S. Samuel
Bad Boy Records' Janelle Monae has shared her reaction to being nominated to possibly take home multiple trophies from the 2011 Grammy Awards ceremony.
After being announced as a nominee for “Best Urban Perforamnce” (“Tightrope”) and “Best Contemporary R&B Album” (The Arch Android), Monae said she never envisioned being awarded for her music.
“I’m honored, grateful, all those wonderful things to be recognized at such an early stage in my career – you know, this is my first full-length album – however when I wrote The Arch Android, I never wrote it with the intentions of receiving anything…It was always for the people; to uplift them and inspire them and bring people together and to unite people. I’m just most proud of what we’ve done and how the people have gravitated towards it…” (Soul Culture)
Rapper Eminem leads this year’s 53rd Annual awards ceremony.
The rapper also known as Marshall Mathers received 10 total nominations including categories like Album of the Year for his CD Recovery, and Record and Song of the Year for “Love the Way You Lie,” his number one hit with Rihanna. Eminem was also well-represented in the rap categories, receiving additional nominations for Best Rap Song, Best Rap Album, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and more. (WTMA News)
Pop star Bruno Mars followed closely behind with seven nominations.
Bruno Mars received the second-most nominations this year, with seven. Among his nods were in the categories of Record of the Year for his hit with B.o.B, “Nothin’ on You,” Song of the Year, for co-writing Cee-Lo Green‘s viral hit “Forget You,” and Producer of the Year, Non-Classical. Lady Antebellum, Lady Gaga and Jay-Z all received six nominations each. Jay-Z’s collaboration with Alicia Keys on “Empire State of Mind” earned him a nod in the Record of the Year category, while Lady Gaga was nominated in the Album of the Year category for The Fame Monster. Lady Antebellum were present in both the pop and country categories, including Record and Song of the Year for “Need You Now.” (ABC News Radio)
Monae has been under the wing of Bad Boy Records CEO Diddy for over two years.
Rumors about a signing were finally confirmed in March 2008, when Diddyofficially announced Monáe as the newest member of his Bad Boy roster. Monáe promised that the move was not going to compromise any of her artistic integrity or creativity. A re-release of The Chase, featuring bonus content, appeared in August 2008, while the second and third suites of Metropolis were issued together as components of 2010’s The Arch Android. (All Music)
The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards will be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011 and will broadcast live on CBS at 8PM ET/PT.
Check out Janelle Monae speaking on her Grammy nominations below:
