Grammy Noms Called Shocker For CBS-TV

The Grammys in New York took a weird turn Tuesday as the nominations were a shocker, according to Roger Friedman at showbiz411.com.

Ed Sheeran’s best selling “Divide” did not get an Album of the Year nod, neither did albums by Lady Gaga or Kesha. Instead, the Grammys went mostly for R&B and rap: Jay Z, Bruno Mars, Kendrick Lamar and Childish Gambino, who is really the actor Donald Glover. According to Friedman: CBS must be plotzing.

Roger Friedman

Indeed, all the acts they want on the show– the white pop acts– have been relegated to the Pop Vocal category. That’s Gaga, Sheeran, Pink, Kelly Clarkson, Kesha.

How the Grammys became the R&B/Hip Hop Awards will be the subject of much discussion at Black Rock today. Their traditional country nominee is absent, which for CBS is a disaster.  The only pop singer who scored an Album of the Year nod was Lorde, the 20 year New Zealand singer whose “Melodrama” album not much of a hit compared to her previous outing.

Kendrick Lamar, Glover, Bruno Mars and Jay Z also took up most of the Record and Song of the Year categories even though almost none of that music is not what is typically thought of for those categories.

Friedman writes  for older skewing CBS and producer Ken Erlich, this will be a challenge. This is not the show they want. Having no country nominees in the main categories is heart-attack inducing.

There were no nominations for singles released before the September 30th deadline by pop superstars Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, and so on. Swift will not be performing “Look What You Made Me Do” with Right Said Fred. Cyrus won’t be singing “Malibu.”