Canadians Nominated for 2012 Grammy Awards

Grace Stanisci

When the Grammy Awards announced their nominees earlier this month, it was predicted that huge artists like Kanye West and Adele would sweep away the competition. But the music industry got a bit of a surprise when a number of Canadians were listed alongside the big players.

Last year, Arcade Fire took home the award for Album of the Year and instantaneously spawned the Internet meme "Who is Arcade Fire?" This year, art director Vincent Morisset has been nominated for Best Recording Package for the band's CD/DVD re-release of "The Suburbs." "The package includes the original "Suburbs" disc with two bonus tracks, a 30-minute short film inspired by the album entitled 'Scenes from the Suburbs' and an 80-page booklet with stills from the film and behind-the-scenes photographs," Global News reported.

Rock band Chickenfoot is also in the running under that category for "Chickenfoot III" as well as music titans Jay-Z and Kanye West's disc "Watch the Throne." Chickenfoot is my bet on winning the top prize. Their band logo (a rectangle peace sign that can also be interpreted as a chicken's foot) is displayed in old school red and blue 3D technology and comes with a pair of 3D glasses. Inside the case there are special codes and optical illusions that bring out the inner geek in all of us.

Speaking of our inner geek, a former "Degrassi" star is back in the game. After being nominated for four Grammys last year and coming up empty-handed, Drake is back this year with three nominations: Best Rap Performance and twice for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. At last year's Grammys he performed his current nominated track, "What's My Name?," with Rihanna. Also in this category is Drake's collaboration with DJ Khaled, Rick Ross and Lil Wayne, "I'm On One." We hope this year turns out more favourably for Drake but he has some stiff competition in this category going up against Kanye West, Dr. Dre and Beyonce with Andre 3000.

Ajax, Ontario's punk rock band, Sum 41, has been nominated for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance for their track "Blood in My Eyes." After hearing of the nomination, drummer, Steve Jocz, expressed his gratitude on the band's website:"We're so excited that Blood in My Eyes was nominated for a Grammy. It's truly an honour. That song is one of our favourites off the new album and it's amazing to see it get some recognition. Thanks to everyone for your support!"

Also nominated in this category are the Foo Fighters for "White Limo" and Dream Theater, who scored their first ever nomination for "On The Backs Of Angels." I would love to see a Canuck take home this prize, but I predict that the Foo Fighters will have a big night. Their new album Wasting Light is an incredible and the fan support has been tremendous since its release. So much so that lead singer, Dave Grohl, took to the band's website to address fans saying ,"Thank you all for making "Wasting Light" the most incredible album experience of our band's 17 year history. For real. The fact that a rock and roll record, made in a garage, completely analog to tape with no help from computers, could be a #1 album around the world, AND get a Grammy nomination for "Album of the Year"…well…these days that's no small feat."

Other Canadian nominations include three for Deadmau5 and one for Melanie Fiona for her duet with Cee Lo Green; "Fool for You." Deadmau5 (a.k.a. Joel Zimmerman) is nominated for Best Dance Album for "4x412," Best Dance Recording for his Greta Svabo Bech collaboration "Raise Your Weapon" and Best Remixed Recording for his version of Foo Fighters' "Rope." Deadmau5 is a shoo-in for Best Remixed Recording, but the Grammys always have a way of surprising you.

Melanie Fiona's nomination for "Fool For You" appears in the Best Traditional R&B Performance category against major players like R. Kelly and Eric Benét. The song didn't crack Billboards Top 50 this year but it is still a great record and will hopefully gain some recognition.

The 54th Grammy Awards are set to air on February 12th, 2012. Good luck to all the nominees, especially the Canucks!.