Favourites of 2012

Another year has come and gone, and with that, a look back on some of my personal favourites in music, movies, and television.

FAVOURITES IN MUSIC

• Maroon 5 – Overexposed: Not gonna lie, M5 is kind of here by default. There was no way that I wasn’t going to include them, even though I have made it known that this album wasn’t exactly my favourite of theirs. However, with songs like One More Night, Lady Killer, and Tickets being standouts on the album, I can sort of justify picking it among my favourites of the year.
• Tyler Hilton – Forget the Storm: It was a long-running thing between my friend and I, complaining that Tyler (alongside Justin Timberlake and Michelle Branch) was taking TOO DAMN LONG to release his sophomore album (his debut was released in 2004). This year, Tyler FINALLY made good on his promise to release new music, with him independently releasing the album. The outcome was a great mix of several musical influences.
• Delta Goodrem – Child of the Universe: I’m still including this album, despite the fact that it hasn’t been officially released in North America. Delta returns with her fourth album, that plays with some different sounds for the singer-songwriter. The album features some piano-driven songs that Delta has been known for, but she also has some songs that very much play up the pop sound.
• Kris Allen – Thank You Camellia: I kind of loved this album, and I find it a damn shame that Kris hasn’t found bigger success. I enjoyed his self-titled debut after his Idol win back in 2009, but Kris was able to really take his time with this record and personalize it. Camellia ended up being a very solid collection of songs, that found him collaborating with Jason Reeves on the first track “Better With You”, as well as rocking it out a little with “Monster.”
• Dia Frampton – Red: Okay, so I’m cheating a little bit here. Dia’s album came out in December of last year, but because of my travels, I didn’t get a chance to listen to it until the beginning of the year. That being said, I think Dia made such a great album, really showing off all her musical tastes, with touches in everything from pop to dance to hip-hop to country.

FAVOURITES IN MOVIES

For the record, I am ridiculously behind on movies, particularly the movies with awards buzz, so this list is kind of lacking.

• Pitch Perfect: When the movie was initially released, I didn’t think much of it, even though it has music and singing and I am such a sucker for it – but after watching it, I totally get it. The movie was fresh and funny, and the soundtrack (consisting of all the movie’s performances) was fantastic. And seriously, the riff-off in the movie was pure perfection (says the music geek who loves a good mash-up or…10)
• The Hunger Games: I finished the entire series of books before watching this first adaptation, and it completely lived up to the books. Don’t dismiss it as a tween/teen thing, because fluff it is not.
• The Avengers: I have never been a comic book geek, but I myself have to admit that I have a soft-spot for superhero movies. Give me a superhero that’s at least cool, with a decent storyline for a movie, and some cool looking special effects, and I am in. The Avengers is the culmination of several years’ worth of Marvel movies, featuring Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk, as well as Black Widow and Hawkeye. With Joss Whedon at the helm, Avengers turned out to be every fanboy’s dream and a good time for all movie viewers.
• 21 Jump Street: I was barely alive when the original TV series initially aired, but with most people, I knew this was the show that jump-started Johnny Depp’s career. This year, the show was adapted for the big screen starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, swapping the crime drama of the series for a buddy comedy movie. The result was pure hilariousness, and a great role for Channing to show off his comedic chops.
• The Cabin in the Woods: Horror movies aren’t my thing, because for the most part, they kind of suck (I’m talking movies from the past decade). The more buzz that I heard about Cabin, the more intrigued I was by it. When I finally got around to watching it, as a movie fan, I must say I really liked it. It is not your atypical horror movie, at times playing up those cliches, and at times surprising you in its direction.

FAVOURITES IN TV

• Let’s get this out of the way first – shows that I have loved/been a fan of and have continued to love over the past year: Nikita, Fringe, Happy Endings, So You Think You Can Dance, The Voice, How I Met Your Mother, Community, Hart of Dixie, Once Upon A Time
• Arrow: Action, drama, good looking people, a little bit of humour. I’ve said it before and I will say it again until it becomes reality, this show is the perfect schedule companion to Nikita.
• Nashville: I’ve said it before, I’m kind of a sucker for anything that includes music. Despite the fact that this is settled in the world of country music (granted, my tastes have been widening over the years), all involved have put together a great show that welcomes you in, regardless of whether you are a country music fan or not.
• Suits: This year, in its second season, Suits really stepped up in their story-telling. Not to knock down the first season, which was good, but this year, they turned it up a whole other level. Gripping drama, with a great deal of charm, charisma, and humour, the show surpassed White Collar and Covert Affairs as my favourite show on the USA Network.
• Parks and Recreation: I really hate to admit this, but this was the year I caught up with Parks. I had watched the first season when it aired, and wasn’t particularly impressed with it, so I didn’t continue on. Man, was that a mistake. After watching season 2 during my travels, I continued catching up on the show every chance I got, until I caught up to what was airing in S4. I am so happy I gave the show a second shot, because no other comedy on the air can be simultaneously so hilarious and so endearing.
• Homeland: The plot about a war veteran suspected of being a terrorist, sparked very negative/eye-rolling responses in me. However, after hearing such great buzz about the first season, I sat down and watched it over the summer. When the show came back for its second season, I was committed to it. Fantastic writing, and without a doubt, award-worthy acting from Claire Danes, Damien Lewis, and Mandy Patinkin, the show breaks all the TV rules of you should tell a story. What most shows would’ve done in 5+ seasons, Homeland did it in under 2.

DISAPPOINTMENTS IN 2012

Just for a little bit of a change, I thought I would include some music, movies, and shows that disappointed me over the year.

• Music in general has disappointed me this year. Looking back at the music I’ve collected this year, I bought a lot less than previous years. I’m almost certain that half of this year’s music that I have is all from The Voice (U.S., U.K., Australia).
• Glee: The show continued its descent into ridiculousness and lazy writing/creative music ideas. What I’ve come to finally realize is that I much prefer when Glee covers older songs and when they re-arrange the songs. Over the past year (maybe even 2), Glee continues to cover songs that are currently on the radio, which irks me to no end because I already don’t like 3/4 of the stuff on the radio, and they don’t even do anything different to the songs. I feel like the final straw was them doing Gangnam Style for “Regionals” and that this was the song they gave lead vocal to Jenna Ushkowitz’s Tina – can you say racist much?
• Smash: Continuing with the music theme, Smash did not remotely live up to its fantastic pilot. The plus that it had was that it featured original music for its musical. After that, it was just ridiculous. Characters like Ellis and Leo were downright annoying. We’re supposed to like Debra Messing’s character Julia, but she did some really stupid things (and wore a lot of scarves). Don’t even get me started on Uma Thurman’s arc on the show. There’s an overhaul for season 2, with a bunch of dispensable characters gone, and some fresh blood in both newcomers (Jeremy Jordan, Andy Mientus) and familiar faces (Jennifer Hudson, Sean Hayes). However with Joshua Safran (previous showrunner of Gossip Girl) taking over for Teresa Rebeck as showrunner, I still have my reservations.
• True Blood: Speaking of ridiculous, season 5 of TB was pretty frickin’ bad. All that religion, cult, Lilith stuff that went down was terrible. I can’t even bring myself to remember anything else about that season.
• Prometheus: Straight up, I didn’t like it, didn’t get it. For being scientists and stuff, these people were pretty stupid, doing the typical movie things you should never do (ex. NEVER split up from the group!) There was also, for me at least, a complete lack of character development – we never fully understand why any of these characters are doing what they’re doing.
• Rock of Ages: I had VERY low expectations for this movie and somehow they managed to make it even worse than I thought. I watched the movie because I’m a fan of Julianne Hough, but you have to admit, the rest of the cast was so incredibly random – Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Malin Akerman, Mary J. Blige, Bryan Cranston, Catherine Zeta-Jones? Random. The movie was just all over-the-place.

So there you have it, some of my pop culture favourites and disappointments of the past year.

DVD Review: 10 Years

I am so incredibly happy that I finally get to write about 10 Years. I had the pleasure of seeing this movie back in September 2011, when it made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and I instantly fell in love with it. The movie succeeded in getting distribution at the festival, so I waited rather impatiently for the chance to see it a second time, and now that it has been released on DVD, I finally get to watch and enjoy the movie over and over again.

10 Years is a film written and directed by Jamie Linden, who previously wrote the screenplays for We Are Marshall and Dear John. The movie is about the lives of high school friends and what they discover about each other when they come together for their high school reunion. The ensemble cast is comprised of a wonderful group of this generation’s actors, including Channing Tatum (who also serves as a producer on the film), Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Scott Porter, Justin Long, Rosario Dawson, Max Minghella, Kate Mara, Oscar Isaac, Chris Pratt, Ari Graynor, Brian Geraghty, Lynn Collins, Aaron Yoo, Aubrey Plaza, and Anthony Mackie.

Cast of 10 Years at TIFF 2011 premiere (L-R: Brian Geraghty, Lynn Collins, Kate Mara, Ari Graynor, Aaron Yoo, Oscar Isaac, Channing Tatum, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Scott Porter, Kelly Noonan, Max Minghella, Justin Long, writer/director Jamie Linden)

The premise of a high school reunion isn’t anything revelatory or new. What Linden has done is actually make an ensemble character drama that just so happens to take place at a high school reunion. The movie takes on the questions that come up when you’re well in your 20s and are faced with an event like a reunion (How much have I changed since high school? Am I living the life I want? Am I happy with who I am with? What happened to “the one that got away”? Is life what you expected it to be?) The answers are delivered with varying degrees of insecurity and self-actualization that is expected of anybody in this situation, as well as an abundance of charm and heart.

One of the best things about the movie is that, despite the fact that they assembled an all-star cast, when you watch it, you feel like you know these people and not in the way that you’re watching actors in a movie. It happens a lot of times when movies are made with the full intention of casting a lot of actors that you get taken out of the movie and are too busy reveling in so-and-so’s presence, rather than focusing on their characters (looking at you Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Eve, and What to Expect…) With 10 Years, even with instances like Scott Porter’s character being named Scott Porter, you don’t feel like you’re just watching a bunch of actors on screen. It makes you feel like you were attending your own high school reunion and that you were friends with these people. There’s a realness to it that carries on throughout the movie, where you also get the sense that the cast are actually friends in real life, not just put together for filmmaking purposes.

10 Years is a great movie to watch, no matter what kind of mood you’re in. It’s the very definition of a dramedy – a drama with comedic elements to balance it out. It’s too bad the movie didn’t get a wider release in theaters, with proper marketing, because with this cast alone, it could have been a decent hit at the box office. That aside, it is out there and available for everyone to see now, so I sincerely encourage you to give this movie a try; you won’t be disappointed.

The CW: A Network With Identity Issues

In late November, The CW had announced that it was cancelling Emily Owens M.D., after giving full season orders to fellow freshman series Arrow and Beauty and the Beast. The announcement itself didn’t come as much as a surprise, given that Emily Owens wasn’t doing particularly well in the ratings and wasn’t particularly well-received by critics. I myself didn’t make much of the pilot, and for some odd reason, found myself continuing to watch it. The writing wasn’t anything spectacular but sometimes you need some lighter fare amidst heavy drama and not wanting to delve deep into laugh-out-loud comedy (not to mention the onslaught of comedy that was on at the same time?) What honestly struck me about the announcement was reading the comments on the entertainment news websites (EW, TVLine). There were the usual comments, ranging from “Saw it coming, can’t believe it took them this long” to “That sucks! I liked the show!” But then there were a few comments that were along the lines of “What is this show? Never heard of it. Oh right, that’s because it’s on The CW”, which particularly struck me as interesting. Now, I’ve expressed my frustrations with The CW several times over the years, namely when it comes to Nikita, but it’s comments like that that make you realize there’s a bigger issue at hand.

The CW, as a network, is a peculiar case. It is a smaller network, but is included amongst the broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX), as opposed to the cable networks (USA, FX, TNT, ABC Family). It is seen as a niche market network, similar to ABC Family, mostly appealing to the 18-34 demo (one could even argue that the demo is more around 18-24). It’s position in the network TV landscape causes it to not be taken seriously by many because it is almost always last in the ratings. On the rare occasion that a CW show actually beats one of the other networks’ shows in the demo, the other show is seen as being in trouble. So how exactly did the network find themselves in this predicament?

When the network launched in the fall of 2006, it was the product of the networks, UPN and The WB, merging, based on a deal between CBS Corporation (which owned UPN) and Warner Brothers Entertainment (which owned The WB). Both of those former networks tended to appeal to the younger female audience, as evidenced by shows like Dawson’s Creek, Gilmore Girls, Felicity, Veronica Mars, and One Tree Hill. But shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff Angel, Smallville, and Roswell attempted to lure in other viewers beyond teenage girls. When the 2 networks merged, The CW became a mish-mash of TV shows from both networks, while keeping its core demographic intact. It was the following TV season, in the fall of 2007, that The CW really started to make a name (however small) for itself, with the premiere of Gossip Girl. The show became a hit for the network, a guilty pleasure for some, and a huge target for the Parents’ Television Council for its depiction of teens and their underage drinking and sex.

To this avid TV viewer, with Gossip Girl being such a huge hit, the network seemingly over-relied on the show as a selling point. From that point on, the network became known as a place for TV shows about hot young people with their hot young people problems, as evidenced by shows that both succeeded (the 90210 reboot) and failed (the Melrose Place reboot, The Beautiful Life). When The Vampire Diaries got picked up, it still fit into that category but got the added bonus of being a known entity and cashing in on the teenage vampire craze caused by Twilight – further establishing the network’s demographic, but not really bringing in other viewers. Any other shows that wasn’t already part of the roster, which attempted to be more than just about attractive people hooking up, like Privileged and Life Unexpected, for the most part didn’t see past a first season. So for shows like Hart of Dixie and especially Nikita to be on the air right now, and not being the stereotypical CW show, in their respective 2nd and 3rd seasons is certainly a feat.

Let us not forget the glaring area of The CW’s schedule that is reality TV. The CW has one slightly stable reality show in America’s Next Top Model, brought on from the former UPN days, but has yet to find another reality TV series winner. For what it’s worth, even for a reality show, ANTM still manages to fit the CW mold.

So we come back to what issues The CW faces in becoming a viable network that can be taken seriously by all. Programming is certainly the biggest issue. Where the network is now, is not all that different from when UPN and The WB existed; on the one hand, they have very teenage fare and on the other hand, they have genre fare. The shows that play very well with the teenage crowd (GG, 90210, TVD, the upcoming Carrie Diaries) is what is making the network money. The more genre or non-teen oriented shows (Supernatural, Nikita) is what generally gets better reviews from critics/journalists, but struggle in the ratings. Lucky for the network, they have a bonafide hit in Arrow, which appeals to teens (the marketing dept. certainly knew what they were doing advertising a shirtless Stephen Amell), fanboys/girls, and critics alike. However, not every show gets the luxury of being a known entity and it is seemingly more difficult to find a show that meets every need.

Another big issue The CW has is its scheduling. As a whole, what’s working for them this season is that they held off premiering their shows until October, allowing for there to be less breaks between episodes during the run of the season. However, how the network schedules their shows and what shows get paired up has been a problem. If you look at the past few years, you’ll notice that the only show that has stayed in its time slot is TVD; everything else has changed time slots, same day or otherwise. There’s something to be said about having anchored shows, by which you build your schedule around. That also leads to another problem in that The CW only has 10 hours of original programming a week (2 hours, Monday to Friday), which does make it increasingly difficult. All of this does relate back to the kind of shows that they have which determines how the schedule looks like. Hardcore TV fans will follow their favourite shows anywhere, but the issue is with the casual TV viewer, who could watch one show and might stick around to watch the next show if it is complimentary to the first show. Hart of Dixie, as of right now, is paired with Emily Owens, which works well together. Given the cancellation of Emily Owens, that slot will go to new show Cult in the new year, leading to a big WTF? pairing. Don’t even get me going again on the choice to pair ANTM with Nikita…

With the end of Gossip Girl and maybe (hopefully? wishful thinking…) 90210, it’s about time the network truly attempts to revamp their programming or at the very least, their marketing. There is certainly no shame in being the network that has shows the other networks don’t. At the same time though, no one wants to be seen as a joke. The CW really has to get down and really consider what they want to be known as, as a network. On top of that though, the marketing and PR departments have to really make a push and work on getting more exposure for all the shows, not just the ones that are big hits or what they hope will be a big hit (yes, I’m talking about the onslaught of promotion for The Carrie Diaries during the series finale of Gossip Girl). Obviously every network has their own set of issues, but The CW doesn’t have the same clout as the Big4 broadcast networks, and it’s time that they make a serious name for itself.

DVD Review: Step Up Revolution

Back in August, prior to the theatrical release of this movie, I posted a list of some of my favourite dance movies, because I am SUCH a sucker for these type of movies. Now that Step Up Revolution has released on DVD/blu-ray and I have finally been able to see it, I have 2 main things to say about it: 1) Best film in the series since the first one and 2) I regret not seeing it in theaters.

I truly mean it when I say that I feel Step Up Revolution is the second best film in the series, behind only the original. When the first Step Up was released back in 2006, it was during a time where dance was really being accepted by the mainstream again. Dancing With The Stars and So You Think You Can Dance had premiered either that year or the year before, thus allowing dance to make its impact on pop culture. By today’s standards, Step Up wasn’t your atypical dance movie – the writers of that one really did try to give it some real drama and it ended up being something special. I mean, it had to be, to justify having three sequels that were released in theaters and not just straight-to-DVD. Not to knock down the legitimacy of the first 2 sequels, but watching them, you had a feeling that the filmmakers made those movies just to show off amazing dancing, with little to no attention paid to plot and characters and it was very formulaic. With Step Up Revolution, it became a nice mix of the original and the 2 previous sequels. They really outdid themselves with the choreography, something that was the focus on the sequels, but they also really tried to give the movie a decent plot line, beyond just two crews battling each other. Kathryn McCormick and Ryan Guzman, both making their feature film debuts, paired up nicely and for their first acting gigs, weren’t too bad.

What was evident while watching the movie was that it definitely deserved to be viewed in theaters, on the big screen, something I regret not doing. Watching the dance sequences, even in the standard way, you could see how the 3D was used and how it would’ve given a different feeling had you seen it the way it was intended.  I think it went beyond the tricks of things coming at you, and actually would have given it an extra depth, which for something like dance is pretty nice to see. If we simply get down to it, it just would’ve been really cool to see it in 3D.

Is Step Up Revolution the greatest movie of all time? No. But if you’re a fan of the previous Step Up movies or if you’re a fan of dance in general, you’ll love this movie and the great choreography featured in it.

55th Annual Grammy Award Nominations

The nominations for the 2013 Grammy Awards were announced in part during the now annual Grammy Nominations Live Concert. A full comprehensive list of all the nominees are posted on the official Grammy website. Here is a rundown of some of the categories, plus some of my thoughts.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

• The Black Keys, El Camino
• fun., Some Nights
• Mumford and Sons, Babel
• Frank Ocean, Channel Orange
• Jack White, Blunderbuss

To be honest, I haven’t listened to all of these albums in their entirety so I can’t comment too much. I am a little disappointed that Kelly Clarkson and Coldplay didn’t get included, but given all the buzz about the albums that were nominated, I must admit it’s a really solid collection.

RECORD OF THE YEAR

• The Black Keys, Lonely Boy
• Kelly Clarkson, (What Doesn’t Kill You) Stronger
• fun. ft. Janelle Monae, We Are Young
• Gotye ft. Kimbra, Somebody That I Used to Know
• Frank Ocean, Thinkin’ About You
• Taylor Swift, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

When I posted my predictions for who would get nominated, I ruled out “We Are Young” and “Somebody That I Used To Know” for the simple fact that they were technically released in the previous eligibility period (meaning for last year’s awards show). That aside, now that they are full-fledged nominees, I’m not entirely surprised by their inclusion. My bias is that Kelly Clarkson should win, but the impact that “We Are Young” had is too big to ignore.

SONG OF THE YEAR

• Ed Sheeran, The A-Team
• Miguel, Adorn
• Carly Rae Jepsen, Call Me Maybe
• Kelly Clarkson, (What Doesn’t Kill You) Stronger
• fun., We Are Young

First of all, I’m sorry to have listed the nominees by who sang the song, because this award technically goes to the songwriters, but it was just easier. That being said, I can’t believe “Call Me Maybe” is nominated here and you can’t honestly tell me that they could win with lyrics like “Hey I just met you and this is crazy. But here’s my number, call me maybe.” Though I am so happy that Ed Sheeran is nominated, I’m sticking with my guns that it’s between Kelly Clarkson and fun. If “We Are Young” ends up winning ROTY, “Stronger” will probably win in this category.

BEST NEW ARTIST

• Alabama Shakes
• fun.
• Hunter Hayes
• The Lumineers
• Frank Ocean

Prior to this morning, while reading up on critics/journalists predictions for nominations, I had no idea who Alabama Shakes were. But there were a lot that were hoping that they would get nominated, so win for the journalists here. I figured fun. would get nominated and Hunter Hayes as well, while The Lumineers’ nomination was a pleasant surprise. I must say though, I can’t believe I forgot to include Frank Ocean in my predictions because he really had a banner year. I think it’ll be a toss-up between fun. and Frank Ocean for the win, but you never know.

Certainly disappointed that Ed Sheeran and Emeli Sande (though the latter was a rather big long shot) didn’t get nominated. Now, would it be mean to say that I’m happy the likes of Carly Rae Jepsen and One Direction didn’t get nominated?

BEST POP SOLO PERFORMANCE

• Adele, Set Fire to the Rain [Live]
• Kelly Clarkson, (What Doesn’t Kill You) Stronger
• Carly Rae Jepsen, Call Me Maybe
• Katy Perry, Wide Awake
• Rihanna, Where Have You Been

Adele and Kelly Clarkson were a given in the category (though I have to wonder why they went with the live version of “Set Fire to the Rain”), and I am completely happy about it. However, I have a serious issue with the other three nominees. One, Rihanna’s song is more of a dance track. Two, you’re really going to pick these three songs over Jason Mraz’s “I Won’t Give Up”, John Mayer’s “Shadow Days”, and Ed Sheeran’s “The A-Team”?! REALLY???!!! The songs I named are far superior to the three songs that were nominated in their place. Unacceptable, Grammys. Unacceptable.

BEST POP DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE

• Florence + the Machine, Shake It Out
• fun., We Are Young
• Gotye ft. Kimbra, Somebody That I Used to Know
• LMFAO, Sexy and I Know It
• Maroon 5 ft. Wiz Khalifa, Payphone

Soooo, whoever could’ve predicted that LMFAO would EVER be nominated for a Grammy? Like seriously, which one of these things is not like the other? Anyways, moving on…I had “One More Night” pegged as Maroon 5’s nomination, but I suppose it really could’ve gone either way. The Grammys clearly bent the rules for Gotye and fun., though I kind of assumed that if “We Are Young” was ineligible, fun. would’ve been nominated for “Some Nights” anyways. I would’ve put “Shake It Out” in my initial predictions, but I wasn’t entirely sure when it got officially released, but doesn’t matter now anyways.

And seriously? LMFAO got nominated?!

BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM

• Kelly Clarkson, Stronger
• Florence + the Machine, Ceremonials
• fun., Some Nights
• Maroon 5, Overexposed
• P!nk, The Truth About Love

I got three out of five correct in my predictions! Again, I really should’ve seen fun.’s nomination coming and for some reason I dismissed P!nk’s album, possibly because I thought it didn’t make the cutoff for the eligibility period – but I’m happy that I turned out to be wrong. A considerably strong set of pop albums nominated, without a doubt.

I’m a little indifferent on the rest of the full categories. However, some quick thoughts on individual nominees or non-nominees:

• A little shocked there wasn’t more love for Coldplay’s album Mylo Xyloto, save for a nod in the Best Rock Album category and a single nom in Best Rock Performance for “Charlie Brown”
• They’re still giving Chris Brown nominations? This one in Best Urban Contemporary Album for his latest.
• I incorrectly assumed that the Grammys would be weird and end up nominating the Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars collaboration of “Safe and Sound” under Best Pop Duo/Group Performance – it ended up going under Best Country Duo/Group Performance. The song also got a nod in the Best Song Written for Visual Media category.
• Miranda Lambert’s song “Over You” (co-written with Blake Shelton) was surprisingly not nominated for anything. Damn shame, because it’s a really good song.
• Jimmy Fallon’s Blow Your Pants Off nominated in Best Comedy Album! I just really love “History of Rap.”
• Though Jason Mraz’s album Love Is A Four Letter Word didn’t receive a nomination in Best Pop Vocal Album, it at least did get recognition in the Best Engineered Album Non-Classical category.

After all is said and done, it certainly looks like fun. is the artist/band to beat heading into awards night, but hopefully Kelly Clarkson can steal a few awards away from them. Thoughts on this year’s crop of nominees? Any surprises? Shocking snubs? Sound off in the comments!

The 55th annual Grammy Awards will air on February 10th, on CBS.