Breaking Down The 2011 Grammy Nominees

We’ve reviewed the mammoth list of Grammy nominations that were announced yesterday, and came up with a handy list of noteworthy observations about the major shut-outs, the unexpected nods, and the head-scratching eligibility requirements that force songs we were humming a year ago into this year’s race. (We love you “Empire State Of Mind”, but you are so 2009.) Jump below to take a closer look at the noms, as well as reactions from some of the lucky nominees. Surprisingly, no one snubbed took off on a Twitter rant like The-Dream did last year — at least not yet.

** So why wasn’t Nicki Minaj, Bruno Mars or Janelle Monae nominated for Best New Artist? Because of ridiculous Grammy eligibility requirements. To be eligible for Best New Artist, you must release at least one album as the featured performer (but no more than three). And Nicki and Bruno’s albums came out too late. (The cut off was September 30, 2010.) As for Monae, her EP was nominated in a previous year, but didn’t win. Still, being recognized for a “body of work” counts. (However, if one of your singles is nominated but didn’t win in a previous year, you can still be eligible for Best New Artist, a rule change that was caused by the Lady Gaga snub of 09.)

**The only American Idol alumni to be nominated this year is Carrie Underwood (one for “Temporary Home”), Fantasia (up for three awards in the R&B categories) and Grammy newbie, Adam Lambert. Tweeted Glambert upon hearing about his nom for his Pink-written tune, “Whataya Want From Me”: “Woah!!! Just got the news! A Grammy nomination?!?! I’m floored and honored. There are no words….”

**Yankee Stadium and Comerica Park pals Eminem and Jay-Z are competing against one another in four categories — Best Record, Best Rap Song, Best Rap Collaboration, and Best Rap Album. Em slides way past Jay, though, scoring 10 nominations total (including Best Short Form Music Video for “Love The Way You Lie“) to Hova’s 6 noms.

**Speaking of music videos, Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” is up against Em’s epic clip, Cee Lo’s cheeky vid for “Fuck You“, and Gorillaz’ animated/live action “Stylo“.

**Green Day — specifically Billie Joe Armstrong — scores a nomination for writing the score to American Idiot, up for Best Musical Show Album. You’ll remember five years ago, American Idiot was all over the Grammy ceremony, so we’re calling this one a sure thing. (Sorry, Fela!)

**Glee even gets in on the fun, scoring a nomination for Best Vocal Pop Performance for a Duo/Group for their Top 10 hit and Journey cover, “Don’t Stop Believin'” (as well as a nod for Best Compilation Soundtrack). Perhaps next year “Teenage Dream” will have a chance, too?

**Did you know there’s a Grammy category for Producer of the Year? There is! RedOne, Dr. Luke, The Smeezingtons (that’s Bruno Mars and his crew), Rob Cavallo and Danger Mouse are all up for the prestigious award.

**Rihanna’s Rated-R, which was eligible, didn’t get one nomination. (Too bad — we loved “Rude Boy”, but think everybody else forgot about it.) Her Loud single, “Only Girl (In The World)”, however, is up for Best Dance Recording, since it was released before the cutoff. (Plus she’s nommed for Eminem’s “Love The Way You Lie” in a plethora of categories.)

**Lady Gaga’s “Dance In The Dark” is nominated for Best Dance Recording despite it not being an official single (though we think it should have been). La Roux’s “In For The Kill” also scored a nom in this category despite “Bulletproof” being the bigger hit for the group.

**Mad Kanye West’s perfect 10 of an album didn’t get a nomination? Don’t be too mad — it didn’t make the cutoff for eligibility. So look forward to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy being all over the Grammy ceremony in 2012 despite is most likely being played out by then. (Yeezy’s “Power” scored a nom, though, as the single was released long before the album.)

**Michael Jackson gets a posthumous nomination for Best Male Pop Performance for “This Is It.”

**Biggest snubs? Florence + The Machine was nominated for Best New Artist, but not one darn nom for her magnificent single “Dog Days Are Over”. Big Boi’s Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty was snubbed from all the rap categories. Kid Cudi was left with nada. (Did everyone forget how gorgeous “Pursuit of Happiness” is?) Despite five Top 10 singles, Ke$ha got squat as well. We wish Kelis’ Flesh Tone or Robyn’s Body Talk Pt. I would have been up for Best Dance Album, but we knew they were under the radar (props to the Swedish singer for nailing a Best Dance Recording nom for “Dancing On My Own”, though!) And Christina Aguilera’s Bionic was completely shut out. Not that we’re in a tizzy from the snub, but we still think “You Lost Me” was a beautiful ballad excellently sung by Xtina. (Plus, next year we’re counting on Burlesque scoring a few noms for Best Soundtrack.)

**As for some more artist reactions, Katy Perry is super cute when she’s shocked:

** And even at the tender age of 16, Justin Bieber knows scoring two Grammy noms is a big deal:

What do you think of the Grammy nominations? Who got shut out? Who should have been shut out? And who else is a bit disappointed Andy Samberg and Rihanna’s “Shy Ronnie” didn’t get a nomination like last year’s Lonely Island/T-Pain jam “I’m On A Boat”?