Florence + The Machine up for a Grammy

December 2, 2010 by Alan Pedder in Blog

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Florence + The Machine have crossed over to the US in a big way with last night’s Grammy nomination for Best New Artist off the back of last year’s album Lungs. Florence will compete with Justin Bieber, Drake, Esperanza Spalding and fellow Brits Mumford & Sons for the prize when the awards take place on February 13. Go here for the full list of Grammy nominees; below are our highlights:

Anaïs Mitchell’s incredible folk opera Hadestown, which got a perfect 10/10 from us, gets a nod but only in the Best Recording Package category. Not so random when you consider that Righteous Babe Records releases often crop up here, and hopefully Anaïs will receive wider recognition for her masterpiece as a result.

Lady Gaga and Lady Antebellum each received six nominations, including Album Of The Year for The Fame Monster and Need You Now, respectively. Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream also competes in that category. “It’s amazing,” she said of her nomination. “It’s like no other award show, because I feel like you’re being recognised by your peers…when they nominate you, it’s kind of like a win.”

Nominees in the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance category are Sara Bareilles, Beyoncé, Norah Jones, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, while Paramore and Sade both get nominations in the duo/group category. Laurie Anderson’s ‘Flow’ from her 2010 album Homeland is nominated for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. The Best Female Country Vocal Performance category will be contested by Jewel, Miranda Lambert, LeAnn Rimes, Carrie Underwood and Gretchen Wilson. Lambert and Lady Antebellum are also among the nominees for Best Country Album. Rosanne Cash and Mavis Staples are both up for the prize of Best Americana Album from The List and You Are Not Alone respectively, while Patty Loveless’s Mountain Soul II gets a nod for Best Bluegrass Album. Cyndi Lauper’s Memphis Blues will compete for Best Traditional Blues Album, while Bettye LaVette’s Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook is up for the prize of Best Contemporary Blues Album.

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance nominees are Faith Evans, Fantasia, Monica, Kelly Price and Jazmine Sullivan. Monica and Fantasia are also nominated for best R&B album for Still Standing and Back To Me respectively. “I was not expecting anything,” said Monica of her surprise nomination. “I have not been a part of the Grammys, as far as being nominated, since 1999, so at 16 years old I didn’t understand what it means. Now at 30, I’m in shock that I’m considered being nominated.”

The Best Dance Recording category is dominated by women, with entries from Goldfrapp (‘Rocket’), La Roux (‘In For The Kill’), Lady Gaga (‘Dance In The Dark’), Rihanna (‘Only Girl In The World’) and Robyn (‘Dancing On My Own’). Goldfrapp and La Roux are also nominated for Best Electronic/Dance Album. Janelle Monáe picked up two nominations, one for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for her Big Boi collaboration, ‘Tightrope’, and one for Best Contemporary R&B Album for The ArchAndroid.

Among the other female nominees are Carolina Chocolate Drops (Best Traditional Folk Album), Mary Chapin Carpenter (Best Contemporary Folk Album), Bebel Gilberto and Angelique Kidjo (Best Contemporary World Music Album), Margaret Cho and Kathy Griffin (Best Comedy Album), and Lucinda Williams (Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media), for her Elvis Costello duet ‘Kiss Like Your Kiss’, which will appear on her 2011 release, Blessed.