Eminem looks to win elusive album of year Grammy

With his 10 nominations Eminem has the potential to sweep Sunday night's Grammy Awards as well as win that elusive album of the year trophy, a category for which he's had three nominations but never a win.

His favored "Recovery" was 2010's best-selling album of the year and marked a major comeback for Eminem, who had been addled by a prescription drug addiction and critical malaise.

But the gifted and twisted rapper might get tripped up by some fierce competition, including a song that rivals him for coarseness � Cee Lo Green's "(Expletive) You," which is in competition with Eminem's "Love The Way You Lie," featuring Rihanna, in the record and song of the year categories.

Also nominated in the album of the year category are Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs, Lady Gaga's "The Fame Monster," Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" and Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now."

"Need You Now" was the second best-selling album of last year, buoyed by the crossover success of its lovelorn title track. The country song is also nominated for record and song of the year.

Other nominees for record of the year include Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind," the New York native's anthem for his city featuring Alicia Keys, and rapper B.o.B's "Nothin' On You," with a melodious hook courtesy of Bruno Mars.

Although Mars is enjoying solo success on the charts now with "Just The Way You Are," which got him nominated for best pop male vocal performance, the bulk of his seven Grammy nominations come from his collaborative efforts. He is also a co-writer on "(Expletive) You" and his production group, the Smeezingtons, is up for producer of the year.

"(Expletive) You" is an unlikely hit � a retro groove with a vulgar rebuke to a former girlfriend and her new lover. Its popularity was boosted when the clean version of the hit, "Forget You," was performed by Gwyneth Paltrow on Fox TV's "Glee." Paltrow and Green are slated to sing the song on the Grammy telecast on Sunday, along with Jim Henson's puppets, completing an ironic family-friendly transformation of a wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap song.

The Green-Paltrow performance are among the many buzz-worthy moments the Recording Academy has planned for the Grammy telecast, which is performance packed and only doles out a tiny fraction of the academy's 109 categories. The rest are presented in a pre-show ceremony.

Mick Jagger � along with Raphael Saadiqis � is set to perform a tribute to the late soul great Solomon Burke, marking the first time Jagger has sung on the Grammy stage. Also featured on the show will be music legends Bob Dylan and Barbra Streisand. Ailing icon Aretha Franklin will be honored in absentia by Jennifer Hudson, Christina Aguilera and Martina McBride, Yolonda Adams, and Florence Welch of the best new artist nominee Florence and the Machine.

Another best new artist hopeful, Justin Bieber, is set to sing with his friend Jaden Smith (son of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith) and Bieber's mentor, Usher. Eminem is also slated to perform with his mentor, Dr. Dre.

Other artists expected to perform on Sunday's show include Bruno Mars, Arcade Fire, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Drake, Rihanna.

The Grammys will be broadcast on CBS from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Eminem Lady Antebellum likely Grammy favorites

Eminem's Grammy wins are in the double digits, but despite a career that has been as commercially successful as it has been critically acclaimed, he's never won a trophy for album of the year on music's biggest night. On Wednesday, he might get another shot at it. The rapper is a leading favorite when Grammy nominations are announced at the Recording Academy's annual nominations special, broadcast live on CBS at 10 p.m. EST from Club Nokia in Los Angeles. The hourlong show hosted by LL Cool J will include performances from likely nominees Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Miranda Lambert.

Eminem's "Recovery" is the top-selling album of the year so far, with almost three million copies sold. But more than a sales triumph, it's also a creative one, marking a return to form after years of battling prescription drugs, lags between albums, and sub par material with last year's "Relapse." There are no guarantees when it comes to the Grammys, but an album of the year nomination for "Recovery" is about as sure as it gets.

Eminem is also likely to get nominations for either song of the year, record of the year, or both, for hits "Love the Way You Lie," featuring Rihanna, and for "Not Afraid." He's also a virtual lock to be nominated in several rap categories, where he's won the majority of his 11 Grammys.

Lady Antebellum's sophomore album, "Need You Now," was almost as successful as "Recovery" and is the second best-selling album of the year. The country trio is likely to be nominated in their own genre category, but a nomination for song and record of the year for "Need You Now" is also a strong possibility. And they may get a nod in the album category as well. Country singer-songwriter Miranda Lambert may also find herself in the album of the year category for her "Revolver," which won top honors at the Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association awards this year.

Lambert rehearsed for the nominations concert late Tuesday at downtown L.A.'s Club Nokia, backed by a band that included a trio of guitarists as she performed her single "Only Prettier."

"I'm excited to do something for the Grammys," she said. "This is kind of a cool thing for me, an introduction to this world. There's other great artists on the bill, and it's not just country, it's across the board for music genres, and I'm just glad to be here representing country music." Taylor Swift took home the album of the year trophy for her multiplatinum "Fearless" at last season's Grammys. Could 2011 be another crossover year for country artists? "I hope so," Lambert said. "Country music right now, we have a great name for ourselves, and we've all worked real hard to get it out there and make it cool and I think it's working, so I'm glad to be part of it."

Sade is also a key contender for album of the year; her "Soldier of Love" received raves and was a best-seller when it was released in February, her first album in 10 years. Other possibilities for album of the year nominations include Arcade Fire for their CD "The Suburbs" and Jay-Z for "The Blueprint 3," which spawned the massive "Empire State of Mind," another top Grammy contender.

"Empire State of Mind," which features Alicia Keys, could get nominations for song and record of the year. Other possibilities for record of the year include Perry's summer sensation, "California Gurls"; Train for "Hey, Soul Sister"; and two from rapper B.o.B, who had two of the year's biggest hits with "Nothing on You" (featuring Bruno Mars) and "Airplanes" (featuring Eminem and Paramore's Hayley Williams). B.o.B may be nominated for best new artist; rapper Drake is another favorite, along with teen sensation Justin Bieber, a big winner at last month's American Music Awards.

Previous winners from last year, including the Zac Brown Band, Lady Gaga, and Kings of Leon, could also be among the overall nominees. While Eminem, Bieber and Jay-Z are among the biggest names as far as Grammy contenders, mainstream acts represent only a portion of the hundreds of nominees to be announced on Wednesday night in 109 categories ranging from pop to folk to polka to classical and gospel. The Grammys will be awarded Sunday, Feb. 13, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and broadcast live on CBS.

MTV VMA music awards best moments.

Taylor Swift�s forgiving tune, Cher�s moment with Lady Gaga, Kanye�s toast to jerks everywhere, Eminem and Rihanna�s fiery opening, Lindsay Lohan�s cameo, and more�watch highlights and view photos of the 2010 VMAs.

Taylor Swift Forgives Kanye West

In an emotional performance, Taylor Swift forgave Kanye West for hijacking her speech at last year's show. A closer listen to her song, however, reveals that her lyrics do have some bite: �Thirty-two and still growing up now.�




Kanye Toasts Himself

In the grand finale of the show, an apologetic Kanye West toasted himself. While this seems like a logical move for the egomaniac, West�s catchy new song �Runaway� actually contains some not-so-flattering (and slightly NSFW) lyrics pertaining to himself. Yes Kanye, we have been putting up with your [expletive] for way too long. It was a �sincere� apology to Swift�which inspired the audience to give West a standing ovation while chanting his name.



Justin Bieber Gets Drummer Fever

Kim Kardashian kicked off Bieber fever by introducing her falsely rumored boyfriend and Best New Artist winner Justin Bieber. The tween sensation�s performance, seemingly designed under the assumption that if there are 9-year-olds on stage maybe he�d look older, had some strange vocals. Whether it was just nerves or lip synching is unclear, but Bieber tore it up with the sickest drum solo his audience had ever seen. An audience of prepubescent girls, that is.




The Return of the Lohan

As the first woman to host the VMAs in 16 years, Chelsea Handler needed all the inspirational spanks she could get before the show. But in a surprise twist to this opening bit, and in her first major role since being released from rehab, Lindsay Lohan showed that not only can she dole out a proper smack to Handler�s rear, but she can also poke fun at her own struggle with alcohol and the law. Here�s wishing Lohan the best of luck in turning her life around. Let�s hope she wasn�t invited to any VMA afterparties.





Lady Gaga and Legend Cher a Moment

Cher, the �oldest chick with the biggest hair� and a dangerously skimpy outfit at the show, presented the biggest award to the biggest winner of the night Lady Gaga. Accepting the Video of the Year award for �Bad Romance�, Gaga gave her little monsters a treat by announcing the title of her new record and singing the chorus to the album�s title song.



Eminem Sets Stage on Fire

After spending the better part of four years away from the stage while fighting an addiction to prescription drugs, Eminem opened the show by rapping �Love the Way You Lie� with surprise guest Rihanna. The real Slim Shady may be back, but he was unable to stand up to accept his awards for �Not Afraid�, because of a flight to New York for a concert.




Jersey Shore Hot Tub Knocks Up Host

Throughout the program Handler made some family-friendly jokes, like the one about Mrs. Bieber giving birth to her 401(k) plan. But it was when she was making crass jokes in a hot tub with the Jersey Shore cast, however, that she seemed to fit in fine. This may explain why by the end of the bit she was pregnant.

Jay-Z and Eminem to perform in Yankee Stadium

Eminem, Jay-Z rock Yankee Stadium at concert

Midway through his portion of his heavyweight twin billing with Jay-Z at Yankee Stadium, Eminem took a moment to reflect the gravity of performing a concert on a hallowed ground.

But he wasn't talking about the house that Jeter built: Instead, the Detroit rapper acknowledged the borough where they were performing � the Bronx, the origin of hip-hop.

"Do not think that I don't know where I'm at right now," the Detroit rapper told the audience at the sold-out stadium on Monday. "I'm also honored to be on this (expletive) stage in the Bronx, the (expletive) birthplace of hip-hop."

Jay-Z performs during a concert at Yankee Stadium, Monday, Sept. 13, 2010, in New York.


Rapper Eminem performs at Yankee Stadium, Monday, Sept. 13, 2010, in New York.



"I gotta tell y'all it's one of the most wonderful things being here tonight, being from New York City and being in Yankee Stadium," Jay-Z told the roaring crowd.

Both Eminem and Jay-Z, who performed two concerts at Detroit's Comerica Park earlier this month, brought out an all-star cast of friends to mark the occasion. During Eminem's performance, which came first, his guests included his posse D-12, protege 50 Cent, mentor Dr. Dre and new hitmaker B.o.B.

Hometown hero Jay-Z would not be outdone, calling on Kanye West, Coldplay's Chris Martin, sensations Drake and Nicki Minaj, and wife Beyonce to support his set.

Eminem and Jay-Z also performed together during Jay-Z's concert for their joint song "Renegade."

While both sets had star power, the vibe of each performance couldn't have been more different. Eminem's performance was about a triumphant comeback, whereas Jay-Z's was more like another coronation.

Eminem � one of the best-selling rappers of all time � owns the year's top-selling album with "Recovery." The album marks his critical comeback after battling a serious addiction to drugs. His concert began by recounting his struggles via a written montage on screen, and later, Eminem spoke of his gratitude for another chance.

"I missed you (expletives), did you miss me?" he said to the screams of the crowd. "It feels so good to be back."

And he demonstrated it with an impassioned if imperfect show that included new hits like "Love the Way You Lie" and the inspirational "Not Afraid" to now-classics like "Without Me" And "Lose Yourself." Though at times it was hard to hear his live rapping over his voice track, he performed with the ferocity of a boxer trying to regain his championship status, even though Eminem already has achieved it.

For Jay-Z, who has been hip-hop's reigning king for some time now, mingling with rock stars, presidents and baseball champions with ease, Monday's performance only seemed to confirm why he's still one of rap and pop's most engaging figures some 15 years after his debut.

He delivered hits like "99 Problems," "On to the Next One" and "Hard Knock Life" with precision, backed by glitzy graphics. He gave West a moment to shine as West rapped his hits "Power" and "Good Life," and the two brought out Minaj for their buzzed-about new song "Monster." He even showed he was more than rap when he brought out Martin, who sang the chorus for Jay-Z's "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)," then performed the Coldplay hit "Clocks."

The concert lasted well past midnight, and a few thousand in the crowd started to make their way to the exits while Jay-Z was still rapping to beat the after-concert rush. But most stayed behind, sensing what Jay-Z told them. "This is historic: They ain't never gonna be another night like tonight."

Well, maybe one more night � the pair has another show at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday.







Rapper Eminem performs at Yankee Stadium Monday, Sept. 13, 2010 in New York.


Kanye West, right, makes a guest appearance as Jay-Z performs during a concert, Monday, Sept. 13, 2010, at Yankee Stadium in New York


Rapper Eminem performs at Yankee Stadium Monday, Sept. 13, 2010 in New York


Jay-Z stands on stage during a concert performance, Monday, Sept. 13, 2010, at Yankee Stadium in New York