Alright, So Three Ain’t Bad

Nominations for the 49th Annual Grammy Awards were announced today by The Recording Academy, reflecting a year in which multiple genres were represented in top categories, new up-and-comers were nominated alongside established artists, and a diverse array of producers and other creative professionals garnered multiple nominations.

Yawn – press releases can sound so stiff sometimes.

All I wanted to know this morning was whether Madonna was gonna get snubbed – and she didn’t (that much).

Mary J. Blige topped the nominations with eight. The Red Hot Chili Peppers garnered six. James Blunt, the Dixie Chicks, John Mayer, and Prince each earned five nods. Beyoncé, Gnarls Barkley, and Justin Timberlake received four each. Christina Aguilera got two.

In the general field, nominees for Album of the Year are Taking The Long Way by the Dixie Chicks, St. Elsewhere by Gnarls Barkley, Continuum by John Mayer, Stadium Arcadium by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and FutureSex/LoveSounds by Justin Timberlake.

Nominees for Record of The Year are "Be Without You" (Mary J. Blige), "You're Beautiful" (James Blunt), "Not Ready To Make Nice" (Dixie Chicks), "Crazy" (Gnarls Barkley), and "Put Your Records On" (Corinne Bailey Rae).

The Best New Artist nominees are James Blunt, Chris Brown, Imogen Heap, Corinne Bailey Rae, and Carrie Underwood.

This year's Song of the Year nominees are "Be Without You" (performed by Mary J. Blige), "Jesus, Take The Wheel" (performed by Carrie Underwood), "Not Ready To Make Nice" (performed by the Dixie Chicks), "Put Your Records On" (performed by Corinne Bailey Rae), and "You're Beautiful" (performed by James Blunt).

You can find the complete list of nominees here.

Now, on to what I wanted to know: Was the Queen of Pop snubbed?

Nope, she wasn’t. Madonna’s Confessions on a Dance Floor was nominated in the Best Electronic/Dance Album, while the album’s second track, “Get Together” got a nod in the Best Dance Recording category. The singer’s documentary, I’m Going to Tell You a Secret, is up for Best Long Form Music Video.

It would’ve been great to see her get more Grammy love in the main categories; after all, she did have a massively successful worldwide tour to complement an album that was quite the crowd-pleasing smash hit.

But that would be asking too much of an industry that loves to ignore her while secretly wishing she were their BFF.

The Grammys will be held on Sunday, Feb. 11, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, and broadcast live on CBS at 8 p.m.

Photo: Barnes & Noble.com.