Taylor Swift Gets Zip—and Other Grammy Surprises

Swift, Miley Cyrus score zero nods; tragedy-stung Jennifer Hudson nets three; plus, more snubs and surprises

By Joal Ryan Dec 04, 2008 3:09 AMTags
Taylor Swift, Miley CyrusMichael Buckner/Getty Images for AMA

John Mayer has a reason to get a date (like he needs one). Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus have a shared reason to grouse. Jennifer Hudson has a reason to smile.

We've outlined the top Grammy nominations. Now we're going to sort through all the Grammy nominations—the noteworthy, the weird, and, yes, the snubs. Here goes:

  • Mayer earned his annual ticket to the Grammy party with five nominations, including one for his non-euphemistic duet with Alicia Keys ("Lesson Learned," up for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals), and one for his artistic contribution to The Bucket List ("Say," up for best song written for a movie).
  • Swift cohosted the "nominations concert," watched ex-Joe Jonas and his brothers score a Best New Artist nod—and got nothing. Not a single nomination. (Her just-released album Fearless wasn't eligible, but some of her earlier released songs were.)
  • Like fellow teen Swift, Cyrus didn't rate any nods for her Breakout hits.
  • One day after her estranged brother-in-law was charged with killing three members of her family, Hudson notched three nominations, including one for Best R&B Album for her self-titled debut.
  • Hudson's success helped make for a solid Grammys for American Idol. Fellow alums Jordin Sparks, Fantasia (who dueted with Hudson) and award-favorite Carrie Underwood also represented. Which is good for the show since the likes of Blake Lewis didn't.
  • Tia Carrere—yes, that Tia Carrere—scored as many nominations as Mariah Carey, who can be thankful that the Best Gospel Performance category—she's up for a group sing-along—saved her from getting zip. (Carrere, the former Wayne's World vixen, is up for Best Hawaiian Music Album for her collaboration with Daniel Ho.)
  • Simon Cowell endorsement or no, Leona Lewis, up for three Grammys overall, failed to crack the Best New Artist field.
  • Where was Robin Thicke's name? Listed in the fine print of Lil Wayne's Album of the Year nomination. Thicke was one of the producers and mastering engineers. He received no other nominations.
  • At a combined 126 years old, Paul McCartney and James Taylor are this year's Tony Bennetts in the Male Pop Vocal category.
  • At 50 years old, Madonna is still the Madonna of the Best Dance Recording category. She's also up for her collaboration, "4 Minutes," with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland.
  • One last age thing: Mayer is the only under-40 nominee for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance.
  • Kylie Minogue and Cyndi Lauper are both up for Best 1980s Survivor Electronic/Dance Album.
  • Wayne Brady did not forget the lyrics to "A Change Is Gonna Come," up for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance.