The 49th Annual Grammy Awards is coming up this Sunday, and much to everyone’s chagrin, it won’t feature Howard Stern as Fartman or anyone with prosthetic butt cheeks. Even though it won’t be as carefree as past MTV Music Awards, it still may be interesting. This is mostly because Stephen Colbert is hosting, but also due to the cornucopia of musical talent this year. Here are our Grammy picks for this year, and hopefully they won’t be as boring as the speeches you’ll have to sit through.
Album of the year
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St. Elsewhere, Gnarls Barkley. While not perfect, this is the definitely the best of the lineup. St. Elsewhere mashes up hip-hop, rap, electronica and pop into one glorious party.
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Stadium Arcadium, Red Hot Chili Peppers. It’s nice to know the Red Hot Chili Peppers are still producing quality music. This will be a much-anticipated award for the band.
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Continuum, John Mayer. If Mayer could win a Grammy just for “”Your Body is a Wonderland,”” he really deserves it for Continuum. The song is 10 times better than anything he’s done before.
Record of the year
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Crazy, Gnarls Barkley. This is without a doubt one of the best singles in many years. It’s a rare occurrence when the song blasting out of everyone’s car, home stereo, and iPod is truly good. “”Crazy”” might just end up being song of the decade.
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Be Without You, Mary J. Blige. This heart felt song represents more than just a record. Blige has been through a tough life in the spotlight and the song is a good end to her emotional rollercoaster.
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Not Ready to Make Nice, Dixie Chicks. Taking a firm stand on what you believe in is a trait to be admired. Congress should be taking notes.
Best new artist
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Imogen Heap. The Grammy folks think Imogen Heap is new, but she released her first solo record in 1998 and was one half of the group Frou Frou. Her music shuts up the naysayers who think electronic music can’t be organic and soulful.
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Corinne Bailey Rae. Her amazing, sweet voice should win her this award. Carrie Underwood might sweep the honors from her though.
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Imogen Heap. Imogen Heap has been around forever and is anything but new. However, it’s time the powers that be finally took notice.
Most annoying performance
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Gnarls Barkley. This super group made the best Grammy-nominated song and album of the year, but their live performance is pretty weak. This is especially annoying because the group puts a lot of effort into the visual aspect of their show, but the sound is simply boring.
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Beyonce Beyonce definitely takes the cake for this category. When she performed “”Dangerously in Love”” at the Grammy’s a couple years ago, she made the song last an additional two minutes with all her vocal theatrics.
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Beyonce. Prepare to be bored as Beyonce lip-syncs her performance. Multitasking by singing, dancing and looking pretty is just too much.
