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Music

Grammy gets geady to shake its moneymakers

By SEAN DALY
Published February 10, 2007

You probably haven't noticed - and you're certainly not alone - but the Grammy Awards have been rockin' good fun the past few years. Although the ratings for "music's biggest night" have been lousy at best, the Grammys have been one of the smartest awards shows around, mainly because the peer-based Recording Academy is getting increasingly cooler, with older, Victrola-spinning members dying off and boomer rockers and rappers voting for hipper acts.

Also, with the music biz in disarray CD sales are down, digital sales are up, the future is murky, the Grammy folks consider selling product more important than honoring it. So Sunday's 49th annual Grammy broadcast will be overloaded with loud, brash live sets, including a reunion gig by the Police, and performances by Beyonce, Christina Aguilera, Shakira, John Legend and Ludacris, to name a few.

The awards given out, and the dopey acceptance speeches that come with them, will number fewer than 10. (More than 100 awards will be given out in an earlier, nontelevised event.) But even during the trophy trading, the drama will be juicy. Here are the nominees and predictions for the biggest awards, plus pointers for maximum Grammy enjoyment.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR: Taking the Long Way, Dixie Chicks; St. Elsewhere, Gnarls Barkley; Continuum, John Mayer; Stadium Arcadium, Red Hot Chili Peppers; FutureSex/LoveSounds, Justin Timberlake.

The Recording Academy is sooo proud of itself with this category, especially the Gnarls Barkley nomination. The hip-hop duo of roly-souly singer Cee-Lo and beat-making DJ Danger Mouse is the hippest, hottest band on the planet, and the most deserving of the night's biggest award. Unfortunately, the eclectic, eccentric Gnarls won't take home the hardware (the Grammys aren't that cool), but the academy will get points by letting the guys play live, which should be a hoot.

So who wins album of the year? The Recording Academy will make a show-closing, long-live-liberals statement and give the award to the Dixie Chicks, for the utterly lackluster Taking the Long Way, most of which was about being persecuted by Nashville peers for speaking out against George W. Bush. The Grammys are famous for barely tolerating country music, so the Chicks will win for best country album, too, which is a sneaky dig at Music Row.

Oh, and you better believe frontwoman Natalie Maines will zing Dubya one more time, so set your TiVo for 10:55 p.m.

RECORD OF THE YEAR: Be Without You, Mary J. Blige; You're Beautiful, James Blunt; Not Ready to Make Nice, Dixie Chicks; Crazy, Gnarls Barkley; Put Your Records On, Corinne Bailey Rae.

Queen of Hip-Hop Soul Mary J. Blige led all artists this year with eight nominations. But for some head-scratching reason, her album The Breakthrough didn't get a nod for album of the year (the Grammys aren't that smart). So expect Mary to kill in other categories, including record of the year (an artist and producer's award) and song of the year (a songwriter's award) for the hit Be Without You. She'll also win best R&B album for The Breakthrough.

BEST NEW ARTIST: James Blunt, Chris Brown, Imogen Heap, Corinne Bailey Rae, Carrie Underwood.

In a perfect pop world, soul-kissed British chanteuse Rae would walk away with the best new artist title. But this one's like high school - a popularity contest among pretty bubbleheads. That means it'll be Brit hunk Blunt, whose You're Beautiful was a sappy smash, against Underwood, the former American Idol champ who has sold more than 4-million copies of her debut album. If you're wondering who has the edge, Google "Underwood + legs." She's the hotter hottie. She wins.

BEST ROCK ALBUM: Try!, John Mayer Trio; Highway Companion, Tom Petty; Broken Boy Soldiers, the Raconteurs; Stadium Arcadium, Red Hot Chili Peppers; Living With War, Neil Young.

Petty and Jack White's Raconteurs made two of the best albums of '06, but neither sold particularly well, and that'll hurt. And although the Recording Academy loves faux-blues schmo Mayer and crusty gadfly Young, those guys probably won't win, either.

Nope, this one's going to the Chili Peppers, the SoCal punk-funk quartet who got their lives together and uncorked an ambitious double album of solid fun. Don't expect bassist Flea to wear a shirt (or pants) at the podium.

BEST RAP ALBUM: Food & Liquor, Lupe Fiasco; Release Therapy, Ludacris; In My Mind, Pharrell; Game Theory, the Roots; King, T.I.

It has been a while since Kanye West wasn't nominated in this category, and for that reason alone, the best rap album battle will lack big-ego drama. There's no Jay-Z or Eminem or 50 Cent, either. Still, this is a talented group. Neptunes/N.E.R.D. brainiac Pharrell is due some industry love, but his album underperformed in the stores, so he'll have to wait. The Roots are hipster faves but commercial duds. T.I. is a sales giant, but he's not quite there artistically.

So it all comes down to the prodigious Lupe Fiasco, whose Food & Liquor was one of the best albums in any genre, vs. Ludacris, the loud/brash rapper/actor. Luda's star is rising to super status, plus buddy Pharrell will no doubt help him work out infectious bumper Money Maker, giving the Grammys two-for-one recognition. Feel free to shake it at home when Ludacris takes the prize.

Sean Daly can be reached at sdaly@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8467. His blog is at blogs.tampabay.com/popmusic.

TV PREVIEW

49th annual Grammy Awards

Sunday night at 8 on WTSP-Ch. 10.

[Last modified February 9, 2007, 11:28:12]