made up for the Kelly snub. Almost.
“Jonathan says:
December 3, 2009 at 12:59 am
To paraphrase Ulysses Everett McGill: It’s a fool who looks for logic in the chambers of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.”
Great line Jonathan, I LOVE the “Oh Brother” reference!
Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel nominated as Best Americana album ????. That album is more country than any of the country nominees !
Brad Paisley was hardly nominated…what’s goin on?!
I’m a big fan of Keith, but you can’t tell me “Defying Gravity” is better than “American Saturday Night”…sad if they put up awards solely on sales…
Willie’s people must have figured they’d have a better shot at Americana album.
Sugarland also submitted “Nightswimming/Joey.”
FYI:
Trace Adkins also submitted “Muddy Water.”
Keith Urban also submitted “Only You can Love Me This Way” and “Kiss a Girl.”
Brooks & Dunn also submitted “Indian Summer.”
Martina McBride also submitted “Ride.”
The first round ballot was shorter than usual this year, but if there’s one surprise from my perspective, it’s that Brad Paisley didn’t get a nod for Best Male Country Vocal Performance, even though he submitted both “Then” and “Welcome to the Future.”
I wonder if the Instrumental category was limited to four nominees because there were only 23 to choose from?
I know you guys think Brad Paisley can do no wrong, but IMO Keith Urban can sing rings around him. I also think his album is way better than Brad’s. Keith’s may not be country, but I’d still rather listen to it than anything Brad sings. Congrats to Keith for all his hard work. Oh yeah Hoggy…how do you think Taylor wins all her awards if it weren’t for her gigantic sales??? It sure can’t be on her singing ability and all her high school songs.
I thought the Grammys had a higher intergrity then this, Last year they shunned Swift out altogether, which was a great message to send considering the Grammys are all about artistic integrity and the music. Of course they could never get away with that again without losing alot of viewers and causing an uproar so give her 8 nominations to keep everyone happy. Garth Brooks was popular once, did he ever sweep the nominations, I dont think so but the young girl who cant sing can pull it off.
I think the worst nomination for me, even more then the 2 female vocalists is ‘Song of the Year’ for ‘You Belong With Me,’ Of all the songs written in the past year, this is considered in the top 5? What rhymes with me? oh ya, why can’t you see’ Bubble gum pop rules! What’s sadder, I’d be suprised if she doesnt win all 8, that’s 8 shocked camera close up looks of her face we will have to see, after her horrible performance she’s gonna give which will have the usual props and hair flicks to cover up the voice.
The Grammys are a popularity contest. It’s the only way a dreadful, piece of trash like You Belong With Me can be nominated and every awards show loses credibility by nominating Swift.
Gail said :”I know you guys think Brad Paisley can do no wrong,”
If you study this site, you will see that there is plenty of criticism for brad. Even I’ve given a less than favorable single rating to “Then” and “I’m Still A Guy and I was lukewarm about “Waitin’ on A Woman”, even though most others liked it.
Also, see Kevin’s “Online” and “Ticks” reviews.
highwayman3: “. . . the Grammys are all about artistic integrity and the music”
I think the Grammys have rarely been about integrity and have instead veered among conservatism (the Beatles and Elvis in their prime), routine (Alison Krauss, Mary Chapin), late-in-time recognition (Ray Charles, Herbie Hancock, Steely Dan) and sheer unadulterated popularity (pretty much every year).
All in all, I don’t think the nominees are that bad. At least there’s no stand-out weird nomination on the country side. And if it’s odd that Brad Paisley gets a rock instrumental nomination, I don’t care: it’s payback for the year Aaron Neville was nominated for male country vocal.
I’m not going to lie I think this is the weakest nominees the Grammy’s have ever had. I mean in general, nit the country category in particular, which actually isn’t too shabby.
Wow, I’m not pleased that “Muddy Water” and “Ride” got beat out by the other two songs, or that “Welcome to the Future” didn’t get a nod. And both of the other Urban songs submitted were more worthy IMO than “Sweet Thing”.
I would doubt that Taylor Swift could win most of those awards. But I learned never to doubt Taylor Swift again when she won Entertainer of the Year, and especially when Gloriana beat Lady GaGa simply due to the fanbase they probably got from touring with Taylor (that is correct, isn’t it?).
Some wishes:
– “Just a Dream” will win Female Vocal
– “Boom Boom Pow” or “Poker Face” wins Best Dance
– “Poker Face” or “You Belong With Me” wins Best Recording and Best Song
“What I really want to know is how “Halo” got the nod for Record over “Single Ladies.” How does that work on any level?”
Halo was submitted for record and Single Ladies for song only. That’s why it’s so screwed up. Beyonce is a Grammy favorite, so she’ll probably win at least one of those….
No, that’s incorrect. Swift told her supporters to vote for her. They wouldn’t have given a damn if she hadn’t interfered.
Alison Krauss also picked up a nomination with Yo-Yo Ma in one of the classical categories for his Songs of Joy and Peace album.
basing on what i read here and most of the message boards — it would benefit swift to win 1 or 2 awards only from all these categories she’s nominated on. if she wins about 5 of them — it will surely backfire on her career. i dont think the music industry can take a mediocre singer who sings about boys and high school too much anymore. to get a pop vocal performance nod over kelly clarkson is just atrocious.
i’m betting that aside from the Big Four — the grammy’s will start to air all the categories that beyonce or taylor is gonna win. that should clue us all.
I hope she won’t win more than 3 awards, sigh
I’m sad about the Kelly Clarkson and Brad Paisely snub
Lemme ask some questions, Why American Saturday Night and Revolution weren’t nominated in the Best Country Album Category?
and the nomination process in the Grammy’s, how is it done?
klark, Miranda’s album missed the cut-off for this year, though Brad’s did not.
I think Taylor Swift deserved all those nominations.
Taylor Swift is about as country as Snoop Dogg, and if I have to see her fake surprise act one more time when she wins, I will hurl.
If that bubble gum highschool musical album wins Album of the year, then music truly is dead, or else her rich daddy passed some major payola to the voters and Grammy museum, just like the jonas brothers donated 75k last year. Then they got a nomination and performance slot. Interesting.
Taylor being nominated in any vocal category is a joke and an insult to Reba, Kelly Clarkson, and all the more deserving artists that got snubbed to make way for the Taylor Swift Express train.
I used to respect the Grammys and CMAS. Now, after the 2009 CMAS, I lost all respect for how they gave the worst vocalist in the history of country music, top honors over Carrie and Miranda for Female Vocalist. I am still in shock over that.
If Taylor sweeps all these awards, despite having the worst live singing voice of even the hip hoppers and rappers, something is very very rotten in Denmark.
I wonder if this is all a knee jerk reaction to the Kanye West VMA thing still? If so, get over it voters, because she is laughing her way home with truckfuls of awards and huge sales, and I swear the whole Kanye thing was planned. Brilliant PR move, Ms. Swift.
Now let’s hope the grammy voters are finally over the Taylor mania or pity voting after the Kanye incident. If they vote with clear heads for once, hopefully Carrie or Miranda will win Female Vocalist, and more deserving artists like Lady Gaga or Beyonce will sweep the big categories.
Seriously, I’m not going to defend Swift’s voice, but she’s certainly not the worst vocalist in the history of music. Hyperbole much? Her level of success is somewhat baffling, I admit, but I really don’t believe it has anything to do with her father’s money. Maybe the money helped get things started for her, but it’s highly unlikely that it’s what’s sustained her career on its current level.
Sugarland (“Nightswimming/Joey”) and McBride (“Ride”) should’ve been nominated for their respective other submissions… which were remotely better than the ones that made it into the final cut.
LOl @ Dan’s first comment.
I think I feel kind of neutral on Swift now… since she has picked up noms in Pop AND Country… Flabergasted… Don’t know what to think.
(On the other hand, Faith Hill did recieve a Pop nom for her “There You’ll Be” song from Pearl Harbor)
I do think “Single Ladies” would’ve been a better choice than “Halo” and wish that Kelly Clarkson could’ve been nominated…
anybody knows what songs where submitted for best country song?
I wholeheartedly agree that TS can not sing and is a teeney bopper entertainer. I think once she matures she might be worthy of her songwriting ability and awards. But enough already!!!!
George Strait’s “Twang” is a whole lot better and more country than TS “Fearless”. If anyone should win the Country AOTY, it should go to George for Twang. Also vocal performance should go to George for Living for the Night. This man is amazing and is still going strong after 25+ years in the industry. Go, George, and win those grammies.
Why isn’t In Color in the Best Country Song of the Year category? How can People Are Crazy, High Cost of Living and You Belong With Me make it but not that?
Mike, ‘In Color’ was nominated last year (it lost to ‘Stay’). The Grammies only let you nominate something once.
I think High Cost Of Living is even better, though, personally.
i’d like to know why George Strait’s “Living for the Night” wasn’t nominated for Best Country Song?
If George Strait doesn’t win Best Country Album and Male Vocalist for Living for the Night, I will lose all my faith in the Grammy industry. Reward for excellence–not sales.
…if you pick on your husband the way you pick on taylornation every chance you get, you might put yourself in danger of getting the “earl- treatment” one day, maureen mccole.