Grammys 2011: My Vote for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance

There are many great R&B female singers nowadays, so the five nominees this year are the cream of the crop - at least for 2010.  These year's nominees are Faith Evans, Kelly Price, Jazmine Sullivan and Monica.  I like all of them but my vote this year goes to American Idol, Fantasia for her song Bittersweet.  Her album last year was fantastic, to say the least and I feel that among this year's categories, I really hope Fantasia wins this one.  She truly deserves it!

Grammys 2011: My Vote for Best Alternative Rock Album

The nominees for Best Alternative Rock Album are Arcade Fire (The Suburbs), Infinite Arms (Band of Horses), The Black Keys (Brothers) and Broken Bells.   They are all worthy nominees and I would not hesitate to pick two of them for this award, but my personal choice goes to Vampire Weekend, a band I discovered more than a year ago, because of their wonderful album, Contra.  I know it's a band which a lot of young people listen to, and I could not blame them - it's quirky, their videos are unique, and they talk about teen feelings.  Here is one of the songs from that album, which I really like -

Grammys 2011: My Vote for Best Pop Vocal Album

I actually like all the nominees in this category - Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Susan Boyle and Katy Perry.  However, my vote for this category goes to John Mayer's Battle Studies.  Critics have said that it's not as good as his previous albums, but for me personally, it's actually his best work since Heavier Things.  There are many songs in this album which I like - Assassins, Half of My Heart, and this one - Heartbreak Warfare -

Grammys 2011: Nominees for Best Pop Instrumental - Stanley Clarke

Another fantastic nominee for this category! Stanley Clarke gets nominated for this category for No Mystery.

Grammys 2011: Nominees for Best Pop Instrumental - Jeff Beck

This is a cool take on this classic, which we usually associate with the late great Pavarotti. See now how Jeff does his own brand of magic with the use of his guitar.

Grammys 2011: Nominees for Best Pop Instrumental Performance - Laurie Anderson

This is a deserving nominee for this category. Laurie Anderson's Flow is a haunting and beautiful song and it comes from her album, Homeland.

Grammys 2011: My Vote for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals

This is a new category in my book but I think it's good that they have this category now since collaborations have become the name of the game since the early 2000's.  For this year, the nominees include two veterans - Elton John (with Leon Russell) and Herbie Hancock (with India Arie and Seal); and two hot acts - Paramore (with B.O.B. and Eminem) and Lady Gaga (with Beyonce).  However, for this category, my vote goes to the summer hit, California Gurls, as performed by Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg.  It's my favorite among the nominees, and it was a clever ploy for Katy's team to invite Snoop Dogg to add the rap part. His part really gave the song it's California vibe!

Grammy's 2011: My Vote for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals

This category has another set of interesting nominees which include the Glee Cast's take on the Journey classic, 'Don't Stop Believin', Maroon 5's Misery, Paramore's The Only Exception and Train's Hey Soul Sister - all worthy winners in my book.  However, my vote will go to Sade's Babyfather!  This woman doesn't release an album every year so every time she has new material, it's like an event album!  Her last work before Babyfather was, I think 10 years ago already!  And anyway, her work here is vintage Sade with a hint of Bob Marley.  I think the Grammys would go for Train though.  That song was ubiquitious!

Grammy's 2011: My Vote For Best Male Pop Vocal Performance

The nominees for this category include the King of Pop, Michael Jackson (This Is It), previous winner in this category, John Mayer (Half of My Heart), Adam Lambert (Whataya Want From Me) and today's favorite songwriter, Bruno Mars (Just the Way You Are). 

My vote for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance goes to Michael Buble for Haven't Met You Yet.  I first heard this song December 2009 and I've had a long love affair with it, becoming one of my favorite songs for 2009.  The video is wonderful, and the lyrics are quite catchy! I love the choreography in the end!

I have a feeling the Grammys would go for Michael Buble too.  I think his closest competitor would be Bruno Mars - since that song is very popular!

Grammys 2011: My Choice For Best Pop Vocal Performance Female

The nominees in this category include Sara Bareilles (King of Anything), Norah Jones (Chasing Pirates), Katy Perry (Teenage Dream) and Beyonce (Halo) - all deserving of their nominations! 

However, if I could vote, I will choose Lady Gaga's performance of Bad Romance.  She might not have the pipes of a singer that can sing through several octaves, but this song is the epitome of the quirkiness of pop this year!  Catchy lyrics, strange video, interesting persona - just the perfect pop queen du jour!  This is how a fantastic pop song should sound!I don't know though if the Grammy voters will go for her.  I have a feeling they will choose Katy Perry's Teenage Dream to win.

My Vote for Grammy Best New Artist

Justin Bieber, Drake, Florence and the Machine, Mumford and Sons and Esperanza Spalding. It's a fantastic batch of Grammy best new artist nominees this year! Admittedly, it's even a tough choice for me, but if I could vote, I would choose Mumford and Sons. I discovered them early last year when they were charting in the UK, and I have always been surprised how their brand of music could possibly chart in the UK! But it did! And see where they are now - a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist! Cool!

I love their unique brand of music though and how they have defied radio or conventional wisdom and produced an album that has been selling millions all over the world!

Grammys 2011: My Vote for Album of the Year

It's fantastic that the Grammy voters decided to stay current this year.  Eminem is the only artist we can consider a veteran in this category - and in my opinion, Eminem's music is as current as anyone - so it just goes to show the wealth of talent among the new crop of music's movers and shakers. Arcade Fire, Lady Antebellum, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry round out the other nominees for this prestigious category, and they all got the nominations at the peak of their musicmaking prowess.  Kudos to that!

However, my vote for this category goes to, who else, Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster.  I know this album was just an add-on to her phenomenal monster, The Fame, but when I heard it, it can might as well be another completely different album!  With such diverse sounding songs as Bad Romance and Alejandro and Telephone (and these were just the hits!), this is also an album which I enjoyed listening to - a lot!  I mean, every single song is something that I like, something which grows on you - a slow burn with a good ending! 

Anyhow, I don't really expect her to win in this category.  Most likely, Eminem should be the one to win this.  He deserves it!

Grammys 2011: My Vote For Record of the Year

It's great to see that the current Grammy voters have decided to nominate very current songs in this category this year. I am actually surprised that they also nominated certified hits! 'Nothin' On You', 'Love the Way You Lie' and 'Empire State of Mind' were #1 hits. 'Need You Now' peaked at #2 while 'F*** You' reached the Top 10. It used to be that they called the Grammys, the Grannys; but this year, their choices are as hip as ever!

Anyhow, most of the nominees for Record of the Year this year are hiphop or R&B songs and only one country nominee. My vote goes to Lady Antebellum's 'Need You Now'. I've always liked their songs, and last year, "I Turn to You' was my second most favorite song of the year! They have really made many fans now, including many among the Grammy voters!

Grammys 2011: Trombone Shorty - Backatown - Nominee, Best Contemporary Jazz Album

This is the album that will get my vote for this category - Best Contemporary Jazz Album! Their sound is so unique and so freakingly funky, I really enjoy grooving to it! I am not surprised the Dave Matthews Band got them to front act for them.

Listen to the live version of their song, On Your Way Down. It's fantastic! They sound even better live!

Grammys 2011: John McLaughlin - To The One - Nominee, Best Contemporary Jazz Album

Before I previewed this category, I had no idea that contemporary jazz was this alive! After hearing four albums already, I am really impressed! I am just surprised there are not that many women - oh well, no women jazz instrumentalists, I mean. This work by John McLaughlin is the most jazzy of all the four albums I've listened to as of yet. It's frantic, it's a bit offbeat, it has that urgent sound like one is rushing to commute on a Monday morning. That's what I feel when I listen to it.

Grammys 2011: Jeff Lorber Fusion - Now Is the Time - Nominee, Best Contemporary Jazz Album

I first heard of Jeff Lorber 25 years ago, when I was still a high school student. He had this pop hit with Karyn White, and his sound then was electronic jazz pop, and 25 years hence, his sound is as cool as ever! I actually like this track - Rain Dance/Wanna Fly. I think it's a composite of two songs, with the original Rain Dance, coming from one of his earlier albums. It's a good, cool jazz track!

Grammys 2011: Joey DeFrancesco - Never Can Say Goodbye - Nominee, Best Contemporary Jazz Album

This is the second nominee for the category, Best Contemporary Jazz Album. In this album, Joey remade several Michael Jackson hits, as this album is a tribute to the genius of the gloved one. Yup! You will see a sequined glove on the cover. I've never heard Michael Jackson's songs arranged in a jazzy way, an instrumental at that, and this one is worth a listen to!

Grammys 2011: The Stanley Clarke Band - Nominee - Best Contemporary Jazz Album

Today, I am featuring the nominees for Best Contemporary Jazz Album, and first on the list is The Stanley Clarke Band with their self-titled album. This the first song in the album entitled 'Soldier'. I like it! I still have to hear the other nominees but this one is a strong contender for my own personal vote! This is cool jazz!

Grammys 2011 Focus: Michael Buble's Crazy Love

Nominee: Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: Michael Buble - Crazy Love


If I were a Grammy voter, this would be the album I would vote for in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. For me, this is the most interesting, the most original, of this year's nominees, and I think Michael Buble is really, really cute!!

His song Haven't Met You Yet was one of my favorite songs in 2009 and was really overplayed in my Ipod. I like the way he mixes old songs with some of his new material. Makes him appear interesting and keeps all his fans - women and gay men, comme moi, just asking for more!

Grammys 2011: Barry Manilow's The Greatest Love Songs of All Time

Nominee: Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album:  Barry Manilow - The Greatest Love Songs of All Time

Well, among the five nominees, this is the least interesting to me. I guess, Barry here is just going through the motions of producing another hit for his record company. Nothing new here to hear and even though I'm a fan of his, nothing here interests me. I guess because Barry is such a good songwriter, I don't know why he wastes his time on stuff like this!