2012 Country Grammy Nominations Announced!

We are just finishing up this year’s award cycle, and those for 2012 are already gearing up. Last week, the nominations for the 54th Grammy Awards were announced, and we have a complete list of the Country, Bluegrass and Americana artists receiving recognition.

I am not particularly surprised that the nominations are dominated by this year’s usual suspects, Blake Shelton, Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean and Kenny Chesney. It is good to see Eric Church in the running for best country album for Chief, and I have no doubt country fans will be pleased that George Strait is recognized for his album, Here For A Good Time. I find it strange that of all of Taylor Swift’s singles, “Mean” was chosen for nomination in both “Best Country Solo Performance” and “Best Song”. I enjoy many of Taylor’s songs, but that is not the most country song on her Speak Now album. It is just a little odd that it popped up in two categories.

Also, I am pleased that country artists are being recognized outside of the genre categories as well. The Band Perry is up against several artists from multiple genres in the “Best New Artist” category, and Zac Brown is receiving deserved attention for his original work on the Footloose soundtrack.

The 54th Annual Grammy Awards will be held on “Grammy Sunday“, February 12, 2012, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and once again will be broadcast live on CBS from 8 – 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

Take a look at the list below, and tell us who you think deserves to win! Is anyone missing from the nominations? Tell us that too!

Complete List of 2012 Country, Bluegrass, Americana Grammy Nominations

Best Country Solo Performance
“Dirt Road Anthem“, Jason Aldean
“I’m Gonna Love You Through It“, Martina McBride
“Honey Bee“, Blake Shelton
“Mean“, Taylor Swift
“Mama’s Song“, Carrie Underwood

Best Country Duo/Group Performance
“Don’t You Wanna Stay“, Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson
“You and Tequila“, Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter
“Barton Hollow“, The Civil Wars
“Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not“, Thompson Square

Best Country Song
“Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not“, Jim Collins & David Lee Murphy, songwriters (Thompson Square)
“God Gave Me You“, Dave Barnes, songwriter (Blake Shelton)
“Just Fishin‘”, Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell & Ed Hill, songwriters (Trace Adkins)
“Mean“, Taylor Swift, songwriter (Taylor Swift)
“Threaten Me With Heaven“, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Will Owsley & Dillon O’Brian, songwriters (Vince Gill)
“You and Tequila“, Matraca Berg & Deana Carter, songwriters (Kenny Chesney Featuring Grace Potter)

Best Country Album
My Kinda Party, Jason Aldean
Chief, Eric Church
Own The Night, Lady Antebellum
Red River Blue, Blake Shelton
Here For A Good Time, George Strait
Speak Now, Taylor Swift

Best Folk Album
Barton Hollows, The Civil Wars
I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive, Steve Earle
Helplessness Blues, Fleet Foxes
Ukulele Songs, Eddie Vedder
The Harrow & The Harvest, Gillian Welch

Best Bluegrass Album
Paper Airplane, Alison Krauss & Union Station
Reason And Rhyme: Bluegrass Songs By Robert Hunter & Jim Lauderdale, Jim Lauderdale
Rare Bird Alert, Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers
Old Memories: The Songs of Bill Monroe, The Del McCoury Band
A Mother’s Prayer, Ralph Stanley
Sleep With One Eye Open, Chris Thile & Micheal Daves

Best Americana Album
Emotional Jukebox, Linda Chorney
Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down, Ry Cooder
Hard Bargain, Emmylou Harris
Ramble At The Ryman, Levon Helm
Blessed, Lucinda Williams

Best New Artist
The Band Perry
Bon Iver
J. Cole
Nicki Minaj
Skrillex

Best Song Written For Visual Media
“Where The River Goes” (From Footloose)
Zac Brown, Wyatt Durrette, Drew Pearson & Anne Preven, songwriters (Zac Brown)
“Born To Be Somebody” (From Never Say Never)
Diane Warren, songwriter (Justin Bieber)
“Christmastime Is Killing Us” (From Family Guy)
Ron Jones, Seth MacFarlane & Danny Smith, songwriters (Danny Smith, Ron Jones & Seth MacFarlane)
“I See The Light” (From Tangled)
Alan Menken & Glenn Slater, songwriters (Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi)
“So Long” (From Winnie The Pooh)
Zooey Deschanel, songwriter (Zooey Deschanel & M. Ward)
“You Haven’t Seen The Last of Me” (From Burlesque)
Diane Warren, songwriter (Cher)