GRAMMY NOMINEES ANNOUNCED

So the Grammy nominees were announced last night at Nokia Plaza in Los Angeles and Beyoncé leads the pack with a jaw-dropping ten nominations (This pic to the left, to the left is one of many I got from her I Am... Tour). Teen country pop sensation Taylor Swift gets plenty of respect this year also with eight nominations also, while urban acts The Black Eyed Peas, Maxwell and Kanye West received six nominations each. Personal favourite Lady Gaga received five nominations alongside Jay-Z and David Guetta. Perhaps Lady Gaga's greatest chance at winning will come in the Best Electronic/Dance Album category, although she does face some stiff competition in Pet Shop Boys' Yes and Guetta's One Love.

I must say that I am very pleased that pop acts are in the running for top-tier awards this year like Record of the Year and Album of the Year, whereas in previous years it seemed as though rock, jazz, country or soul albums garnered more respect. Also, there is more of a female-male balance among the nominees this year and that is always good to see.

Canada also should be very proud of its rising star Drake, formerly of Degrassi: The Next Generation, scoring two nominations in the rap categories alone based on his EP So Far Gone. And even Britney Spears got a nod for Womanizer in the Best Dance Recording category.

Although my taste often borders on that of a 17 year-old girl, I have to put on my fourty five year-old heterosexual Caucasian male cap when thinking from the pespective of Grammy voters. My picks are as follows:

Record Of The Year

Use Somebody

Kings Of Leon

Jacquire King & Angelo Petraglia, producers; Jacquire King, engineer/mixer[RCA Records]

Album Of The Year
The E.N.D.

The Black Eyed Peas

Apl.de.ap, Jean Baptiste, Printz Board, DJ Replay, Funkagenda, David Guetta, Keith Harris, Mark Knight, Poet Name Life, Frederick Riesterer & will.i.am, producers; Dylan "3D" Dresdow, Padraic "Padlock" Kerin & will.i.am, engineers/mixers; Chris Bellman, mastering engineer[Interscope Records]

Song Of The Year
Use Somebody

Caleb Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill & Nathan Followill, songwriters (Kings Of Leon)[RCA Records]

Publishers: Martha Street Music/Songs of Combustion Music/Music of Windswept, Followill Music/Songs of Combustion Music/Music of Windswept, McFearless Music/Bug Music, Coffee, Tea or Me Publishing/Bug Music.]

Best New Artist

MGMT

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance

Halo

Beyoncé
Track from: I Am... Sasha Fierce [Music World Music / Columbia]

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
Love You

Maxwell

Track from: Blacksummers' Night[Columbia]

Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals

I Gotta Feeling

The Black Eyed Peas

Track from: The E.N.D.[Interscope Records]

Best Pop Vocal Album

Funhouse

Pink[LaFace Records]

Best Dance Recording

Boom Boom Pow

The Black Eyed Peas

will.i.am & Jean Baptiste, producers; Dylan Dresdow, mixerTrack from: The E.N.D.[Interscope Records]

Best Electronic/Dance Album

The Fame

Lady Gaga[Streamline/Interscope/Konlive/Cherrytree]

Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical
When Love Takes Over (Electro Extended Remix)

David Guetta, remixer (David Guetta Featuring Kelly Rowland)[Astralwerks]

Best Short Form Music Video
Boom Boom Pow

The Black Eyed Peas

Mat Cullen & Mark Kudsi, video directors; Anna Joseph & Patrick Nugent, video producers[Interscope Records]

To view a complete list of nominees for the 2010 Grammys, click here. The Grammys will air Sunday, January 31, 2010 8 PM EST on CBS. Who are you rooting for?