Jack White explains why his disdainful comments aren't disdainful

Remember Jack White? Nice kid, interesting music. Haven't seen so much of him since he went off on that big journey he made. Where was it he was off to again? Oh, yeah. Up his own asshole. That's where he went.

Last week, there was dispatch from his fundament, where he took time out of his busy preening ritual to slag off the Black Keys and Meg White in the pages of the Rolling Stone. He's now attempted to row back on the comments, while still explaining how he was right all along.

So, Meg, for example - Jack's former wife and someone who has, in the past, had anxiety problems. In the original piece, Jack laid into her:

"She's one of those people who won't high-five me when I get the touchdown," he said. "She viewed me that way of 'Oh, big deal, you did it, so what?' Almost every single moment of the White Stripes was like that. We'd be working in the studio and something amazing would happen: I'm like, 'Damn, we just broke into a new world right there!' And Meg's sitting in silence."

White recalled a quote from Ringo Starr that rang true to him during those moments. "I remember hearing Ringo Starr say, 'I always felt sorry for Elvis, because in the Beatles we had each other to talk about what it felt like. Elvis was by himself.' I was like, 'Shit, try being in a two-piece where the other person doesn't talk!'"

Oh, how frustrating for Jack not to have someone constantly high-fiving him. And him being so very very clever, too.

Now, though, Jack is keen to stress that he didn't mean anything by that:

"Meg White, who I also talked about to Rolling Stone about our working conversations, or lack thereof, is, of course, a musician I’ve personally championed for 15 years," he wrote in the statement. "She is a strong female presence in rock and roll, and I was not intending to slight her either, only to explain how hard it was for us to communicate with our very different personalities. This got blown out of proportion and made into headlines, and somehow I looked like I was picking on her. I would never publicly do that to someone I love so dearly. And, there are mountains of interviews where my words are very clear on how important I think she is to me and to music."

"Hey, what are you complaining about? I've said elsewhere she's important to me, so why does the fact I painted a picture of her being a closed-off, cold-fish hermit suddenly become a problem? In what way is saying she sat in silence when I'd been brilliant a bad thing?"

The Black Keys White took to task for being copyists:

"There are kids at school who dress like everybody else, because they don't know what to do, and there are musicians like that, too. I'll hear TV commercials where the music's ripping off sounds of mine, to the point I think it's me. Half the time, it's the Black Keys," White says. "The other half, it's a sound-alike song because they couldn't license one of mine. There's a whole world that's totally fine with the watered-down version of the original."
[...]
The White Stripes did the same thing, and in our absence, you're gonna find someone to fill that. And you get a band like the Black Keys, who said they never heard of the White Stripes? Sure.

It looks like what really irks White is not that the Black Keys supposedly sound like a watered-down White Stripes, but that they, too, refuse to high-five him by admitting his influence on their work.

Still, full marks for his clarification on this, which manages to be more snide than the original remarks:

"I wish the band the Black Keys all the success that they can get," he said in the new statement. "I hope the best for their record label Nonesuch who has such a proud history in music, and in their efforts to bring the Black Keys songs to the world. I hope for massive success also for their producer and songwriter Danger Mouse and for the other musicians that their band employs. Lord knows that I can tell you myself how hard it is to get people to pay attention to a two piece band with a plastic guitar, so any attention that the Black Keys can get in this world I wish it for them, and I hope their record stays in the top ten for many months and they have many more successful albums in their career."

"Yeah, good luck guys, and all those other people who are doing all the work for you. I hope your children are beautiful, and your grandparents long-lived, and your fingers remain supple into what will be a long and active old-age, and that you're too stupid to notice that this reads like a piece of douchey sark."

Oh, White also found time to slag off most women artists working at the moment, too:

Some people will hear that and say 'Oh, Jack White thinks he's the first person to play the blues.' But certain acts open up a market for a certain style. Amy Winehouse: Did she invent white soul? Wearing a beehive? No. But she did something brand new and fresh, altogether as a package, and you see who's in her wake, from the Duffys to the Lana Del Reys," he says. "Adele selling 20 million records? That would not have happened if Amy Winehouse was alive."

Adele's two albums were both released during Winehouse's lifetime, actually. But this isn't about facts, it's about Jack. And Jack knows what he thinks.

Although, er, maybe he's going to clarify that, too:

White also apologized to the artists he appeared to dismiss in his explanation of how "certain acts open up a market for a certain style." White said that he attempted to avoid giving a "no comment" answer to Rolling Stone because he thought it would sound petty, but ended up making comments that should have been reserved for "shop talk" among producers, engineers and managers.

"I wish no slight to the talents of Winehouse, Duffy, Lana del Rey, and Adele," he explained on Saturday. "All of whom are wonderful performers with amazing voices. I have their records and I hope for more success for them all as the years go on. They deserve all they’ve gotten. And, I also would love to state that I personally find it inspiring to have powerful, positive female voices speaking out and creating at all times in the mainstream, and all of those singers do just that, so I thank them."

There's a couple of things here. The first is that he seems to have noticed that he wasn't even apparently slighting Amy Winehouse, so maybe even Jack White starts to tune out and not listen properly when Jack White starts banging on.

Secondly, saying that Adele wouldn't have sold records if Amy Winehouse was alive - even if factually incorrect - is clearly saying that Adele had got success she didn't deserve.

So that's White's apology saying sorry for something he didn't even do (slagging Winehouse) and claiming he hadn't done something he had (slagging Adele). This is the most ham-fisted thing White's done since his last record.

But what really galls is that bit about "shop talk" - the sweeping imperiousness of the idea that the little people who read his interviews and (albeit in decreasing numbers) buy his records can't be trusted to understand such complex ideas as how Adele wouldn't have sold records if she'd had to compete with someone else without thinking he sounds like an arse.

Unless what Jack means is that he should only really talk to the sort of people he's paying, rather than people who aren't being paid to agree with his every shining insight.

Gordon in the morning: Gordon reads Q, misses story

Adele's interviewed in Q this month, and Gordon dutifully copies it out and slaps a headline on it:

ADELE has snubbed big-money arena tours and festival gigs this summer - in favour of drinking bottles of Diamond White down the park.

Gordon seems to have taken her a little over-literally when she says she turned down three nights at the O2 to spend time with her friends instead:

"That's all I'll be doing - sitting in Brockwell Park with my friends, drinking cider."

Adele comes across as lovely in the interview but Gordon seems to miss the obvious hook for a shit-stirring headline:

She told Q Magazine, out today: "I like things now I've got it but I'd still be alive and healthy and a good person if I didn't have money. But if I was money-driven, I'd be very excited by the money coming in. I'd be the face of full-fat Coke. Get another million in the bank!"

Oddly, Gordon doesn't have anything to make of what is clearly a well-aimed dig at Duffy's toe-curling Coke ad cash grab. Given that he was trying to turn a comment about crisps into a focus for the piece, that seems a bit of an oversight.

Duffy has had enough-fy

The frankly rotten sales of her second album have sent Duffy to a dark place, reckons the Sunday Mirror, which claims a friend says she's thinking of giving it all up:

A pal of the Welsh warbler reveals: “She’s really down about the last ­album, Endlessly.

“It didn’t sell well and charted terribly and she isn’t trying again and making a comeback.

“She wants to have a quiet life and start over. Duffy made a truckload of cash with the first album and through her endorsements with Diet Coke, so she’s ­comfortable and able to enjoy some down-time. She’s not got management right now and has met a few people about taking over. But she’s just not interested."

It's surprising quite how badly the second coming of Duffy went - Well Well Well, the first single off Endlessly, stalled outside the top 40; Endlessly did make it to the top ten - just - but doesn't even appear to have gone Gold yet in the UK.

The suspicion has to be that she was a highly-weaponised delivery system for Bernard Butler's work, and once she struck out on her own, she has found the world a colder place. To be fair to her, she was always going to struggle to find something that was going to outrun Mercy - still the number one choice for cereal adverts and unthreatening faux-edgy restaurant dining room music.

John Lydon mutters something about Duffy

Hey, kids: this piece is going to discus Duffy and a man called John Lydon. If you're under, say, 30, you might want to ask your parents who these people were.

The world talks still of the 2008 Mojo Awards, and the bit where John Lydon attacked Duffy. Well, actually, the world has moved on and barely recalls Mojo doing awards much less the incident, but Lydon has never allowed nobody caring to stop him honking away.

To our surprise, it turns out that Duffy attacked him, and not the other way round:

"She leapt on my back. I'm not a maypole for her to go swinging off. Until you know who is doing that you are in a compromising position. If you want to say hello to me, then stand in front of me and say hello."

Actually, having seen the butter adverts, it's clear that Lydon would be a maypole for swinging from if the price was right.

Still, it's nice that Lydon has set the record straight. And by 'setting the record straight', we mean 'waited two years before attempting to justify throwing a woman about with a hitherto unmentioned part of the story which nobody who was around seem to have noticed happening and would still be a nasty overreaction anyway'.

Interesting to hear that Lydon's happy for people to walk up and say hello while standing in front of him. Bloc Party might beg to differ.

Duffy can bike, if she likes

There were complaints, you know, about Duffy's Diet Coke advert. The Advertising Standards Authority has considered the ones about her lack of safety equipment - the more visceral 'why, in god's name, why?' ones are outside their remit.

And the ASA says it's okay:

The authority said the cycling sequence was clearly "unreal and fantastical" and the ad was not shown around programmes children were likely to be watching.

The report continued "...and besides, it's Duffy -if she rode down the street in a way that drew attention to herself, she'd be making herself a target, wouldn't she? Some people are better off skulking about in the shadows, knoworramean?"

Actually, Coke denied she had ridden her bicycle without proper preparation:

Coca-Cola said it carried out a "vigorous" assessment of highway code regulations. Duffy had been wearing a black and white sequined top that reflected light and gave her a "luminous glow" so that she stood out in the dark. The soft drinks company added that the bike had lights.

"No, officer, my headlights might be out, but look at the luminous glow I'm giving off. I'm able to see three miles ahead using my aura alone."

Still, the news that the advertising agency spent so long reading the Highway Code explains why they clearly only had about three minutes to come up with that awful "Hello You" slogan.

Duffy has 'ad it

Sadly, Duffy decided to wait until everyone had seen the eye-poking terror of her 'bicycling off to get some Diet Coke with a look of terror on my face' advert. If only she'd decided that doing adverts wasn't really her before, eh?

"I have only got 100 per cent to give and all of that goes towards being creative, so I can't really open the doors to all the other things.

"I have so many desires creatively, but I have to tread carefully that I also don't sell myself out personally.

"What you see with me is what you get. I just put my whole energy into the creative side."

Presumably, the lack of even the most stubborn stain of creativity in that Diet Coke ad means that she didn't feel it would eat into that 100%.

Darkness at 3AM: Coldhearted cold comfort for Coldplay

The 3Am Girls are also signed up to the party line that Coldplay being not good enough is some sort of snub:

Coldplay snubbed at Brits as they lose in four categories

Doesn't that make them losers rather than snubbed?

The 3AMies can't understand it:

Only earlier this month Chris Martin and his band celebrated Grammy success, but yesterday at a star-studded London’s Earls Court they were snubbed on their own soil.

Their own star-studded London's Earl Court soil, no less.

In front of celebs including Duffy, Alexandra Burke, Katy Perry, Kings of Leon, Kylie and Take That, the boys looked on in disbelief as each of the main categories passed them by.

Oh, hang on. The Brits organisers hauled them up in front of celebs (and the woman who won Sing a Song For Simon) so everyone could watch their little faces crumple in distress? That would be quite a snub. Had it happened like that.

They lost out in British album, British group, British single – voted for by the public – and British live act.

Pssst... the live act one? That was also voted for by the public. Or "us", as we like to call ourselves.

And it was made all the weirder by the fact they rocked their post-awards show at Shepherd’s Bush afterwards.

Yes, fancy the voting academy not taking into account a private event they hadn't even played at the time of the prizes being given out. That's just so weird.

So, then, this year's Brits were nothing more than a farrago, designed to humiliate Chris Martin even more than his dancing does, right?

Oh... except when it was giving awards to Duffy. Then, the prizes were well-chosen, feting our new singing queen:

But it was a different story for Duffy, who was crowned queen of the night with a staggering three gongs.

The Welsh babe scooped British album and British female after quashing rivals Estelle and Adele.

Then she rubbed it in with Best Breakthrough. Lord have Mercy! One boozy record exec told us: “This is Duffy’s year. Not only was she the toast of the Grammys, she won over the tough Brits committee. That’s something not even Lily Allen could do who left empty-handed last year.”

God, how drunk was that executive? That last sentence really does sound like it was written after a George Best style celebration.

Don't you love the idea that the Brits committee is somehow "tough", as if they meet round the back of a run-down Peckham tower block and you can't vote until you've proved yourself by pinching something from Wilkinsons.

And what of Kylie? Apparently she was shocked:

Kylie shocked by James Corden and Mat Horne's Brit performance

Of course, she wasn't shocked at all. But she hasn't made a single called I Knew This Was Going To Happen, We Have Rehearsed After All, And You Should Have Seen The Negotiations With My Management.

Gordon in the morning: Snubbers

Oh, curse the Brits, and their late finish. What's a Gordon to do?

send in three writers to cover the event. Although that does end up with somewhat confused coverage:

By CARL STROUD,
JESS ROGERS
and SOPHIE BARNETT

Published: Today

SINGING sensation DUFFY last night became Britain’s new Princess of Pop — scooping three glorious gongs at the Brit Awards.

But while she shone Britain’s biggest bands, COLDPLAY and TAKE THAT, were sensationally SNUBBED.

Hang about... Take That were only up for one potential prize, weren't they?

And were Coldplay really "snubbed"? Are Gordon's three little helpers seriously suggesting that people voted to be rude to Chris Martin rather than, say, for someone they liked more? And, given that two of the Coldplay nominations - Best Live Band and Best Single - were public-voted, isn't that less of a snub, more of an indication that while Coldplay's fanbase might be very, very broad, it's incredibly shallow?

But, let's be fair, "Coldplay turn out to be liked rather than loved" isn't much of a headline.

Still, it'd be more understandable than trying to work out how we've woken up this morning with the impression that Duffy is a living legend:

Her three gongs were the biggest tally of all.

Or, indeed, what Carl, Jess and Sophie thought they meant when they wrote that line.

It's possible they weren't thinking much, given their ability to miss a story:

I Kissed A Girl singer KATY PERRY, looking sensational in a skin-tight black leather outfit, went home with the International Female statuette.

She looked sensational, did she? To the casual observer, she looked like she'd just parachuted in from a field hospital in Flanders and was about to complete her death from consumption.

Elsewhere, Toni Jones ("Associate Fashion Editor" - what does that job title actually mean? Is 'associate' a fashion term for 'don't tell her she's not actually the'?) watched the stars arrive and listed their clothes:

KATY PERRY drew gasps from fans in a pair of (way too) skin tight America Apparel trousers, a Hello Kitty encrusted corset by The Blondes and shoes by Dolce Vita.

It's horrible when your kitty encrusts your corset just before you go out the house, isn't it? Especially when you don't have time to change.

The Associate Fashion editor doesn't actually explain how skin tight trousers can be too tight - surely something is either skin tight or isn't; if a pair of trousers were tighter than skin tight wouldn't they have to be inside your flesh? No wonder Perry looked rough.

But, you're wondering, where was Gordon?

Well, while the others were watching the event, Gordon was working. Working hard to squeak some quotes out of famous people. People like Bono:

Exclusive - Bono: I want to be in Girls Aloud

Hey, Gordon, putting 'exclusive' on that must mean that's quite a scoop you've got there, and it's not just a throwaway gag that Bono was making, right?

ROCK legend BONO last night wowed the Brit Awards — and joked that his ambition is to be the sixth member of Best British Single winners GIRLS ALOUD.

Oh.

Something about Bono made Gordon feel a little funny. Can you spot what it was?

When Bono, who was wearing EYELINER, said he wanted “to be in Girls Aloud”, U2 bass player ADAM CLAYTON quipped: “Which one?”

Man wears make-up - sorry, MAKE-UP - before going on stage. That's certainly worth mentioning, Gordon. Let's hope nobody ever shows Smart footage of Billy Dainty in his pomp; it might just blow his mind.

Still, you know the great thing about Bono? If you're not really good at that interviewing lark, you can just switch your recorder on, transcribe the lot and - bingo! - page filled, job done:

“We see ourselves as contemporaries of bands like COLDPLAY, KINGS OF LEON, INTERPOL — and even Girls Aloud.

“We have been doing this a long time but I still get the same nerves about releasing an album as I did in the early days.

“The difference now is for new bands.

“They are under so much pressure to release their material for free.

“It’s different for us, we have a loyal fan base who buy our records.

“We can also make money from touring, thanks again to our fans, who go out and buy tickets.

“The danger in giving music away free is for writers.

“Where would Cole Porter be now?

“If you have to give away your work for free and you can’t play live, where do you earn the money?”

He added: “It’s an interesting time for music.

“Acts from this side of the pond are doing incredibly well.

“Tonight is a great example.”

Oh, bless: Bono not only thinks he's a young, thrusting band, he thinks that Coldplay and Girls Aloud are young bands, too.

You have to wonder if Gordon was nodding and trying to come up with some sort of response to Bono's random questions. ("Coal porter? Well... they still need coal for the power stations, so... um...")

But I know what you're wondering. Is there an awkward picture of Gordon hanging out with U2?

Funny you should ask.

Liveblog: Brits 2009

7.15pm
Of course, the rest of the entire bloody world will be Twittering their Brits experience, but No Rock is nothing if not a stickler for tradition. Our Brits coverage will be an old style blog.

Like in 2008, when they clashed with Torchwood

And like in 2007, when the Scissor Sisters were still well-known.

Still, Twitter is already bringing us the event in a way unimaginable when George Michael was alive - Holy Moly have just pushed a picture of their supper. Yum.

I'm about to have yams. See you after Corrie.

8.05
Last year, they warned in the continuity announcement that "anything could happen." This year, they warned there might be flashing lights.

8.07
It's the same bloody break bumpers of people miming songs they've been using now for - what - four years? A dull idea made ever duffer by repetition.

U2 get things under way, doing what might be a new song from the album, or possibly a pisspoor cover of Subterranean Homesick Blues.

First prize - British female - goes to Duffy. "It's lucky my mum didn't have a boy" observes Duffy as she picks up the prize.

Horne and Corden are dressed in what's meant to be lady clothes, but just looks like they've been hosing down a sausage factory.

Bloody hell, they're already on to Best International Female. Lionel Ritchie is doing the honours- literally - for this one. "British women are taking over" he announces, which sort of suggests International Female is like a consolation prize. He could try breaking the statue to make it even less of an honour.

Pink gets the most (only?) cheers of the nomination reel.

8.15
Katy Perry wins. The only possible reason for this was to allow Matt Lucas to leer into the camera.

As she picks up her prize, the audio soundtrack goes off - with a 'replay' style 'Audio muted' logo in the top right hand corner. They must have carried out swearing coverage, as they left in the bit where she basically admitted they'd told her she'd won in order to get her in.

James Corden's slathering over Kylie doesn't really come across as anything other than a bit wrong in front of Earls Court.

Girls Aloud are on, with ten male dancers in white tie and tails. The five men who don't get to dance with a Girl have to make do with a large pink ostrich feather. The Girls themselves sound rather wan.

8.20
Sweeping The Nation are twittering this - suggesting Duffy might want to, you know, prepare something for picking up awards in case she needs to do some more thanking.

Backstage, Fearne Cotton has got a caravan, Duffy and Simon Pegg. Fearne is concentrating on talking to Duffy rather than, you know, the one who might be able to say something worth hearing.

It's time for us to start the shortlist for best single - Scouting For Girls are on it. And something called Better In Time by Leona Lewis - she had another single, did she?

Fearne spends about five minutes trying to persuade us ITV aren't ripping us off with the phonelines.

Ooh... LastFM itunes app in the ad break.

8.25
What the hell is that Cheesetring advert? I haven't been more frightened since I realised there were just men inside the daleks.

Horne and Corden have now changed into suits. Their bits are going down well, at least with the bloke playing in the sound of crowd noise.

Alex James has popped in to give British breakthrough - "Radio One supported", of course. Scouting v Adele v Duffy v Ting Tings v Last Shadows. All these bands already seem as old as... well, Alex James.

Oh. Duffy has won this one, too. Although if she *is* the best female, it probably follows she'd have to be the biggest breakthrough. Good lord, if you can't admire their taste, can we at least applaud the Brits' internal logic this year?

Duffy still hasn't got anything to say. Oh, hang on... she's thanking "radio" and "airtime."

8.30
Horner and Corner do a joke about free downloads disproving the existence of God - but isn't it possible that the Christian God, who threw money changers out the temple, might approve of free downloading?

Coldplay are on now. Chris Martin is hopping about on one leg, as a one-man tribute to the Cook and Moore Tarzan sketch. They're tossing rose petals down on them. Or maybe its poppies? They could show separate confetti showers on ITV2.

8.35
On twitter, Yahoo UK entertainment is suggesting that Martin already looks like he's bored singing these songs.

Thanks to Simon in the comments for explaining that Girls Aloud were supposed to be pretending to be naked - an idea which fails completely with cameras mounted at a higher point than the Earls Court audience eyeline.

Chris Matin says thanks thanks.

Fearne has got Jamies Oliver and Cullum backstage. "Duffy won't win best British Male" snorts Cullum - a gag Alison Moyet first did back when this was part of Nationwide. The Q Dot suggest we're seconds from an ad break.

8.40
It's not even the same old idea for the break bumpers - these are the same bloody ones they were using last year, aren't they?

Twitter, as one, has splurged a "KILL THEM BOTH" rage at the Two Jamies.

Despot wins for observing "Jamie Cullum looks like a cross between Jack White and a potato."

8.42
Oh, they've given Kylie something else to do - although, again, it's mainly standing there and letting Horne pretend he can't control himself.

Natalie Imbrooglywoogly - from the 1990s - is doing international band giving. Will it go to the Fleet Foxes? Will it buggery. It'll be the Kings Of Leon, won't it? Why are they even bothering with the shortlist?

The winner is... Kings Of Leon. Well, what a surprise. How lucky they're here to play some songs.

Fearne tries to suggest that the people who vote for the Brits are "the great and the good", although actually they're the people who spend most of their time smothering music.

The KOL ask "what is going on?" and remember to thank Columbia.

8.45
A joke at the expense of Craig David. Cutting-edge stuff.

The two Jamies have now emerged from the 'tent' to give the Best British Male solo artist.

Have I mentioned how bloody annoying the Johnny Vegas bits are (he's the Alan Dedicot for the evening).

This award is the one which should have been closed because there were no actual nominees with a point to it. And on which betting had been closed because Paul Weller had won and it leaked.

Adele gives him the prize on a video, which it appears to have taken three dozen takes to get right. We're shown the outtakes, presumably because they were so poor Alright On The Night passed on them.

8.48
The BBC Ents Team (who sound like something from It Aint Arf Hot, Mum) point out that Weller is only the second person to win a proper prize after getting a lifetime achievement award - that sort of fact is worth the licence fee on its own, surely?

Duffy is now earning her four awards by singing one of her songs. You can see why she gets annoyed with Dusty Springfield comparisons - it sets a bar she's never going to quite make.

Ooh... the picture just froze. Best Moment So Far.

8.50
"Natalie, you presented an award to one of your favourite bands... how much do you love Kings Of Leon?" - Fearne. She's like Robin Day in a short skirt.

The joy of following the Twitter #brits hash is somewhat ruined by the presence of a spammer pushing junk with the hashtag.

8.55
The Hovis through the ages ad and the Heinz Beanz archive mash up in the same ad break? Are we being sucked backwards to the 1960s?

Hope and Glory aren't, at least, as bad as The Osbournes, but the constant played-in soundtrack almost makes it like they're doing a show for a totally different audience.

Some boxer called Joe has tuned up to give a prize for International album - is he the one that Noel Gallagher really, really, really loves?

Another prize for the Kings Of Leon. And they make a bloody meal of sloping down to pick it up. Come on, guys, there's a schedule to keep to here. If you take too long to get on stage, we're going to end up with credits running over the Pet Shop Boys.

Kings Of Leon thank England for the prize. Dude, there's a reason they're called the Brits, you know.

And they thank bloody Columbia again.

People are now running through the audience with lamps. Exciting! Is it a raid? Is it the police? Are Jack and the boys going to set fire to the stage?

Oh, no, it's Take That from the Marks and Spencers adverts.

9.00
Take That are wearing spectacles and floating in the air. Like secretaries who only need to be told they're beautiful and, simultaneously, rescued by the fire brigade.

Actually, that platform doesn't look too safe, to be honest. Health and safety, anyone?

9.05
CMQueen suggests that the spaceship is a dig at Robbie Williams.

Ooh, they're ascending now. Hope they don't win best live show, otherwise they're going to need rope ladders to get down.

Nick Frost presenting now - probably glad to not be forced to back up Simon Pegg, although it might be a sign they're running short of people willing to head out to give awards in return for a nasty meal and a goodie bag. This is the best live prize.

Is it just me, or does every time Scouting For Girls pop up in a nominations clip, does your belief in British music die a little more?

Iron Maiden have won this prize - they pick it up on film. "We can't be there" they explain, listing international tour dates for the overseas sales. When did Iron Maiden last win a prize, exactly?

The Maiden do a bit of business with Eddie zapping them all into smoke, which must count as the most "one for the fans" Brits moment ever.

9.10
David Hasselhoff is on now - tomorrow night, he's doing the One Show. It's all go for him, isn't it? He seems to think that we care what he might have to say.

He's only introducing the best british band prize, but he's written a speech as if it was first contact.

Wouldn't it be nice if Elbow won this? Unlikely, but nice.

Oh... well, that's a surprise. It *is* Elbow.

"It's nice to know quality music gets recognised, even if it takes ten years or so" says Fearne - i think she means Elbow's success, but it sounds like she's suggesting you only get a decent artist winning a Brit once a decade.

Guy Garvey has the air of a man who had thought all he'd get this evening would be the free beer.

9.15
Twitter applauding the Elbow win. Kings Of Leon come on. Time for a pee, I think.

9.20
You see? Dull but inappropriate personal information can thrive on long form blogs as well as it does on Twitter.

The Kings Of Leon's performance is the only straight one so far tonight - and after all the costumes, and saluting and feathers, it's refreshing to see a band who are happy to perform as a band. Pity they're just not very good.

Hasslehoff flirting with Fearne Cotton. Who knew there was a 'down' from Holmes and YoYo slathering over Kylie?

9.22
Rory Cellan-Jones is apparently using the Brits as background noise: "perfect TV to watch when doing something else(blogging about myspace), requires no concentration whatsoever".

Another Craig David joke. Perhaps not listening might work for us all.

The Critics Choice award now - pre-ordained to go to Florence and the Machine. In return, they get three seconds of a video played. "There is no machine" observes Shawndra, as ITV blank out the soundtrack again. If the critics really love them - and they should - couldn't they have a, you know, slot to play some music? Wouldn't that be a good idea?

But they have to chase Florence off, to make room for Gok Wan. "Do you look good naked?" asks Gok. It's the music industry, Gok. You don't want to picture the head of A&R fromanywhere anything other than fully dressed.

International male, is it? Do they check Beck is still alive before they pop him on the shortlist each year?

Kanye West couldn't even be arsed to find a decent place to film the acceptance video - it looks like he's in his garage.

"It's time" warns Kylie "for one of those unique collaborations that can only happen at the Brits."

Ting Tings and Estelle, then.

The Ting Tings, hilariously, in today's Guardian claim to still feel like outsiders. Estelle seems to have just been told to sing her song over the top of Shut Up And Let Me Go. they said at the start this was the first time they'd performed together - who knew that meant they hadn't even rehearsed?

9.30
How far doesn't this work? MDG27 is begging for the Klaxons and Rihanna gto come back.

Ouch - an awful crunch of gears into That's Not My Name. You'd have thought they'd at least get Estelle to do the singing bit... oh, she just has, and she's out of tune.

9.35
ChuckDarw1n pointing out Twitter is putting him off the idea of watching the Brits on TV.

Alan Carr is giving the best single prize - the only one that we're to suppose hadn't been leaked beforehand, anyway. Nice to hear a reference to High And Mighty, the bigfatbloke trouser shop.

What have the people done to us? Its... Girls Aloud, winning for Promises. "It's official" says Fearne "Girls Aloud are national treasures." Because they won an ITV phone vote? Don't they only exist because of an ITV phone vote?

You're doing a boring list of thanks. You're never having an award again. "This", apparently, "is the cherry on the cake."

9.40
"It's the one we've all been waiting for" says Kylie... has the last hour and forty minutes been nothing more than an empty sham, them? [Runs through Sky+] Oh.

Tom Jones has come on, trying to make a lewd remark about Girls Aloud but accidentally winding up sounding quite sweet.

This is album of the year, by the way.

Maiko Miyabi has it about right:
Tom Jones = hasn't it been a great night? Audience = indifferent.

Bloody hell, Duffy wins again.

Fearne puts it into context, with all these awards she's entered an exalted plane occupied by the likes of Robbie Williams and, erm, The Darkness. So: scrubbing floors and hiding from blinking lights in twelve months, then?

Duffy is trying to claim that she paid her dues - "I travelled this country playing my songs to old ladies who are probably watching this saying that they'd heard my songs"... okay, we were wrong, Duffy. Don't prepare anything. You're better winging it.

Fearne announces the next performance will go down in Brits history. Shouldn't we at least wait until it's happened before popping it into the history books?

9.44
Scott Mills off the radio is chivving the Girls Aloud: "Sarah Harding seems to be having fun anyway. May be the others could follow her lead..." Only it's not Scott, of course, he's too grand to update his own Twitterfeed.

9.46
"How many of the top ten bands are British?" asks the trail for the News At Ten. Please keep watching! Nobody ever watches us! We'll talk about pop, if you like that.

Brandon Flowers looks like Maxwell Demon as he comes on to give a prize to the Pet Shop Boys for still going. Flowers is detailing this one time he was in a record shop trying to choose between The Pet Shop Boys and The Smiths and... oh, he chose the Pet Shop Boys. Has Flowers *really* always believed Chris Lowe to be some "sort of wizard"? Really?

Oh, please just bring them on.

They're accepting a big floating heads on the screen! This is what we want! And now Lady GaGa has come out of their giant floating head. (No, not really, it's just Chris in a wig.)

if you must do gimmicks, make them great gimmicks.

Louis Walsh looks confused and a little frightened.

Unfortunately, it sounds a little less than Earls Court filling.

Suburbia.

9.50
Neil Tennant's coat looks a bit like a DIY bondage outfit. Not self-bondage; bondage with DIY equipment.

You have to wonder if they should try giving this award to Erasure next year. Clearly, nobody under the age of thirty is going to make it to the end of the event, so inviting along someone to do a bit of a Stars On 45 of their greatest, mostly forgotten hits is quite a nice way to end.

Go West has brought more marching people onto the stage - perhaps they're being drilled by U2 backstage?

9.55
Here's Lady GaGa, singing What Have I Done To Deserve This, as, erm Gordon Smart didn't announce exclusively in the Sun. Presumably, though, she'll have to come back to do more than just a couple of lines?

Brandon Flowers is now on, having a crack at making It's A Sin a little less in tune. He bought a Pet Shops Boy best of back when he was a kid, you know.

9.57
Actually... I think I'd have preferred a reminder of a couple of the truly great songs they've done, rather than being reminded of snatches of absolutely every thing they ever released.

Another shot of Matt Lucas, and David Walliams jiggling about pretending that he doesn't think he's the Chris Lowe of his double act.

GaGa back for West End Girls. Did I mention she was wearing a waste-paper basket on her head?

10.00
And there's the closing credits... is nobody going to actually say goodbye to us? That's just bad manners, surely?

So, what was that, then? Not a car-crash like last years, just rolling on, in a safe way. And even the Pet Shop Boys felt like they wound up not going anywhere - particularly with all the excitement over the collaborations turning into little more than a couple of lines being sung along. And surely Neil Tenant knows that you need to have a crescendo to end on? Some balloons or something?

Jemima Kiss tweets "The Brits is just a dirty great marketing exercise. Fifty teens at the front & the rest of the audience is suits. I prefer Dicky Atten'bro." - but she forgets to mention the fifty teens are hand-picked from the Brits school.

Actually, that was missing this year, wasn't it? Normally they throw in one or two mentions of the Brits school, to make it look like the event is a charitable bash, and to pretend the UK music industry is investing in talent - not a word this year. Why so quiet?

10.15
There's now a Brits hashdictionary entry.

Duff and Duffier: That Coke ad again

Sorry to return to the Duffy Diet Coke ad, but it's just appeared online:



It's even worse when you can see it, isn't it?

There's even more "explanation" of the "concept" on the Creative Review blog:

“It used to be about girls using their breaks to ogle construction workers, but now they’ve got better things to do than sit around and wait for semi-naked men,” says Jonny Ng, creative on the ad. “Diet Coke’s now about inspiring women to take control and do the right thing for themselves.”

Wow. It's not about making you a little less thirsty, then?

Duffy was chosen for the ad because “she’s the epitome of the Diet Coke girl”, continues Ng. “Aspirational, ambitious but knows when to duck out and do her own thing. In the ad she celebrates taking a moment to herself by belting out Sammy Davis Jr.’s ‘I’ve got to be me’.”

She celebrates "taking a moment to herself"? Does Ng actually listen to himself when he's saying stuff like this?

And if she's so busily "doing her own thing", how come she's caving into the demands of society by 'dieting' with a Diet Coke? Huh?

Actually, it looks like she's stolen a bicycle and is celebrating that. Diet Coke: The choice for bicycle thieves.

Duffy and duffer: Flat

Scientist reckon that apspartame can cause brain damage, although there is little evidence that drinking products which contain it - like Diet Coke - will impair judgement in human consumers.



Oh.

Yes, that's Duffy, pitching Diet Coke. Holy Moly has seen it:

[It] shows Duffy leaving an audience waiting for an encore so that she can borrow a bike and go to a supermarket to get a Diet Coke while singing the Sammy Davis Jnr song 'I've Got To Be Me'.

Coke have said that they picked the song because it "celebrates women's right to express their individuality and take control".

That's exactly what Sammy Davis Junior had in mind when he was singing it, too. That's a fact.

And how better to express your individuality by looking like a half-wit in order to sell fizzy pop, eh?

Gordon in the morning: Touché, Lily

Gordon stands on the sidelines as Lily Allen takes on Mike Skinner, applauding. Or at least copying stuff down from MySpace:

She said: “There’s a guy called Mike Skinner who records as The Streets and he did a record that basically talked about how awful it was to be rich and famous. I found that really boring.

“I’m always aware when I’m writing songs that other people have to be able to relate to them. If you look at a song like Not Fair, I think probably quite a lot of girls feel unsatisfied by their boyfriends in bed. I do. I think girls relate to that.”

You're right, Lily - god, Mike Skinner and his couplets about getting getting rich and famous and taking your clothes off and packing plastic and not knowing how it's supposed to make you feel. Oh... hang on, that one's yours, isn't it, Lily? You know, the song at number one that talks about how awful it is to be rich and famous?

And given that Skinner also managed to make an album out of a broken television and missing the return deadline for a DVD rental store, you might wonder if Allen has chosen the wrong target.

And since when did every song you listen to have to reflect your own life, anyway?

Perhaps she should stick to talking about drugs.

Still, Gordon must have taken in all this, and prepared a real zinger of a riposte, right?

It takes a brave man to date Lily.

Uh...

Let's move on, shall we? Mick Jagger has issued some sort of statement to kick off Brits week:

Mick thinks this is one of the best EVER times for British music — and he ruled rock for five decades.

He told me: “With British acts doing so well at the Grammys last week it’s proving to be a great period for home-grown talent right now.

“And what is so refreshing is the different styles that have been recognised — COLDPLAY, DUFFY, ADELE and RADIOHEAD make up an eclectic bunch, proving there’s a lot of fresh British talent out there.

“I like that these acts have paid their dues in the way we had to. There is certainly an upsurge of diverse Brit acts breaking through in the US and overseas — good to see it. Long may it continue.”

Jagger's ruled rock for five decades? What, from exile since about 1985?

Still, let's applaud that diversity - Coldplay, with their slow guitar music, Duffy, with her slightly faster guitar music, Adele, with her slow guitar music, but with a woman singing, and Radiohead, who make music that covers "everything else".

It's a pity Gordon didn't reveal if Jagger had memorised the BPI press release he was quoting, or if he was just reading it down the phoneline. Actually, Jagger's so rich, he might have a device which allows him to cut and paste someone else's words into his actual conversation.

Nice to see Jagger so enthusiastic about "paying dues", too - slightly ironic from a man whose band arranges tours to avoid paying taxes as far as possible. Even if you do accept that it's a Good Thing to slog around the lower levels before achieving success, it's hardly as if Adele and Duffy spent five or six years humping drumkits into TJs and the Roadmenders, working their way up through indie labels, before landing a slot on a major and releasing two overlooked albums before their breakthrough.

Still, this time, Gordon, you must have a zinger, right?

I can’t wait to toast them all at Wednesday’s bash.

Oh.

Bernard Butler: I hate you, Britpop reunions

Bernard Butler is as angry as a wasp in a sweetshop window with all these Britpop reunions:

"There's an awful lot of Britpop reunions going on at the moment and I find it embarrassing personally.

"I think it's got no relevance to what's going on at the moment."

Mmm. It;d be much better for the kids to listen to something of the moment like, erm, Duffy, right?

"I've never had an offer to do anything as Suede.

"I'm obsessively opposed to nostalgia. I hate the idea of it. It doesn't work. And it doesn't interest with me at all.

"What's important is not what I did last week, it's what I'm going to do next week. I made great records - I love them. My kids play them now. But that's for them and everyone else."

The key words, of course, are "as Suede". What with The Tears being completely different, and all.

Duffy: It depends what you mean by experimental

How much credence should we give to reports in the Daily Star that Duffy is going to swap Springfield-lite for Carey-cloning?.

None, obviously, because it was in the Daily Star; it's like pondering how far one should take Nostradamus to heart when planning for the summer. Even by the Star's own rotten standards, though, this one makes no sense:

A source tells the publication, "Duffy and the team around her are very aware at how successful she has been by channelling the '60s vibe, but they are already starting to think about album number two.

"She is keen to explore a Mariah (Carey) or Christina Aguilera style of album. On the next record Duffy can afford to be a bit more experimental now that she is assured her position as a singing force to be reckoned with."

Ye-e-s. "We've got this goose laying golden eggs - shall we have a poke about with it and see if we can get it to lay ordinary eggs as well?"

Experimenting with producing by-the-yard, mainstream-no-skirt pop? How is that experimenting? It's like going in to an Indian restaurant to have something different and ordering the chicken and chips, surely?

Grammys: It's a UK victory, and we don't even have to pretend that Lil'Wayne comes from Solihull

It would be nice to think that the garlanding of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss's Raising Sand was an attempt by the US recording industry to try and head off any thoughts of a Led Zep resuurection. But it's even nicer to think that a bloody good record has been given prizes.

If it was just Alison Krauss, though, would it have picked up so many prizes?

Great news for Joe Satriani, as his song picked up Song Of The Year. Oh, or Coldplay's song. We'll see what the judge says on that one. Can Satriani now demand the small, metal gramophone as part of his settlement if he wins? Or, if it turns out that Coldplay didn't write Viva La Vida, and ripped it off from the olden days, do they have to reconsider this category? Can the song of the year be written in the past?

Duffy and Adele and Estelle all picked up prizes, which will almost certainly generate a few dozen "New British invasion" think pieces, although how many of those will acknowledge the marketing teams whose victory this really is we'll have to wait and see.

The drama of the night was the non-appearance of Rhianna or boyfriend Chris Brown; Brown was busy elsewhere as he'd given himself up at the police station just before the event started. They were keen to talk to him about an attack on a woman on Saturday night; he was hoping it would avoid having to watch U2 opening the show.

Here's the full list of winners - along with the full list of losers. You're not really interested, are you? In which case, leap over them:
ALBUM OF THE YEAR

"Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends"
Coldplay
Markus Dravs, Brian Eno & Rik Simpson, producers; Michael H. Brauer, Markus
Dravs, John O'Mahoney, Rik Simpson & Andy Wallace, engineers/mixers; Bob Ludwig,
mastering engineer
[Capitol Records]

"Tha Carter III"
Lil Wayne
Babyface, Brisco, Fabolous, Jay-Z, Kidd Kidd, Busta Rhymes, Juelz Santana, D.
Smith, Static Major, T-Pain & Bobby Valentino, featured artists; Alchemist,
David Banner, Vaushaun "Maestro" Brooks, Cool & Dre, Andrews "Drew"Correa,
Shondrae "Mr. Bangladesh"Crawford, Darius "Deezle"Harrison, Jim Jonsin, Mousa,
Pro Jay, Rodnae, Skillz & Play, D. Smith, Swizz Beatz, Robin Thicke, T-Pain &
Kanye West, producers; Angel Aponte, Joshua Berkman, Andrew Dawson, Joe G,
Darius "Deezle" Harrison, Fabian Marasciullo, Miguel Scott, Robin Thicke, Julian
Vasquez & Gina Victoria, engineers/mixers; Vlado Meller, mastering engineer
[Universal Motown/Cash Money]

"Year Of The Gentleman"
Ne-Yo
Chuck Harmony, Ne-Yo, Polow Da Don, StarGate, Stereotypes, Syience, Shea Taylor
& Shomari "Sho" Wilson, producers; Kirven Arrington, Jeff Chestek, Kevin "KD" Davis, Mikkel Eriksen, Jaymz Hardy Martin, III, Geno Regist, Phil Tan & Tony
Terrebonne, engineers/mixers; Herb Powers, Jr., mastering engineer
[Def Jam/Compound]

WINNER: "Raising Sand"
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
T Bone Burnett, producer; Mike Piersante, engineer/mixer; Gavin Lurssen,
mastering engineer
[Rounder]

"In Rainbows"
Radiohead
Nigel Godrich, producer; Nigel Godrich, Dan Grech-Marguerat, Hugo Nicolson &
Richard Woodcraft, engineers/mixers; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer
[TBD Records]

BEST FEMALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE
WINNER: "Chasing Pavements"
Adele
Track from: 19
[Columbia/XL]
"Love Song"
Sara Bareilles
Track from: Little Voice
[Epic]
"Mercy"
Duffy
Track from: Rockferry
[Mercury]
"Bleeding Love"
Leona Lewis
[J Records/SYCO Music]
"I Kissed A Girl"
Katy Perry
Track from: One Of The Boys
[Capitol Records]
"So What"
Pink
[LaFace]

BEST MALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE
"All Summer Long"
Kid Rock
Track from: Rock N Roll Jesus
[Atlantic]
WINNER: "Say"
John Mayer
Track from: Continuum
[Columbia]
"That Was Me"
Paul McCartney
Track from: Amoeba's Secret
[Hear Music/MPL Communications Ltd.]
"I'm Yours"
Jason Mraz
Track from: We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.
[Atlantic]
"Closer"
Ne-Yo
Track from: Year Of The Gentleman
[Def Jam/Compound Entertainment]
"Wichita Lineman"
James Taylor
Track from: Covers
[Hear Music]

RECORD OF THE YEAR
"Chasing Pavements"
Adele
Eg White, producer; Tom Elmhirst & Steve Price, engineers/mixers
Track from: 19
[XL Recordings/Columbia]
"Viva La Vida"
Coldplay
Markus Dravs, Brian Eno & Rik Simpson, producers; Michael Brauer & Rik Simpson, engineers/mixers
Track from: Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
[Capitol Records]
"Bleeding Love"
Leona Lewis
Simon Cowell, Clive Davis & Ryan "Alias" Tedder, producers; Craig Durrance, Phil Tan & Ryan "Alias" Tedder, engineers/mixers
[J Records/SYCO Music]
"Paper Planes"
M.I.A
Diplo, producer; Switch, engineer/mixer
Track from: Kala
[Interscope]
WINNER: "Please Read The Letter"
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
T Bone Burnett, producer; Mike Piersante, engineer/mixer
Track from: Raising Sand
[Rounder]

BEST NEW ARTIST
WINNER: Adele
Duffy
The Jonas Brothers
Lady Antebellum
Jazmin Sullivan

BEST ROCK ALBUM
WINNER: "Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends"
Coldplay
[Capitol Records]
"Rock N Roll Jesus"
Kid Rock
[Atlantic]
"Only By The Night"
Kings Of Leon
[RCA Records]
"Death Magnetic"
Metallica
[Warner Bros.]
"Consolers Of The Lonely"
The Raconteurs
[Third Man/Warner Bros.]

BEST SOLO ROCK VOCAL PERFORMANCE
WINNER: "Gravity"
John Mayer
Track from: Where The Light IsLive In Los Angeles
[Columbia]
"I Saw Her Standing There"
Paul McCartney
Track from: Amoeba's Secret
[Hear Music/MPL Communications Ltd.]
"Girls In Their Summer Clothes"
Bruce Springsteen
Track from: Magic
[Columbia]
"Rise"
Eddie Vedder
[J Records]
"No Hidden Path"
Neil Young
Track from: Chrome Dreams II
[Reprise]

BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS
"Rock N Roll Train"
AC/DC
[Columbia]
"Violet Hill"
Coldplay
Track from: Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
[Capitol Records]
"Long Road Out Of Eden"
Eagles
Track from: Long Road Out Of Eden
[Eagles Recording Company II]
WINNER: "Sex On Fire"
Kings Of Leon
[RCA Records]
"House Of Cards"
Radiohead
Track from: In Rainbows
[TBD Records]

BEST ROCK SONG
WINNER: "Girls In Their Summer Clothes"
Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen)
Track from: Magic
[Columbia; Publisher: Bruce Springsteen]
"House Of Cards"
Colin Greenwood, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Philip Selway & Thom Yorke,
songwriters (Radiohead)
Track from: In Rainbows
[TBD Records; Publisher: Warner Chappell Music]
"I Will Possess Your Heart"
Benjamin Gibbard, Nicholas Harmer, Jason McGerr & Christopher Walla, songwriters
(Death Cab For Cutie)
Track from: Narrow Stairs
[Atlantic; Publishers: EMI Blackwood Music/Where I'm Calling From Music/Shove It Up Your Songs/Giant Beat Songs/Please Pass The Songs]
"Sex On Fire"
Caleb Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill & Nathan Followill,
songwriters (Kings Of Leon)
[RCA Records; Publishers: Martha Street Music/Songs of Combustion Music/Music of Windswept, Followill Music/Songs of Combustion Music/Music of Windswept, McFearless Music/Bug Music, Coffee, Tea or Me Publishing/Bug Music]
"Violet Hill"
Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion & Chris Martin, songwriters
(Coldplay)
Track from: Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
[Capitol Records; Publisher: Universal Music-MGB Songs]

BEST HARD ROCK PERFORMANCE
"Inside The Fire"
Disturbed
Track from: Indestructible
[Reprise]
"Visions"
Judas Priest
Track from: Nostradamus
[Epic]
WINNER: "Wax Simulacra"
The Mars Volta
[Universal Motown]
"Saints Of Los Angeles"
Mötley Crüe
Track from: Saints Of Los Angeles
[Motley Records/Eleven Seven Music]
"Lords Of Salem"
Rob Zombie
Track from: Zombie Live
[Geffen/UMe]

BEST METAL PERFORMANCE
"Heroes Of Our Time"
DragonForce
[Roadrunner Records]
"Nostradamus"
Judas Priest
Track from: Nostradamus
[Epic]
WINNER: "My Apocalypse"
Metallica
Track from: Death Magnetic
[Warner Bros.]
"Under My Thumb"
Ministry
Track from: Cover Up
[Megaforce Records]
"Psychosocial"
Slipknot
[Roadrunner Records]

BEST ROCK INSTRUMENTAL PERFORMANCE
"Castellorizon"
David Gilmour
Track from: Live In Gdansk
[Columbia]
"Suicide & Redemption"
Metallica
Track from: Death Magnetic
[Warner Bros.]
"34 Ghosts I-IV"
Nine Inch Nails
Track from: Ghosts I-IV
[The Null Corporation]
"Hope (Live For The Art Of Peace)"
Rush
Track from: Songs For Tibet: The Art Of Peace
[Art of Peace Foundation]
WINNER: "Peaches En Regalia"
Zappa Plays Zappa
[Strobosonic/Razor & Tie Entertainment]

BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM
"Modern Guilt"
Beck
[DGC Records/XL Recordings/Interscope]
"Narrow Stairs"
Death Cab For Cutie
[Atlantic]
"The Odd Couple"
Gnarls Barkley
[Downtown/Atlantic]
"Evil Urges"
My Morning Jacket
[ATO Records]
WINNER: "In Rainbows"
Radiohead
[TBD Records]

BEST POP COLLABORATION WITH VOCALS
"Lesson Learned"
Alicia Keys & John Mayer
Track from: As I Am
[J Records]
"4 Minutes"
Madonna, Justin Timberlake & Timbaland
Track from: Hard Candy
[Warner Bros.]
WINNER: "Rich Woman"
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Track from: Raising Sand
[Rounder]
"If I Never See Your Face Again"
Rihanna & Maroon 5
Track from: Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded
[Def Jam]
"No Air"
Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown
Track from: Jordin Sparks
[Jive]

SONG OF THE YEAR
"American Boy"
William Adams, Keith Harris, Josh Lopez, Caleb Speir, John Stephens, Estelle
Swaray & Kanye West, songwriters (Estelle Featuring Kanye West)
Track from: Shine
[Atlantic/Homeschool; Publishers: Will.I.Am Music/Cherry River Music/Chrysalis Publishing/John Legend Publishing/Cherry River Music/Please Gimme My Publishing/EMI Blackwood Music/Larry Leron Music/Speir Music/Broke, Spoke and Gone Publishing]
"Chasing Pavements"
Adele Adkins & Eg White, songwriters (Adele)
Track from: 19
[XL Recordings/Columbia; Publishers: Universal-Songs of Polygram Int.]
"I'm Yours"
Jason Mraz, songwriter (Jason Mraz)
Track from: We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.
[Atlantic; Publisher: Goo Eyed Music]
"Love Song"
Sara Bareilles, songwriter (Sara Bareilles)
Track from: Little Voice
[Epic; Publisher: Tiny Bear Music]
WINNER: "Viva La Vida"
Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion & Chris Martin, songwriters (Coldplay)
Track from: Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
[Capitol Records; Publishers: Universal Music-MGB Songs]

More than one option

* (Tv) Affair
* (Tv) Love Song

More than one option

* (Film) Visions
* (Tv) Visions

More than one option

* (Film) Nostradamus
* (Tv) Nostradamus

BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM
"Detours"
Sheryl Crow
[A&M Records]
WINNER: "Rockferry"
Duffy
[Mercury]
"Long Road Out Of Eden"
Eagles
[Eagles Recording Company II]
"Spirit"
Leona Lewis
[J Records/SYCO Music]
"Covers"
James Taylor
[Hear Music]

BEST TRADITIONAL POP VOCAL ALBUM
WINNER: "Still Unforgettable"
Natalie Cole
[DMI Records]
"The Sinatra Project"
Michael Feinstein
[Concord Music Group]
"Noël"
Josh Groban
[143/Reprise]
"In The Swing Of Christmas"
Barry Manilow
[Hallmark/Arista]
"Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall"
Rufus Wainwright
[Geffen]

BEST POP INSTRUMENTAL PERFORMANCE
"Love Appetite"
Steve Cropper & Felix Cavaliere
Track from: Nudge It Up A Notch
[Stax]
WINNER: "I Dreamed There Was No War"
Eagles
Track from: Long Road Out Of Eden
[Eagles Recording Company II]
"Fortune Teller"
Fourplay
Track from: Energy
[Heads Up International]
"Steppin' Out"
Stanley Jordan
Track from: State Of Nature
[Mack Avenue Records]
"Blast!"
Marcus Miller
Track from: Marcus
[Concord Jazz]

BEST POP INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM
"Sax For Stax"
Gerald Albright
[Peak Records]
"Greatest Hits Rerecorded Volume One"
Larry Carlton
[335 Records]
WINNER: "Jingle All The Way"
Béla Fleck & The Flecktones
[Rounder]
"The Spice Of Life"
Earl Klugh
[Koch Records]
"A Night Before Christmas"
Spyro Gyra
[Heads Up International]

BEST DANCE RECORDING
WINNER: "Harder Better Faster Stronger"
Daft Punk
Thomas Bangalter & Guy Manuel de Homem-Christo, producers; Thomas Bangalter &
Guy Manuel de Homem-Christo, mixers
Track from: Alive 2007
[Virgin Records]
"Ready For The Floor"
Hot Chip
Hot Chip, producers; Dan Carey, mixer
Track from: Made In The Dark
[Astralwerks/DFA]
"Just Dance"
Lady Gaga & Colby O'Donis
RedOne, producer; Robert Orton, mixer
[Streamline/Interscope/Kon Live]
"Give It 2 Me"
Madonna
Madonna & The Neptunes, producers; Andrew Coleman & Spike Stent, mixers
Track from: Hard Candy
[Warner Bros.]
"Disturbia"
Rihanna
Brian Kennedy, producer; Phil Tan, mixer
Track from: Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded
[Def Jam]
"Black & Gold"
Sam Sparro
Jesse Rogg & Sam Sparro, producers; Jeremy Wheatley, mixer
Track from: Sam Sparro
[Universal Republic Records]

BEST ELECTRONIC/DANCE ALBUM
"New York City"
Brazilian Girls
[Verve Forecast]
WINNER: "Alive 2007"
Daft Punk
[Virgin Records]
"Bring Ya To The Brink"
Cyndi Lauper
[Epic]
"X"
Kylie Minogue
[Capitol/Astralwerks]
"Last Night"
Moby
[Mute]
"Robyn"
Robyn
[Konichiwa/Cherrytree/Interscope]

BEST FEMALE R&B VOCAL PERFORMANCE
"Me, Myself And I"
Beyoncé
Track from: The Beyonce Experience Live Audio
[Columbia/Music World Music]
"Heaven Sent"
Keyshia Cole
Track from: Just Like You
[Geffen]
"Spotlight"
Jennifer Hudson
[Arista]
WINNER: "Superwoman"
Alicia Keys
Track from: As I Am
[J Records]
"Need U Bad"
Jazmine Sullivan
[J Records]

BEST MALE R&B VOCAL PERFORMANCE
"You're The Only One"
Eric Benét
Track from: Love & Life
[Friday/Reprise]
"Take You Down"
Chris Brown
Track from: Exclusive
[Jive]
WINNER: "Miss Independent"
Ne-Yo
Track from: Year Of The Gentleman
[Def Jam/Compound]
"Can't Help But Wait"
Trey Songz
Track from: Trey Day
[Atlantic]
"Here I Stand"
Usher
Track from: Here I Stand
[LaFace]

BEST R&B PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS
"Ribbon In The Sky"
Boyz II Men
Track from: Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA
[Decca Records]
"Words"
Anthony David Featuring India.Arie
Track from: Acey Duecy
[Soulbird/ Universal Republic Records]
"Stay With Me (By The Sea)"
Al Green Featuring John Legend
Track from: Lay It Down
[Blue Note Records]
"I'm His Only Woman"
Jennifer Hudson Featuring Fantasia
Track from: Jennifer Hudson
[Arista Records]
"Never Give You Up"
Raphael Saadiq Featuring Stevie Wonder & CJ Hilton
Track from: The Way I See It
[Columbia Records]

BEST TRADITIONAL R&B VOCAL PERFORMANCE
"A Change Is Gonna Come"
Wayne Brady
Track from: A Long Time Coming
[Peak Records]
WINNER: "You've Got The Love I Need"
Al Green Featuring Anthony Hamilton
Track from: Lay It Down
[Blue Note Records]
"Baby I Know"
(Linda Jones) With Helen Bruner & Terry Jones
Track from: Soul Talkin
[Philerzy Productions]
"Love That Girl"
Raphael Saadiq
Track from: The Way I See It
[Columbia Records]
"In Love With Another Man"
Jazmine Sullivan
Track from: Fearless
[J Records]

BEST URBAN/ALTERNATIVE PERFORMANCE
"Say Goodbye To Love"
Kenna
Track from: Make Sure They See My Face
[Star Trak/Interscope]
"Wanna Be"
Maiysha
Track from: This Much Is True
[Eusonia Records]
WINNER: "Be OK"
Chrisette Michele Featuring will.i.am
Track from: I Am
[Def Jam]
"Many Moons"
Janelle Monae
Track from: Metropolis: The Chase Suite (Special Edition)
[Wondaland/Bad Boy]
"Lovin You (Music)"
Wayna Featuring Kokayi
Track from: Higher Ground
[Quiet Power Productions, LLC]

BEST R&B SONG
"Bust Your Windows"
Salaam Remi & Jazmine Sullivan, songwriters (Deandre Way, songwriter) (Jazmine
Sullivan)
Track from: Fearless
[J Records; Publishers: Nappy Puddy Music/Universal Music-Z Tunes, Salaam Remi Music/EMI April Music, Soulja Boy Tellem Music/Croomstacular Music]
"Customer"
I. Barias, Raheem DeVaughn, C. Haggins, K. Oliver & J. Smith, songwriters
(Raheem DeVaughn)
Track from: Love Behind The Melody
[Jive; Publishers: Universal Music-Z Tunes/Ahmad's World/Universal Music/Nivrac Tyke Music/Fresh Paint Music/HC 1030 Publishing/Universal Music/Tetragrammaton Music/Melodic Piano Productions/HC 1030 Publishing]
"Heaven Sent"
Keyshia Cole, Jason Farmer & Alex Francis, songwriters (Keyshia Cole)
Track from: Just Like You
[Geffen; Publishers: She Wrote It/BMG Songs, J Vibe Publishing, Lex Project Publishing]
WINNER: "Miss Independent"
M.S. Eriksen, T.E. Hermansen & S. Smith, songwriters (Ne-Yo)
Track from: Year Of The Gentleman
[Def Jam/Compound; Publishers: Pen In The Ground Publishing, Universal Music-Z Tunes]
"Spotlight"
Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen & Shaffer Smith, songwriters (Jennifer
Hudson)
[Arista Records; Publishers: Super Sayin' Publishing/Universal Music-Z Songs, Sony/ATV Tunes, EMI Music Publishing]

BEST R&B ALBUM
"Love & Life"
Eric Benét
[Friday/Reprise]
"Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA"
Boyz II Men
[Decca Records]
"Lay It Down"
Al Green
[Blue Note]
"Jennifer Hudson"
Jennifer Hudson
[Arista Records]
"The Way I See It"
Raphael Saadiq
[Columbia]

BEST CONTEMPORARY R&B ALBUM
WINNER: "Growing Pains"
More than one option

* (Film) Growing Pains
* (Tv) Growing Pains


Mary J. Blige
[Geffen]
"Back Of My Lac'"
J. Holiday
[Capitol Records]
"First Love"
Karina
[Def Jam]
"Year Of The Gentleman"
Ne-Yo
[Def Jam/Compound]
"Fearless"
Jazmine Sullivan
[J Records]

More than one option

* (Film) X
* (Film) X
* (Film) X

More than one option

* (Film) Last Night
* (Tv) Late Last Night

More than one option

* (Film) Thank Heaven For Small Favors
* (Film) Heaven Sent
* (Film) Heaven Sent

More than one option

* (Film) Words
* (Film) Milim

More than one option

* (Film) Primo Amore
* (Film) First Love
* (Film) First Love
* (Film) Secrets
* (Film) First Love
* (Film) First Love
* (Film) Hatsukoi
* (Film) Primo Amore
* (Film) Hatsukoi

More than one option

* (Film) Fearless
* (Film) Jet Li's Fearless

BEST RAP ALBUM
"American Gangster"
Jay-Z
[Roc-A-Fella]

WINNER:"Tha Carter III"
Lil Wayne
[Cash Money/Universal Motown]

"The Cool"
Lupe Fiasco
[1st & 15th/Atlantic]

"Nas"
Nas
[Def Jam]

"Paper Trail"
T.I.
[Grand Hustle/Atlantic]

More than one option

* (Film) American Gangster
* (Tv) American Gangster

BEST RAP SOLO PERFORMANCE
"Roc Boys (And The Winner Is)..."
Jay-Z
Track from: American Gangster
[Roc-A-Fella]
WINNER: "A Milli"
Lil Wayne
Track from: Tha Carter III
[Cash Money/Universal Motown]
"Paris, Tokyo"
Lupe Fiasco
Track from: The Cool
[1st & 15th/Atlantic]
"N.i.*.*.e.r. (The Slave And The Master)"
Nas
Track from: Untitled
[Def Jam]
"Sexual Eruption"
Snoop Dogg
Track from: Ego Trippin
[Geffen]

BEST RAP PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP
"Royal Flush"
Big Boi Featuring Raekwon And Andre 3000
[LaFace]
WINNER: "Swagga Like Us"
Jay-Z & T.I. Featuring Kanye West & Lil Wayne
[Roc-A-Fella/Grand Hustle/Atlantic]
"Mr. Carter"
Lil Wayne Featuring Jay-Z
Track from: Tha Carter III
[Cash Money/Universal Motown]
"Wish You Would"
Ludacris Featuring T.I.
[DTP]
"Put On"
Young Jeezy Featuring Kanye West
[Def Jam]

BEST RAP/SUNG COLLABORATION
WINNER: "American Boy"
Estelle Featuring Kanye West
Track from: Shine
[Homeschool/Atlantic]
"Low"
Flo Rida Featuring T-Pain
Track from: Mail On Sunday
[Poe Boy/Atlantic]
"Green Light"
John Legend & Andre 3000
[Columbia/G.O.O.D. Music]
"Got Money"
Lil Wayne Featuring T-Pain
Track from: Tha Carter III
[Cash Money/Universal Motown]
"Superstar"
Lupe Fiasco Featuring Matthew Santos
Track from: The Cool
[1st & 15th/Atlantic]

BEST RAP SONG
WINNER: "Lollipop"
D. Carter, S. Garrett, D. Harrison, J. Scheffer & R. Zamor, songwriters (Lil Wayne Featuring Static Major)
Track from: Tha Carter III
[Cash Money/Universal Motown; Publishers: Young Money Publishing/Warner-Chappell Music, Herbalicious Music/Blackfountain Music/EMI-April Music, JimiPub Music/EMI Blackwood, Three Nails and A Crown Publishing]
"Low"
T. Dillard, M. Humphrey & T-Pain, songwriters (Flo Rida Featuring T-Pain)
Track from: Mail On Sunday
[Poe Boy/Atlantic; Publishers: E-Class Publishing/Top Quality Publishing/NappyPub Music/Zomba Songs]
"Sexual Eruption"
Calvin Broadus, S. Lovejoy & D. Stewart, songwriters (Snoop Dogg)
Track from: Ego Trippin
[Geffen; Publishers: My Own Chit Publishing/EMI Blackwood Music, Shawty Redd Songs/EMI April Music, Pimpin Tha Pen]
"Superstar"
Lupe Fiasco & Soundtrakk, songwriters (Lupe Fiasco Featuring Matthew Santos)
Track from: The Cool
[1st & 15th/Atlantic; Publishers: Hey Lu Chill Music (Heavy As Heaven/Universal Music), 1st & 15th Publishing (Mr. Lopez Music/Universal Music Publishing)]
"Swagga Like Us"
D. Carter, S. Carter, Clifford Harris & Kanye West, songwriters (M.
Arulpragasam, N. Headon, M. Jones, J. Mellor, T. Pentz & P. Simonon,
songwriters) (Jay-Z & T.I. Featuring Kanye West & Lil Wayne)
[Roc-A-Fella/Grand Hustle/Atlantic; Publishers: Crown Club Pub./Warner-Tamerlane/Please Gimme My Publishing/EMI Blackwood/Carter Boys Music/EMI April/Young Money Pub./Warner-Tamerlane/Hollertronix/Domino Publishing/Universal Z Tunes/Univ. Polygram Int'l]
BEST FEMALE COUNTRY VOCAL PERFORMANCE
"For These Times"
Martina McBride
Track from: Waking Up Laughing
[RCA Nashville]
"What I Cannot Change"
LeAnn Rimes
Track from: Family
[Curb Records]
WINNER: "Last Name"
Carrie Underwood
Track from: Carnival Ride
[19/Arista/Arista Nashville]
"Last Call"
Lee Ann Womack
[MCA Nashville]
"This Is Me You're Talking To"
Trisha Yearwood
Track from: Heaven, Heartache And The Power Of Love
[Big Machine]

BEST MALE COUNTRY VOCAL PERFORMANCE
"You're Gonna Miss This"
Trace Adkins
Track from: American Man, Greatest Hits Volume II
[Capitol Records Nashville]
"In Color"
Jamey Johnson
[MCA Nashville]
"Just Got Started Lovin' You"
James Otto
Track from: Sunset Man
[Raybaw]
WINNER: "Letter To Me"
Brad Paisley
Track from: 5th Gear
[Arista Nashville]
"Troubadour"
George Strait
Track from: Troubadour
[MCA Nashville]

BEST COUNTRY PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS
"God Must Be Busy"
Brooks & Dunn
Track from: Cowboy Town
[Arista Nashville]
"Love Don't Live Here"
Lady Antebellum
Track from: Lady Antebellum
[Capitol Records Nashville]
"Every Day"
Rascal Flatts
Track from: Still Feels Good
[Lyric Street Records]
"Blue Side Of The Mountain"
The SteelDrivers
Track from: The SteelDrivers
[Rounder]
WINNER: "Stay"
More than one option

* (Film) Stay
* (Film) Sleeping Dogs Lie


Sugarland
Track from: Enjoy The Ride
[Mercury Records]

BEST COUNTRY COLLABORATION WITH VOCALS
"Shiftwork"
Kenny Chesney & George Strait
Track from: Just Who I Am: Poets And Pirates
[BNA Records]
WINNER: "Killing The Blues"
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Track from: Raising Sand
[Rounder]
"House Of Cash"
George Strait & Patty Loveless
Track from: Troubadour
[MCA Nashville]
"Life In A Northern Town"
Sugarland, Jake Owen & Little Big Town
Track from: Love On The Inside [Deluxe Fan Edition]
[Mercury Records]
"Let The Wind Chase You"
Trisha Yearwood & Keith Urban
Track from: Heaven, Heartache And The Power Of Love
[Big Machine]

BEST COUNTRY INSTRUMENTAL PERFORMANCE
"Sumatra"
Cherryholmes
Track from: Cherryholmes III: Don't Believe
[Skaggs Family Records]
"Two Small Cars In Rome"
Jerry Douglas & Lloyd Green
Track from: Glide
[Koch]
"Sleigh Ride"
Béla Fleck & The Flecktones
Track from: Jingle All The Way
[Rounder]
"Is This America? (Katrina 2005)"
Charlie Haden, Pat Metheny, Jerry Douglas & Bruce Hornsby
Track from: Family & Friends - Rambling Boy
[Decca Records]
WINNER: "Cluster Pluck"
Brad Paisley, James Burton, Vince Gill, John Jorgenson, Albert Lee, Brent Mason,
Redd Volkaert & Steve Wariner
[Arista Nashville]

BEST COUNTRY SONG
"Dig Two Graves"
Ashley Gorley & Bob Regan, songwriters (Randy Travis)
Track from: Around The Bend
[Warner Bros.; Publishers: Songs of Combustion Music, Music of Windswept/Famous Music, Mt. Tallac Music]
"I Saw God Today"
Rodney Clawson, Monty Criswell & Wade Kirby, songwriters (George Strait)
Track from: Troubadour
[MCA Nashville; Publishers: Big Red Toe/Extremely Loud Music, Steel Wheels Music, Steel Wheels Music/Blind Mule Music]
"In Color"
Jamey Johnson, Lee Thomas Miller & James Otto, songwriters (Jamey Johnson)
Track from: That Lonesome Song
[Mercury Records; Publishers: EMI Blackwood Music/Big Gassed Hitties, EMI Blackwood Music/New Songs of Sea Gayle/Noah's Little Boat Music, Eldorotto Music Publishing/Lucky Thumb Music]
WINNER: "Stay"
Jennifer Nettles, songwriter (Sugarland)
Track from: Enjoy The Ride
[Mercury Records; Publisher: Jennifer Nettles Publishing]
"You're Gonna Miss This"
Ashley Gorley & Lee Thomas Miller, songwriters (Trace Adkins)
Track from: American Man, Greatest Hits Volume II
[Capitol Records Nashville; Publishers: EMI Blackwood/New Songs of Sea Gayle/Noah's Little Boat Music/Songs of Combustion Music]

BEST COUNTRY ALBUM
"That Lonesome Song"
Jamey Johnson
[Mercury Records]
"Sleepless Nights"
Patty Loveless
[Saguaro Road]
WINNER: "Troubadour"
George Strait
[MCA Nashville]
"Around The Bend"
Randy Travis
[Warner Bros.]
"Heaven, Heartache And The Power Of Love"
Trisha Yearwood
[Big Machine]

BEST BLUEGRASS ALBUM
"Cherryholmes III: Don't Believe"
Cherryholmes
[Skaggs Family Records]
"Del McCoury Band - Live At The 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival"
Del McCoury Band
[MunckMix]
"The Ultimate Collection / Live At The Ryman"
Earl Scruggs With Family & Friends
[Rounder Records]
WINNER: "Honoring The Fathers Of Bluegrass: Tribute To 1946 And 1947"
Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
[Skaggs Family Records]
"Wheels"
Dan Tyminski
[Rounder]

BEST NEW AGE ALBUM
"Meditations"
William Ackerman
[Compass Productions]
"Pathfinder"
Will Clipman
[Canyon Records]
W"Peace Time"
Jack DeJohnette
[Golden Beams/Kindred Rhythm]
"Ambrosia"
Peter Kater
[Point Of Light Records]
"The Scent Of Light"
Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra
[SSRI]

BEST CONTEMPORARY JAZZ ALBUM
WINNER: "Randy In Brasil"
Randy Brecker
[MAMA Records]
"Floating Point"
John McLaughlin
[Abstract Logix]
"Cannon Re-Loaded: All-Star Celebration Of Cannonball Adderley
(Various Artists)"
Gregg Field & Tom Scott, producers
[Concord Jazz]
"Miles From India"
(Various Artists)
Bob Belden, producer
[4Q/Times Square Records]
"Lifecycle"
Yellowjackets Featuring Mike Stern
[Heads Up International]

BEST JAZZ VOCAL ALBUM
"Imagina: Songs Of Brasil"
Karrin Allyson
[Concord Jazz]
"Breakfast On The Morning Tram
Stacey Kent"
[Blue Note]
"If Less Is More...Nothing Is Everything"
Kate McGarry
[Palmetto Records]
WINNER: "Loverly"
Cassandra Wilson
[Blue Note]
"Distances"
Norma Winstone (Glauco Venier & Klaus Gesing)
[ECM]

BEST JAZZ INSTRUMENTAL SOLO
WINNER: "Be-Bop"
Terence Blanchard, soloist
Track from: Live At The 2007 Monterey Jazz Festival (Monterey Jazz Festival 50th Anniversary All-Stars)
[Monterey Jazz Festival Records]
"Seven Steps To Heaven"
Till Brönner, soloist
Track from: The Standard (Take 6)
[Heads Up International]
"Waltz For Debby"
Gary Burton & Chick Corea, soloists
Track from: The New Crystal Silence
[Concord Records]
"Son Of Thirteen"
Pat Metheny, soloist
Track from: Day Trip
[Nonesuch Records]
"Be-Bop"
James Moody, soloist
Track from: Live At The 2007 Monterey Jazz Festival (Monterey Jazz Festival 50th Anniversary All-Stars)
[Monterey Jazz Festival Records]

BEST JAZZ INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM, INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP
WINNER: "The New Crystal Silence"
Chick Corea & Gary Burton
[Concord Records]
"History, Mystery"
Bill Frisell
[Nonesuch Records]
"Brad Mehldau Trio: Live"
Brad Mehldau Trio
[Nonesuch Records]
"Day Trip"
Pat Metheny With Christian McBride & Antonio Sanchez
[Nonesuch Records]
"Standards"
Alan Pasqua, Dave Carpenter & Peter Erskine Trio
[Fuzzy Music]

BEST LARGE JAZZ ENSEMBLE ALBUM
"Appearing Nightly"
Carla Bley And Her Remarkable Big Band
[WATT]
"Act Your Age"
Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band
[Immergent]
"Symphonica"
Joe Lovano With WDR Big Band & Rundfunk Orchestra
[Blue Note]
"Blauklang"
Vince Mendoza
[Act Music and Vision (AMV)]
WINNER: "Monday Night Live At The Village Vanguard"
The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
[Planet Arts Recordings]

BEST LATIN JAZZ ALBUM
"Afro Bop Alliance"
Caribbean Jazz Project
[Heads Up International]
"The Latin Side Of Wayne Shorter"
Conrad Herwig & The Latin Side Band
[Half Note Records]
WINNER: "Song For Chico"
Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra
[Zoho]
"Nouveau Latino"
Nestor Torres
[Diamond Light Records]
"Marooned/Aislado"
Papo Vázquez The Mighty Pirates
[Picaro Records]

BEST GOSPEL PERFORMANCE
"I Understand"
Kim Burrell, Rance Allen, Bebe Winans, Mariah Carey & Hezekiah Walker’s Love
Fellowship Tabernacle Church Choir
Track from: Randy Jackson's Music Club, Volume One
[Concord Records/Dream Merchant 21 Ent.]
"East To West"
Casting Crowns
Track from: The Altar And The Door Live
[Beach Street/Reunion Records]
WINNER: "Get Up"
Mary Mary
Track from: The Sound
[Columbia]
"Shall We Gather At The River"
Take 6
Track from: The Standard
[Heads Up International]
"Waging War"
CeCe Winans
Track from: Thy Kingdom Come
[PureSprings Gospel/EMI Gospel]

BEST GOSPEL SONG
"Cover Me"
James L. Moss, songwriter (21:03 With Fred Hammond, Smokie Norful & J Moss)
[Verity/Zomba Gospel; Publisher: Millenni-era Music]
"Get Up"
Erica Campbell, Tina Campbell, Warryn Campbell & Eric Dawkins, songwriters (Mary

Mary)
Track from: The Sound
[Columbia; Publishers: Wet Ink Red Music/That's Plum Song/It's Tea Tyme/EMI April/E.D. Duz-It Music/Irving Music/Underdog Songs]
"Give Me Your Eyes"
Brandon Heath & Jason Ingram, songwriters (Brandon Heath)
Track from: What If We
[Reunion Records; Publishers: Sitka6 Music/Peertunes/Grange Hill Music/Windsor Way Music]
WINNER: "Help Me Believe"
Kirk Franklin, songwriter (Kirk Franklin)
Track from: The Fight Of My Life
[Fo Yo Soul Ent./Zomba Gospel ; Publishers: Universal Music-Z Songs/Kerrion Publishing]
"You Reign"
Jim Bryson, Steven Curtis Chapman, Nathan Cochran, Barry Graul, Bart Millard,
Mike Scheuchzer & Robby Shaffer, songwriters (MercyMe)
Track from: All That Is Within Me
[INO Records; Publishers: Simpleville Music/Wet As A Fish Music, Sparrow Song/Peach Hill Songs]

BEST ROCK OR RAP GOSPEL ALBUM
"Hello"
After Edmund
[Slanted Records]
"Our World Redeemed"
Flame
[Cross Movement Records]
"We Need Each Other"
Sanctus Real
[Sparrow Records]
"Rock What You Got"
Superchick
[Inpop Records]
WINNER: "Alive And Transported"
TobyMac
[ForeFront Records/EMI CMG]

BEST POP/CONTEMPORARY GOSPEL ALBUM
"This Moment"
Steven Curtis Chapman
[Sparrow Records]
"What If We"
Brandon Heath
[Reunion Records]
"Opposite Way"
Leeland
[Essential Records]
"Hello Love"
Chris Tomlin
[Sparrow Records/Sixstepsrecords/EMI CMG]
WINNER: "Thy Kingdom Come"
CeCe Winans
[PureSprings Gospel/EMI Gospel]

BEST SOUTHERN, COUNTRY, OR BLUEGRASS GOSPEL ALBUM
"Room For More"
Booth Brothers
[Daywind Records]
WINNER: "Lovin' Life"
Gaither Vocal Band
[Gaither Music Group]
"Steps To Heaven"
Charlie Louvin
[Tompkins Square]
"Hymned Again"
Bart Millard
[INO Records]
"Ephesians One"
Karen Peck & New River
[Daywind Records]

BEST TRADITIONAL GOSPEL ALBUM
WINNER: "Down In New Orleans"
The Blind Boys Of Alabama
[Time Life]
"I'll Say Yes"
The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
Carol Cymbala, producer
[Integrity Music]
"Take It Back"
Dorinda Clark-Cole
[GospoCentric/Zomba]
"Deitrick Haddon Presents . . . Together In Worship"
Voices Of Unity
[Tyscot Records]
"Bishop Charles E. Blake Presents... No Limit"
The West Angeles COGIC Mass Choir
[EMI Gospel]

BEST CONTEMPORARY R&B GOSPEL ALBUM
"Reflections"
Jason Champion
[EMI Gospel/Brooks Entertainment]
WINNER: "The Fight Of My Life"
Kirk Franklin
[Fo Yo Soul Entertainment/ Zomba Gospel]
"The Sound"
Mary Mary
[Columbia]
"Donald Lawrence Introduces: Family Prayer"
The Murrills
[Quiet Water/ Verity]
"Stand Out"
Tye Tribbett & G.A.
[Columbia]

BEST LATIN POP ALBUM
"Cara B"
Jorge Drexler
[Warner Music Latina]
"Palabras Del Silencio"
Luis Fonsi
[Universal Music Latino]
WINNER: "La Vida...Es Un Ratico"
Juanes
[Universal Music Latino]
"Cómplices"
Luis Miguel
[Warner Music Latina]
"Tarde O Temprano"
Tommy Torres
[Warner Music Latina]

BEST LATIN ROCK OR ALTERNATIVE ALBUM
"Sonidos Gold"
Grupo Fantasma
[Aire Sol Records/Grupo Fantasma]
WINNER: "45"
Jaguares
[EMI Music]
"La Verdad"
Locos Por Juana
[Machete Music]
"Tijuana Sound Machine"
Nortec Collective Presents: Bostich & Fussible
[Nacional Records]
"Mediocre"
Ximena Sariñana
[Warner Music Latina]

BEST TROPICAL LATIN ALBUM
"Cuba: Un Viaje Musical - A Musical Journey"
Albita, Rey Ruíz & Donato Poveda
[Apollo Music]
"Renacer"

DLG
[Machete Music]
WINNER: "Señor Bachata"
José Feliciano
[Universal Music Latino]
"Frutero Moderno"
Gonzalo Grau y La Clave Secreta
[2008 Gonzalo Grau]
"Back On The Streets... Taste Of Spanish Harlem Vol. 2"
New Swing Sextet
[Cotique/Emusica Records]

BEST REGIONAL MEXICAN ALBUM
WINNER: "Amor, Dolor Y Lágrimas: Música Ranchera"
Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano
[Smithsonian Folkways Recordings]
"'Desde México: "Cumbia Cusinela"'
Huichol Musical
[ASL]
"Vámonos Pa'l Río"
Los Pikadientes De Caborca
[Norte/Sony BMG]
"Canciones De Amor"
Mariachi Divas
[Shea Records/East Side Records]
"A Puro Dolor"
Nadia
[Warner Music Latina]

BEST TEJANO ALBUM
"Music Lessons"
Chente Barrera y Taconazo
[Qvo Records]
"Friends & Legends"
Joe Posada
[Baby Dude Records]
WINNER: "Viva La Revolucion"
Ruben Ramos & The Mexican Revolution
[Revolution Records]
"All That Jazz..."
Tortilla Factory
[Tortilla Records]
"Heir To The Throne"
Albert Zamora
[Freddie Records]

BEST NORTEÑO ALBUM
"Me Enamore De Un Angel"
Los Palominos
[Urbana Records]
WINNER: "Raíces"
Los Tigres Del Norte
[Fonovisa]
"Corridos: Defendiendo El Honor"
Pesado
[Warner Music Latina]
"Six Pack"
Siggno
[Freddie Records]
"Cuidado"
Solido
[Freddie Records]

BEST BANDA ALBUM
"Tu Inspiracion"
Alacranes Musical
[Fonovisa]
"Que Bonito... ¡Es Lo Bonito!"
Banda El Recodo de Cruz Lizárraga
[Fonsovisa]
"Vive Y Dejame Vivir"
Cuisillos
[Musart/Balboa Records]
"Tiro De Gracia"
Lupillo Rivera
[ASL]
WINNER: "No Es De Madera"
Joan Sebástian
[Musart/Balboa Records]

BEST TRADITIONAL BLUES ALBUM
"The Blues Rolls On"
Elvin Bishop
[Delta Groove Music, Inc.]
"Skin Deep"
Buddy Guy
[Silvertone Records]
"All Odds Against Me"
John Lee Hooker Jr.
[Steppin' Stone Records/CC Entertainment]
WINNER:"One Kind Favor"
B.B. King
[Geffen Records]
"Pinetop Perkins & Friends"
Pinetop Perkins & Friends
[Stoneagle Music/Telarc]

BEST CONTEMPORARY BLUES ALBUM
"Peace, Love & BBQ"
Marcia Ball
[Alligator Records]
"Like A Fire"
Solomon Burke
[Shout! Factory]
WINNER:"City That Care Forgot"
Dr. John And The Lower 911
[429 Records]
"Maestro"
Taj Mahal
[Heads Up International]
"Simply Grand"
Irma Thomas
[Rounder Records]

BEST TRADITIONAL FOLK ALBUM
"Coal"
Kathy Mattea
[Captain Potato Records]
"Comedians & Angels"
Tom Paxton
[Appleseed Recordings]
"Bring Me Home"
Peggy Seeger
[Appleseed Recordings]
WINNER: "At 89"
Pete Seeger
[Appleseed Recordings]
"Strangers In Another Country"
Rosalie Sorrels
[Red House Records]

BEST CONTEMPORARY FOLK/AMERICANA ALBUM
"Day After Tomorrow"
Joan Baez
[Bobolink/Razor & Tie]
"I, Flathead"
Ry Cooder
[Nonesuch Records]
"Sex & Gasoline"
Rodney Crowell
[Work Song/Yep Roc Records]
"All I Intended To Be"
Emmylou Harris
[Nonesuch Records]
WINNER: "Raising Sand"
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
[Rounder Records]

BEST NATIVE AMERICAN MUSIC ALBUM
"Songs From The Black Hills"
Bryan Akipa
[SOAR Corporation]
"Spo'Mo'Kin'Nan"
Black Lodge
[Canyon Records]
"Red Rock"
Northern Cree
[Canyon Records]
WINNER:"Come To Me Great Mystery - Native American Healing Songs"
(Various Artists)
Tom Wasinger, producer
[Silver Wave Records]
"Faith"
Kevin Yazzie
[Canyon Records]

BEST HAWAIIAN MUSIC ALBUM
WINNER: "'Ikena"
Tia Carrere & Daniel Ho
[Daniel Ho Creations]
"'Aumakua"
Amy Hanaiali`i
[Ua Records/Concord]
"Force Of Nature"
Led Kaapana & Mike Kaawa
[Ledward Kaapana & Mike Kaawa]
"Hawaiian Slack Key Kings Masters Series Vol. II"
(Various Artists)
Chris Lau & Milton Lau, producers
[Rhythm And Roots Records]
"The Spirit Of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar"
(Various Artists)
Daniel Ho, George Kahumoku, Jr., Dennis Kamakahi, Paul Konwiser & Wayne Wong,
producers
[Daniel Ho Creations]

BEST ZYDECO OR CAJUN MUSIC ALBUM
WINNER:"Live At The 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival"
BeauSoleil & Michael Doucet
[MunckMix]
"From Now On"
Michael Doucet
[Smithsonian Folkways Recordings]
"Homage Au Passé"
Pine Leaf Boys
[Lionsgate]
"Live At The 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival"
Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys
[MunckMix]
"Cedric Watson"
Cedric Watson
[Valcour Records]

BEST REGGAE ALBUM
WINNER:"Jah Is Real"
Burning Spear
[Burning Music Production]
"Let's Get Physical"
Elephant Man
[VP Records/ Bad Boy]
"Vibes"
Heavy D
[Stride/Universal]
"Repentance"
Lee "Scratch" Perry
[Narnack Records]
"Intoxication"
Shaggy
[VP Records]
"Amazing"
Sly & Robbie
[Fontana International]

BEST TRADITIONAL WORLD MUSIC ALBUM
"Calcutta Chronicles: Indian Slide Guitar Odyssey"
Debashish Bhattacharya
[Riverboat Records/World Music Network]
"The Mandé Variations"
Toumani Diabaté
[Nonesuch Records]
WINNER:"Ilembe: Honoring Shaka Zulu"
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
[Heads Up International]
"Dancing In The Light"
Lakshmi Shankar
[World Village]

BEST CONTEMPORARY WORLD MUSIC ALBUM
"Shake Away"
Lila Downs
[Manhattan Records/Blue Note]
"Banda Larga Cordel"
Gilberto Gil
[Warner Music Latina]
WINNER:"Global Drum Project"
Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain, Sikiru Adepoju & Giovanni Hidalgo
[Shout! Factory]
"Rokku Mi Rokka (Give And Take)"
Youssou N'Dour
[Nonesuch Records]
"Live At The Nelson Mandela Theater"
Soweto Gospel Choir
[Shanachie Entertainment]

BEST POLKA ALBUM
"El Maestro Del Acordeón Y Sus Polkas"
Paulino Bernal
[Urbana Records]
"Speechless"
LynnMarie & Charlie Kelley As The Boxhounds
[Squeeze Records]
"Back To Back Hall Of Fame Polkas"
Walter Ostanek & His Band, Jerry Darlak & The Touch And Bob Kravos & His Band
[Sunshine Diversified Ent.]
"Hungry For More"
Polka Family Band
[Polka Family Music]
WINNER:"Let The Whole World Sing"
Jimmy Sturr And His Orchestra
[Rounder]

BEST MUSICAL ALBUM FOR CHILDREN
"Beethoven's Wig 4: Dance Along Symphonies"
Beethoven's Wig
[Rounder Records]
"Big Round World"
Trout Fishing In America
[Trout Records]
WINNER: "Here Come The 123s"
They Might Be Giants
[Disney Sound]
"Here Comes Brady Rymer And The Little Band That Could"
Brady Rymer And The Little Band That Could
[Bumblin' Bee Records]
"The Shoe Bird"
Gerard Schwarz Conducting The Seattle Symphony
[Brilliance Audio]

BEST SPOKEN WORD ALBUM FOR CHILDREN
"Around The Campfire"
Buck Howdy With BB
[Prairie Dog Entertainment]
"The Big One-Oh"
Dean Pitchford
[Random House Audio/Listening Library]
"Brown Bear And Friends"
Gwyneth Paltrow
[Macmillan Audio]
"The Cricket In Times Square"
Tony Shalhoub
[Macmillan Audio]
WINNER:"Yes To Running! Bill Harley Live"
Bill Harley
[Round River Records]

BEST SPOKEN WORD ALBUM
WINNER: "An Inconvenient Truth (Al Gore)"
Beau Bridges, Cynthia Nixon & Blair Underwood
[Simon & Schuster Audio]
"Born Standing Up"
Steve Martin
[Simon & Schuster Audio]
"I Am America (And So Can You!)"
Stephen Colbert (& Various Artists)
[Hachette Audio]
"Life Beyond Measure"
Sidney Poitier
[HarperAudio]
"When You Are Engulfed In Flames"
David Sedaris
[Hachette Audio]

BEST COMEDY ALBUM
"Anticipation"
Lewis Black
[Comedy Central Records]
"Flight Of The Conchords"
Flight Of The Conchords
[Sub Pop]
"For Your Consideration"
Kathy Griffin
[Columbia/Music With A Twist]
WINNER: "It's Bad For Ya"
George Carlin
[Eardrum Records]
"Songs Of The Bushmen"
Harry Shearer
[Courgette Records]

BEST MUSICAL SHOW ALBUM
"Gypsy"
Robert Sher, producer (Jule Styne, composer; Stephen Sondheim, lyricist) (2008
Broadway Cast With Patti LuPone & Others)
[Time Life]
WINNER: "In The Heights"
Kurt Deutsch, Alex Lacamoire, Andrés Levin, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Joel Moss & Bill
Sherman, producers; Lin-Manuel Miranda, composer/lyricist (Original Broadway
Cast With Lin-Manuel Miranda And Others)
[Razor & Tie Entertainment/Ghostlight Records]
"The Little Mermaid"
Bruce Botnick, Michael Kosarin, Alan Menken & Chris Montan, producers; Alan
Menken, composer; Glenn Slater, lyricist (Howard Ashman, lyricist) (Original
Broadway Cast With Sierra Boggess, Tituss Burgess & Others)
[Walt Disney Records]
"South Pacific"
David Caddick, David Lai & Ted Sperling, producers (Richard Rodgers, composer;
Oscar Hammerstein II, lyricist) (New Broadway Cast With Kelli O'Hara, Paulo Szot
& Others)
[Masterworks Broadway]
"Young Frankenstein; The Musical"
Doug Besterman, producer; Mel Brooks, composer/lyricist (Original Broadway Cast
With Roger Bart, Megan Mullally, Sutton Foster & Others)
[Decca Broadway]

BEST COMPILATION SOUNDTRACK ALBUM FOR MOTION PICTURE, TELEVISION OR OTHER VISUAL MEDIA
"American Gangster"
(Various Artists)
[Def Jam]
"August Rush"
(Various Artists)
[Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax]
WINNER:"Juno"
(Various Artists)
[Fox Music/Rhino]
"Mamma Mia!"
Meryl Streep (& Various Artists)
[Decca Records]
"Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street"
(Various Artists)
[Nonesuch Records]

BEST SCORE SOUNDTRACK ALBUM FOR MOTION PICTURE, TELEVISION OR OTHER VISUAL MEDIA
WINNER:"The Dark Knight"
More than one option

* (Film) The Dark Knight
L Zharkova, Oleg Kovalov
* (Film) The Dark Knight


James Newton Howard & Hans Zimmer, composers
[Warner Sunset/Warner Bros.]
"Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull"
John Williams, composer
[Concord Records]
"Iron Man"
Ramin Djawadi, composer
[Lionsgate]
"There Will Be Blood"
Jonny Greenwood, composer
[Nonesuch Records]
"Wall-E"
Thomas Newman, composer
[Walt Disney Records/Pixar]

BEST SONG WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURE, TELEVISION OR OTHER VISUAL MEDIA
WINNER:"Down To Earth" (From Wall-E)
Peter Gabriel & Thomas Newman, songwriters (Peter Gabriel)
Track from: Wall-E
[Walt Disney Records/Pixar; Publishers: Walt Disney Music, Wonderland Music/Pixar Talking Pictures/Pixar Music]
"Ever Ever After" (From Enchanted)
Alan Menken & Stephen Schwartz, songwriters (Carrie Underwood)
Track from: Enchanted
[Walt Disney Records; Publishers: Wonderland Music & Walt Disney Music]
"Say" (From The Bucket List)
John Mayer, songwriter (John Mayer)
Track from: Continuum
[Aware/Columbia; Publishers: Sony/ATV Tunes, Specific Harm Music]
"That's How You Know" (From Enchanted)
Alan Menken & Stephen Schwartz, songwriters (Amy Adams)
Track from: Enchanted
[Walt Disney Records; Publishers: Wonderland Music & Walt Disney Music]
"Walk Hard" (From Walk Hard - The Dewey Cox Story)
Judd Apatow, Marshall Crenshaw, Jake Kasdan & John C. Reilly, songwriters (John
C. Reilly)
Track from: Walk Hard The Dewey Cox Story
[Columbia; Publishers: Murder by Television/Apatow Music/Popular Misconception/New Columbia Pictures Music/Colpix Music]

BEST INSTRUMENTAL COMPOSITION
WINNER:"The Adventures Of Mutt" (From Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull)
John Williams, composer (John Williams)
Track from: Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull - Soundtrack
[Concord Records]
"Alegria"
Chick Corea, composer (Chick Corea & Gary Burton)
Track from: The New Crystal Silence
[Concord Records]
"Claire's Closet"
Russell Ferrante, composer (Yellowjackets Featuring Mike Stern)
Track from: Lifecycle
[Heads Up International]
"Danzón De Etiqueta"
Dave Grusin, composer (Lee Ritenour & Dave Grusin)
Track from: Amparo
[Decca]
"Hit The Ground Running"
Gordon Goodwin, composer (Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band)
Track from: Act Your Age
[Immergent]

BEST INSTRUMENTAL ARRANGEMENT
WINNER:"Define Dancing" (From Wall-E)
Peter Gabriel & Thomas Newman, arrangers (Thomas Newman)
Track from: Wall-E - Soundtrack
[Walt Disney Records]
"Down In The Valley"
Frank Macchia, arranger (Frank Macchia Featuring The Prague Orchestra)
Track from: Landscapes
[Cacophony]
"Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love"
Michael Abene, arranger (Joe Lovano With WDR Big Band & Rundfunk Orchestra)
Track from: Symphonica
[Blue Note]
"St. Louis Blues"
Bob Brookmeyer, arranger (The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra)
Track from: Monday Night Live At The Village Vanguard
[Planet Arts Recordings]
"Yesterdays"
Gordon Goodwin, arranger (Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band Featuring Art Tatum)
Track from: Act Your Age
[Immergent]

BEST INSTRUMENTAL ARRANGEMENT ACCOMPANYING VOCALIST(S)
"Alfie"
Vince Mendoza, arranger (Traincha & The Metropole Orchestra)
Track from: The Look Of Love - Burt Bacharach Songbook
[Blue Note]
"Grace"
Cedric Dent, arranger (Take 6)
Track from: The Standard
[Heads Up International]
WINNER: "Here's That Rainy Day"
Nan Schwartz, arranger (Natalie Cole)
Track from: Still Unforgettable
[DMI Records]
"Johnny One Note"
Don Sebesky, arranger (John Pizzarelli)
Track from: With A Song In My Heart
[Telarc International]
"Lazy Afternoon"
Claus Ogerman, arranger (Danilo Perez)
Track from: Across The Crystal Sea
[Emarcy]

BEST RECORDING PACKAGE
WINNER: "Death Magnetic"
Bruce Duckworth, Sarah Moffatt & David Turner, art directors (Metallica)
[Warner Bros.]
"Hawk Nelson...Is My Friend!"
Don Clark, art director (Hawk Nelson)
[BEC Recordings]
"Nouns"
No Age & Brian Roettinger, art directors (No Age)
[Sub Pop]
"Radio Retaliation"
Neal Ashby, Matthew Curry & Patrick Donohue, art directors (Thievery
Corporation)
[ESL Music]
"Summer Rains"
Amanda Barrett, Abby DeWald, Renee Jablow & Rick Whitmore, art directors (The
Ditty Bops)
[The Green Witch Society]

BEST BOXED OR SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION PACKAGE
"Ghosts I-IV"
Trent Reznor & Rob Sheridan, art directors (Nine Inch Nails)
[The Null Corporation]
WINNER: "In Rainbows"
Stanley Donwood, Mel Maxwell & Xian Munro, art directors (Radiohead)
[TBD Records]
"Poems & Songs"
Qing-Yang Xiao, art director (Wu Sheng)
[Ring of Fire Music]
"Pretty. Odd."
Alex Kirzhner & Panic At The Disco, art directors (Panic At The Disco)
[Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen]
"@#%&*! Smilers"
Aimee Mann & Gail Marowitz, art directors (Aimee Mann)
[SuperEgo Records]

BEST ALBUM NOTES
"Art Of Field Recording Volume I: Fifty Years Of Traditional American Music Documented By Art Rosenbaum"
Art Rosenbaum, album notes writer (Various Artists)
[Dust-To-Digital]
"Debate '08: Taft And Bryan Campaign On The Edison Phonograph"
Patrick Feaster & David Giovannoni, album notes writers (William Jennings Bryan
& William Howard Taft)
[Archeophone Records]
WINNER:"Kind Of Blue: 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition"
Francis Davis, album notes writer (Miles Davis)
[Columbia/Legacy Recordings]
"Rare & Unreleased Recordings From The Golden Reign Of The Queen Of Soul"
David Ritz & Jerry Wexler, album notes writers (Aretha Franklin)
[Rhino/Atlantic]
"The Unsung Father Of Country Music: 1925-1934"
Henry "Hank" Sapoznik, album notes writer (Ernest V. Stoneman)
[5-String Productions]

BEST HISTORICAL ALBUM
WINNER:"Art Of Field Recording Volume I: Fifty Years Of Traditional American Music Documented By Art Rosenbaum"
Steven Lance Ledbetter & Art Rosenbaum, compilation producers; Michael Graves,
mastering engineer (Various Artists)
[Dust-To-Digital]
"Classic Columbia, OKeh And Vocalion Lester Young With Count Basie (1936-1940)"
Scott Wenzel, compilation producer; Malcolm Addey, Michael Brooks, Matt
Cavaluzzo, Andreas Meyer & Mark Wilder, mastering engineers (Lester Young With
Count Basie)
[Mosaic Records]
"Debate '08: Taft And Bryan Campaign On The Edison Phonograph"
David Giovannoni, Meagan Hennessey & Richard Martin, compilation producers;
Richard Martin, mastering engineer (William Jennings Bryan & William Howard
Taft)
[Archeophone Records]
"Polk Miller & His Old South Quartette"
Ken Flaherty, Jr., compilation producer; Marcos Sueiro Bal, Ken Flaherty, Jr.,
Kurt Nauck & Glenn Sage, mastering engineers (Polk Miller & His Old South
Quartette)
[Tompkins Square]
"To Be Free: The Nina Simone Story"
Richard Seidel, compilation producer; Mark G. Wilder, mastering engineer (Nina
Simone)
[RCA/Legacy Recordings]

BEST ENGINEERED ALBUM, NON-CLASSICAL
WINNER:"Consolers Of The Lonely">
Joe Chiccarelli, Vance Powell & Jack White III, engineers (The Raconteurs)
[Third Man/Warner Bros.]
"Just A Little Lovin'"
Al Schmitt, engineer (Shelby Lynne)
[Lost Highway Records]
"Lay It Down"
Jimmy Douglass, Russell "The Dragon" Elevado & John Smeltz, engineers (Al Green)
[Blue Note]
"Still Unforgettable"
Al Schmitt, engineer (Natalie Cole)
[DMI Records]
"We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things."
Dyre Gormsen & Tony Maserati, engineers (Jason Mraz)
[Atlantic]

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, NON-CLASSICAL
Danger Mouse
Attack & Release (The Black Keys) (A)
Modern Guilt (Beck) (A)
The Odd Couple (Gnarls Barkley) (A)
Nigel Godrich
In Rainbows (Radiohead) (A)
Johnny Karkazis (Johnny K)
Big Bad World (Plain White T's) (A)
The Illusion Of Progress (Staind) (A)
Light From Above (Black Tide) (A)
3 Doors Down (3 Doors Down) (A)
WINNER:Rick Rubin
Death Magnetic (Metallica) (A)
Home Before Dark (Neil Diamond) (A)
Mercy (Dancing For The Death Of An Imaginary Enemy) (Ours) (A)
Seeing Things (Jakob Dylan) (A)
Weezer (Red Album) (Weezer) (A)
will.i.am
American Boy (Estelle Featuring Kanye West) (T)
Encanto (Sergio Mendes) (A)
Funky Bahia (Sergio Mendes Featuring will.i.am & Siedah Garrett) (T)
In The Ayer (Flo Rida Featuring will.i.am) (T)
Pick It Up (Fergie) (T)
Picture Perfect (Chris Brown Featuring will.i.am) (T)
What's Your Name (Usher Featuring will.i.am) (T)

BEST REMIXED RECORDING, NON-CLASSICAL
"Closer (StoneBridge Radio Edit)"
StoneBridge, remixer (Ne-Yo)
[Def Jam]
WINNER:"Electric Feel (Justice Remix)"
Justice, remixers (MGMT)
Track from: Oracular Spectacular
[Columbia]
"4 Minutes (Junkie XL Remix)"
Junkie XL, remixer (Madonna Featuring Justin Timberlake)
[Warner Bros.]
"Just Fine (Moto Blanco Remix)"
Moto Blanco, remixers (Mary J. Blige)
Track from: Growing Pains
[Geffen]
"The Longest Road (Deadmau5 Remix)"
Deadmau5, remixer (Morgan Page Featuring Lissie)
Track from: Elevate
[Nettwerk]

BEST SURROUND SOUND ALBUM
"Divertimenti"
Morten Lindberg & Hans Peter L'Orange, surround mix engineers; Morten Lindberg,
surround mastering engineer; Morten Lindberg, surround producer (Øyvind Gimse &
TrondheimSolistene)
[2L]
WINNER:"Mussorgsky: Pictures At An Exhibition; Night On Bald Mountain; Prelude To Khovanshchina"
Michael Bishop, surround mix engineer; Michael Bishop, surround mastering
engineer; Robert Woods, surround producer (Paavo Järvi & Cincinnati Symphony
Orchestra)
[Telarc]
"Rheinberger: Sacred Choral Works"
John Newton, surround mix engineer; Jonathan Cooper & Mark Donahue, surround
mastering engineers; Blanton Alspaugh, surround producer (Charles Bruffy,
Phoenix Bach Choir & Kansas City Chorale)
[Chandos]
"Ringo 5.1 The Surround Sound Collection"
Bruce Sugar, surround mix engineer; Chris Bellman, surround mastering engineer;
Bill Crowley, Ringo Starr & Bruce Sugar, surround producers (Ringo Starr)
[Koch]
"Sensurround + B-Sides"
Toru Takayama, surround mix engineer; Ryuichi Tanaka & Yu Yamaguchi, surround
mastering engineers; Keigo Oyamada, surround producer (Cornelius)
[Everloving]

BEST ENGINEERED ALBUM, CLASSICAL
"Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique"
Fred Vogler, engineer (Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic)
[Deutsche Grammophon]
"Divertimenti"
Morten Lindberg & Hans Peter L'Orange, engineers (Øyvind Gimse &
TrondheimSolistene)
[2L (Lindberg Lyd)]
"Puccini: La Bohème"
Michael Bishop, engineer (Robert Spano & Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus)
[Telarc]
"Respighi: Church Windows, Brazilian Impressions, Rossiniana"
John Newton, engineer (JoAnn Falletta & Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra)
[Naxos]
WINNER:"Traditions And Transformations: Sounds Of Silk Road Chicago"
David Frost, Tom Lazarus & Christopher Willis, engineers (Miguel Harth-Bedoya,
Alan Gilbert, Silk Road Ensemble, Wu Man, Yo-Yo Ma & Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
[CSO Resound]

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, CLASSICAL
WINNER:David Frost
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique (Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic)
Right Through The Bone - Julius Röntgen Chamber Music (ARC Ensemble)
Schubert: Sonata In D Maj.; Liszt: Don Juan Fantasy (Min Kwon)
Traditions And Transformations: Sounds Of Silk Road Chicago (Miguel
Harth-Bedoya, Alan Gilbert, Yo-Yo Ma, Silk Road Ensemble, Wu Man & Chicago
Symphony Orchestra)
David Groves
Baroque (Gabriela Montero)
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas (Jonathan Biss)
Polish Spirit (Nigel Kennedy & Jacek Kaspszyk)
Respighi: Roman Trilogy, Il Tramonto (Antonio Pappano)
Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Martha Argerich)
Judith Sherman
Carter, Elliott: String Quartets Nos. 1 And 5 (Pacifica Quartet)
Piano Music Of Salonen, Stucky And Lutoslawski (Gloria Cheng)
Reich: Daniel Variations (Grant Gershon, Alan Pierson, Los Angeles Master
Chorale & London Sinfonietta)
Riley, Terry: The Cusp Of Magic (Kronos Quartet & Wu Man)
String Poetic (Jennifer Koh & Reiko Uchida)
Robert Woods
Mussorgsky: Pictures At An Exhibition, Night On Bald Mountain, Prelude To Khovanshchina (Paavo Järvi & Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra)
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5, Lieutenant Kijé Suite (Paavo Järvi & Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra)

Puccini: La Bohème (Robert Spano & Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus)
Ravel: Boléro (Erich Kunzel & Cincinnati Pops Orchestra)
Revolutionary (Cameron Carpenter)
Robina G. Young
Beethoven: String Quartets Op. 18, Nos 1-6 (Tokyo String Quartet)

Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 'Eroica' (Andrew Manze & Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra)
Birds On Fire (Fretwork)
Heavenly Harmonies (Stile Antico)
Scattered Rhymes (Paul Hillier, Orlando Consort & The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir)

BEST CLASSICAL ALBUM
"Maria"
Cecilia Bartoli; Christopher Raeburn, producer; Wolf-Dieter Karwatky & Philip
Siney, engineers/mixers (Adam Fischer; Orchestra La Scintilla)
[Decca Records]
"O'Regan, Tarik: Threshold Of Night"
Craig Hella Johnson, conductor; Blanton Alspaugh, producer; John Newton,
engineer/mixer; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Company Of Strings; Company
Of Voices & Conspirare)
[Harmonia Mundi]
"Schoenberg/Sibelius: Violin Concertos"
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor; Hilary Hahn; Sid McLauchlan & Arend Prohmann,
producers; Stephan Flock, engineer/mixer (Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra)
[Deutsche Grammophon]
"Spotless Rose: Hymns To The Virgin Mary"
Charles Bruffy, conductor; Phoenix Chorale; Blanton Alspaugh, producer; John
Newton, engineer/mixer; Jonathan Cooper, mastering engineer
[Chandos]
WINNER:"Weill: Rise And Fall Of The City Of Mahagonny"
James Conlon, conductor; Anthony Dean Griffey, Patti LuPone & Audra McDonald;
Fred Vogler, producer (Donnie Ray Albert, John Easterlin, Steven Humes, Mel
Ulrich & Robert Wörle; Los Angeles Opera Chorus; Los Angeles Opera Orchestra)
[EuroArts]

BEST ORCHESTRAL PERFORMANCE
"D'Indy: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1"
Rumon Gamba, conductor (Iceland Symphony Orchestra)
[Chandos]
"Glazunov: Symphony No. 6, La Mer, Introduction And Dance From Salome"
José Serebrier, conductor (Royal Scottish National Orchestra)
[Warner Classics & Jazz]
"Prokofiev: Scythian Suite, Op. 20"
Alan Gilbert, conductor (Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
Track from: Traditions And Transformations: Sounds Of Silk Road Chicago
[CSO Resound]
WINNER:"Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4"
Bernard Haitink, conductor (Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
[CSO Resound]
"Walden, Chris: Symphony No. 1, The Four Elements"
Chris Walden, conductor (Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra)
[Origin Classical]

BEST OPERA RECORDING
"Dun, Tan: The First Emperor"
Tan Dun, conductor; Michelle DeYoung, Plácido Domingo, Elizabeth Futral, Paul
Groves, Wu Hsing-Kuo & Hao Jiang Tian; Jay David Saks, producer (The
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
[EMI Classics]
"Lully: Psyché"
Paul O´Dette & Stephen Stubbs, conductors; Colin Balzer, Karina Gauvin, Carolyn
Sampson & Aaron Sheehan; Renate Wolter-Seevers, producer (Boston Early Music
Festival Orchestra; Boston Early Music Festival Chorus)
[CPO]
"Monteverdi: L'Orfeo"
Rinaldo Alessandrini, conductor; Sara Mingardo, Monica Piccinini, Anna Simboli &

Furio Zanasi; Jean-Pierre Loisil, producer (Concerto Italiano)
[Naive Classique]
"Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin"
Valery Gergiev, conductor; Renée Fleming, Dmitri Hvorostovsky & Ramón Vargas;
Jay David Saks, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan
Opera Chorus)
[Decca]
WINNER:"Weill: Rise And Fall Of The City Of Mahagonny"
James Conlon, conductor; Anthony Dean Griffey, Patti LuPone & Audra McDonald;
Fred Vogler, producer (Donnie Ray Albert, John Easterlin, Steven Humes, Mel Ulrich & Robert Wörle; Los Angeles Opera Orchestra; Los Angeles Opera Chorus)
[EuroArts]

BEST CHORAL PERFORMANCE
"O'Regan, Tarik: Threshold Of Night"
Craig Hella Johnson, conductor (Company Of Strings; Company Of Voices &
Conspirare)
[Harmonia Mundi]
"Rheinberger: Sacred Choral Works"
Charles Bruffy, conductor (Kansas City Chorale & Phoenix Bach Choir)
[Chandos]
WINNER:"Symphony Of Psalms"
Sir Simon Rattle, conductor; Simon Halsey, chorus master (Berliner
Philharmoniker; Rundfunkchor Berlin)
Track from: Stravinsky: Symphonies
[EMI Classics]
"Szymanowski, Karol: Stabat Mater"
Antoni Wit, conductor; Henryk Wojnarowski, chorus master (Jaroslaw Brek, Iwona
Hossa & Ewa Marciniec; Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra; Warsaw Philharmonic Choir)
[Naxos]
"Tippett: A Child Of Our Time"
Colin Davis, conductor; Joseph Cullen, chorus master (Steve Davislim, Mihoko
Fujimura, Matthew Rose & Indra Thomas; London Symphony Orchestra; London
Symphony Chorus)
[LSO Live]

BEST INSTRUMENTAL SOLOIST(S) PERFORMANCE (WITH ORCHESTRA)
"Bloch/Lees:Violin Concertos"
John McLaughlin Williams, conductor; Elmar Oliveira (National Symphony Orchestra
Of Ukraine)
[Artek]
"Harrison: Pipa Concerto"
Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; Wu Man (Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
Track from: Traditions And Transformations: Sounds Of Silk Road Chicago
[CSO Resound]
"Mozart: Piano Concertos 17 & 20"
Leif Ove Andsnes (Norwegian Chamber Orchestra)
[EMI Classics]
"Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos 2 & 5"
Charles Dutoit, conductor; Jean-Yves Thibaudet (L'Orchestre De La Suisse
Romande)
[Decca Records]
WINNER:"Schoenberg/Sibelius: Violin Concertos"
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor; Hilary Hahn (Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra)
[Deutsche Grammophon]

BEST INSTRUMENTAL SOLOIST PERFORMANCE (WITHOUT ORCHESTRA)
"In A State Of Jazz"
Marc-André Hamelin
[Hyperion]
WINNER:"Piano Music Of Salonen, Stucky, And Lutoslawski"
Gloria Cheng
[Telarc]
"Red Cliff Capriccio"
Wei Li
[First Impression Music]
"Revolutionary"
Cameron Carpenter
[Telarc]
"Strange Toys"
Joan Jeanrenaud
[Talking House Records]

BEST CHAMBER MUSIC PERFORMANCE
"Brahms: String Quartet Op. 51, No. 2, Piano Quintet Op. 34"
Stephen Hough; Takács Quartet
[Hyperion]
WINNER:"Carter, Elliott: String Quartets Nos. 1 And 5"
Pacifica Quartet
[Naxos]
"Folk Songs"
Trio Mediaeval
[ECM New Series]
"Right Through The Bone - Julius Röntgen Chamber Music"
ARC Ensemble
[RCA Red Seal]
"String Poetic"
Jennifer Koh & Reiko Uchida
[Cedille Records]

BEST SMALL ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE
"Divertimenti"
Øyvind Gimse, conductor; TrondheimSolistene
[2L (Lindberg Lyd)]
"Dun: Pipa Concerto; Hayashi: Viola Concerto; Takemitsu: Nostalgia"
Roman Balashov, conductor; Yuri Bashmet; Moscow Soloists (Wu Man)
[Onyx Classics]
"Im Wunderschoenen Monat Mai"
Reinbert De Leeuw, conductor; Barbara Sukowa; Schoenberg Ensemble
[Winter & Winter]
"Monk: Impermanence"
Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble
[ECM New Series]
WINNER:"Spotless Rose: Hymns To The Virgin Mary"
Charles Bruffy, conductor; Phoenix Chorale
[Chandos]

BEST CLASSICAL VOCAL PERFORMANCE
WINNER:"Corigliano: Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems Of Bob Dylan"
Hila Plitmann (JoAnn Falletta; Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra)
[Naxos]
"Fussell, Charles: Wilde"
Sanford Sylvan (Gil Rose; Boston Modern Orchestra Project)
[BMOP/sound]
"Gomidas Songs"
Isabel Bayrakdarian (Eduard Topchjan; Serouj Kradjian; Chamber Players Of The
Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra)
[Nonesuch Records]
"Maria"
Cecilia Bartoli (Adam Fischer; Orchestra La Scintilla)
[Decca Records]
"Terezín: Theresienstadt"
Anne Sofie Von Otter (Christian Gerhaher & Daniel Hope; Bengt Forsberg & Gerold
Huber)
[Deutsche Grammophon]

BEST CLASSICAL CONTEMPORARY COMPOSITION
"Dalbavie: Concerto Pour Flûte"
Marc-André Dalbavie (Peter Eötvös)
Track from: Dalbavie/Jarrell/Pintscher: Flute Concertos
[EMI Classics]
"Gandolfi: The Garden Of Cosmic Speculation"
Michael Gandolfi (Robert Spano)
[Telarc]
WINNER:"Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems Of Bob Dylan"
John Corigliano (JoAnn Falletta)
Track from: Corigliano: Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems Of Bob Dylan
[Naxos]
"Violin Concerto No. 2"
George Tsontakis (Douglas Boyd)
Track from: Tsontakis: Violin Concerto No. 2, Clair De Lune
[Koch Int'l Clasiscs]
"Walden, Chris: Symphony No. 1, The Four Elements"
Chris Walden (Chris Walden)
[Origin Classical]

BEST CLASSICAL CROSSOVER ALBUM
"Baroque"
Gabriela Montero
[EMI Classics]
"Indigo Road"
Ronn McFarlane
[Dorian Sono Luminus]
"Olde School"
East Village Opera Company
[Decca Records]
"The Othello Syndrome"
Uri Caine Ensemble
[Winter & Winter]
WINNER:"Simple Gifts"
The King's Singers
[Signum Records]

BEST SHORT FORM MUSIC VIDEO
"Honey"
Erykah Badu
Erykah Badu & Mr. Roboto, video directors; Megan Gutman, video producer
[Universal Motown]
"Who's Gonna Save My Soul"
Gnarls Barkley
Christopher Milk, video director; Anne Johnson, video producer
[Downtown/Atlantic]
"Another Way To Die"
Alicia Keys & Jack White
PR Brown & MK12, video directors; Mick Ebeling, Sheira Rees-Davies & Jane
Tredget, video producers
[J Records]
"House Of Cards"
Radiohead
James Frost, video director; Dawn Fanning, video producer
[TBD Records]
WINNER:"Pork And Beans"
Weezer
Mathew Cullen, video director; Bernard Rahill, video producer
[DGC/Interscope]

BEST LONG FORM MUSIC VIDEO
"Where The Light Is - Live In Los Angeles"
John Mayer
Danny Clinch, video director; Lindha Narvaez, video producer
[Columbia]
WINNER:"Runnin' Down A Dream"
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Peter Bogdanovich, video director; Skot Bright, video producer
[Warner Bros.]
"Good Girl Gone Bad Live"
Rihanna
Paul Caslin, video director; John Paveley, Ruth Paveley & Rupert Style, video
producers
[Def Jam/SRP Records/Mercury Music Group/Universal Music]
"Respect Yourself - The Stax Records Story"
(Various Artists)
Robert Gordon & Morgan Neville, video directors; Mark Crosby, Robert Gordon &
Morgan Neville, video producers
[Stax/Tremolo Productions/Concord Music Group]
"Amazing Journey: The Story Of The Who"
The Who
Paul Crowder & Murray Lerner, video directors; Murray Lerner, Robert Rosenberg &
Nigel Sinclair, video producers
[Universal Home Entertainment]