Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai - Grammy Nominations!

My picks:

Record of the Year
Mariah will win, hands down. "Feel Good Inc." hasn't had much airplay even though I really like that song. "Hollaback Girl" isn't Gwen's best song.

Dark horse: either "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" or "Gold Digger." I *heart* Green Day, and both songs have had a lot of airplay. I wouldn't be surprised if either one of those won.

Album of the Year
Again, Mariah is a shoe in, but Gwen is a big dark horse. Gwen's album was very well done, IMO much better than Mariah's. I'm not too worried about the other nominees.

Song of the Year
John Legend will most likely win this one, or maybe U2.

Best New Artist
Either John Legend or Fall Out Boy. John Legend has created a lot of buzz in the R&B world, and Fall Out Boy has done the same with alternative music. John will probably win this one as well. Ciara is a dark horse.

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Kelly Clarkson better win this one; however, I wish "Because of You" (her newest single) was nominated instead of this one. Why was Gwen even nominated for this one? In "Hollaback Girl" she barely sings. "Cool" is a better nomination instead of "Hollaback Girl." If Kelly doesn't win, then Mariah will probably get it even though that's not her best single from "Emancipation. . ." too.

Dark horse: Sheryl Crow. I like that song by her.

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
Wow, hard one. I'd go for Rob Thomas here just for popularity. Either Seal or Stevie Wonder could take this one too since they're very established in the music world. And Stevie's new single is his first in years.

Dark horse: Paul McCartney.

Best Pop Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocal
Gah, this is hard! Any one of the nominees could win. I'd go with Maroon 5 since "This Love" was a huge hit, but it's old. "Mr. Brightside" was great also, and "Don't Lie" is still a big BEP song.

Dark horse: White Stripes.

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
Probably Stevie with India.Arie. I'm not too sure with this category.

Best Pop Vocal Album
KELLY! She definitely has this one in the bag.

Best Dance Recording
I really like "Say Hello." A lot. Either "Say Hello" or "I Believe In You" will win this one.

Best Electronic/Dance Album
"Human After All" was a terrible Daft Punk album, and it kills me to say that. The only good song was "Technologic." Either The Chemical Brothers or LCD Soundsystem will win.

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance
Why is Rob Thomas in the rock category? Not sure who will win this one.

Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal
Either Franz Ferdinand or Coldplay. Probably Coldplay because of popularity. The Killers could win this one also.

Dark horse: U2, just because.

Best Hard Rock Performance
"BYOB" by System of a Down.

Best Rock Song
Heeee, "Beverly Hills!" Great song. Either Weezer or Coldplay for this one. Dark horse: U2 again.

Best Rock Album
If U2 doesn't win anything else, then they'll win this one again because of the early hype behind it. Coldplay would be my next pick again.

Dark horse: Foo Fighters.

Best Alternative Music Album
Either Franz Ferdinand or The White Stripes will win, but I'd love to see Franz get it.

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
I'd really, really, really like to see Fantasia win for "Free Yourself." I like that song much better than "We Belong Together," but Mariah will probably get it. I can't see the others winning, except maybe Alicia.

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
Usher better not win because his rendition of "Superstar" is exactly like Luther's original version. I'd throw things at my TV if I saw him up there. John Legend will win this one.

Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
Not sure. . . Cater 2 U is a good song, but I can't stand Beyoncé and her "children."

Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance
"Mine Again" is my favorite song from Mariah's new album. Either she'll win it or Fantasia will for "Summertime" since that song created a huge buzz on American Idol.

Best R&B Song
"Ordinary People" by John Legend. Good lyrics, and the song is so simple.

Best R&B Album
Either Fantasia, John Legend, or Stevie Wonder will win this one because of the buzz. I really like Fantasia's album and John Legend's. Stevie's isn't as good, but again there's a lot of buzz since it's his newest in a while.

Best Contemporary R&B Album
Mariah again. No competition.

Best Rap Solo Performance
"Mockingbird" and "Gold Digger" crack me up, especially Eminem's line "And if that bird don't sing I'm gonna break that birdie's neck." :P Kanye will probably win this one.

Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group
Why is BEP here? "Don't Phunk With My Heart" isn't technically a "rap" performance. Eh, I hope it wins. I like "Encore" and "Wait" too, but I'd love to see BEP win it just for laughs.

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
Wow, this one is hard too. "Numb/Encore" is the best collaboration IMO. In fact, the whole album with Jay-Z and Linkin Park is good.

Dark horse: Gwen and Eve.

Best Rap Song
Again, why is "Don't Phunk With My Heart" a rap song?! Either BEP or "Loose Control" will win.

Dark horse: "Diamonds from Sierra Leone."

Best Rap Album
Either Eminem, 50 Cent, or Kanye will win.

Best Gospel Perfomance
Yolanda has this one in the bag. Donnie McClurkin is a dark horse, even though his album is just as good.

Best Reggae Album
Either Sean Paul or Shaggy. :laugh Sean Paul's new single from that album is very catchy, but Shaggy is another "vet."

Best Score Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
THE INCREDIBLES! :D If The Incredibles doesn't win, I will hate the Grammies forever.

Best Instrumental Composition
"The Incredits" from The Incredibles. It contains samples from each track in the album. I don't really think it has much competition, Star Wars maybe.

Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical
Either Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis or the Neptunes, no competition. Jimmy & Terry will probably win since they produced more hit singles than the Neptunes this year.

Best Long Form Music Video
LOL! "Trapped in the Closet" was nominated! :laugh Now THAT will be funny to see win an award.