This Sunday’s Grammy Awards is set to open with a tribute to Michael Jackson. There will be the 3D “Earth Song” from Michael’s canceled “This Is It” concert. Then a selection of pop stars including Smokey Robinson, Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood and Usher is scheduled to perform a medley of Michael’s hits.

But what hasn’t been determined is who will accept Michael’s Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award. Jackson is to be honored along with Bobby Darin, Loretta Lynn, Clark Terry, David Honeyboy Edwards, Andre Previn, and Leonard Cohen. Among the winners of the Trustees award are Florence Greenberg, founder of Scepter Records and subject of the new musical, “Baby It’s You.” Read the rest of this entry »

The Grammy nominations are out, and they are an odd lot.

For one thing, they totally snub Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys, and Rob Thomas. Grammy pet John Mayer is nowhere to be heard.

Substance is out, style — or fad — is in. It’s a Lady GaGa Grammys, with flashes of the trivial spread around her. Ten nominations for Beyonce? Are we kidding? And on January 1st, will anyone care about these nominees?

Whitney Houston’s lovely comeback, which could have been a Grammy story, is ignored. Entirely. How could her song, “Million Dollar Bill,” written by Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz, not make it? Mariah Carey’s “Obsessed”— deleted. Rob Thomas’s excellent pop album,”Cradlesong” — not happening.

Instead, we’ve got more Taylor Swift, and an entry from 1973: Daryl Hall and John Oates got a nomination for a live performance of “Sara Smile.” Hello? This is completely inane. They’re competing with new stuff from Bon Jovi, The Fray, MGMT, and the ostensible winner, Black Eyed Peas. Whoever pulled off that coup deserves some kind of prize. I’m sure one is coming.

My prediction: Black Eyed Peas will rule the show the way Outkast did a few years ago. “I Gotta Feeling” is this year’s “Hey Ya.” My only worry is that Outkast was never heard from again.

Basically, without real artists to support in the under 30 age group, the Grammys have disintegrated into a Tiger Beat mentality. The so called actual artists can be found in Category 15, Best Rock Solo Performance ( I love the names of the categories) — with Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, John Fogerty, Neil Young, and Prince. It’s hilarious that none of the Best Song nominations came from those albums, but instead from crappy “teams” who put together “productions.” Really.

And over in the dreaded New Artist group: Zac Brown, MGMT, Keri Hilson, Silversun Pickups, and Ting Tings. This is a cursed category. We will not ever hear of these people again. Ever.

One bright spot: a nomination for Stevie Wonder and his “All About the Love Again.” It’s a throwaway, but maybe someone read my November 2nd column. Also: two noms for unknown R&B singer Calvin Richardson, on the very small Shanachie Records. Considering all the main nominees, Ken Ehrlich would be well served to feature this guy. He’s the real deal.

Anyway, between the MusiCares dinner for Neil Young, and Clive Davis’s dinner the following night, I suspect the Grammys are going to be a desultory affair. And with beloved talent coordinator Tisha Fein summarily dismissed a few weeks ago after three decades, many of the real artists who were relegated to minor nominations may not be persuaded to show up at all.

Pierre Cossette, we do miss you!

Here’s an interesting problem:

Jay Z’s “The Blueprint, Pt. 3″ is the hot album of the fall. The duet with Alicia Keys, “Empire State of Mind,” is the single of the season. Neither of them is eligible for the Grammy Awards.

Let’s backtrack: this year’s Grammy deadline was August 31st, a month early. The Jay Z album was not released until September 8th.

But we knew going in that the early Grammy deadline was crazy. Whitney Houston just made it under the wire. But Mariah Carey missed it, leaving her in the mix just for her “Obsessed” single.

At this rate, whatever gets nominated for Best Album, Record, and Song is a toss up, and not a popular one.

The odds on favorite would be The Black Eyed Peas album, “The E.N.D.” The single, “I Gotta Feeling,” is the odds on favorite for Best Record and Song.

There are scant others. Lady GaGa is headed into the Amy Winehouse section as novelty hit of the year. You can’t begrudge her anything, but she has the feel of a one-hit wonder.

There’s a lot of support for rock band Kings of Leon, too. But they may wind up in the rock categories.

Other possibilities: Kanye West’s “808s and Heartbreak,” U2’s “No Line on the Horizon,” Bruce Springsteen’s “Working on a Dream,” Rob Thomas’s excellent “CradleSong” (with the song “Someday”), and, of course, Whitney Houston’s “I Look to You.” Houston is likely to score well in the Grammys simply because it’s a slow year.

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