Will an English act win the best new artist at the 53rd Grammy’s?

The 53rd Grammy Awards are set to take place at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles (where Michael Jackson’s public memorial service was held) on 13th February 2011 and it will be shown live across the world.

English artists have done quite well in the best new artist category in recent years, with singer songwriter Adele winning it it in 2009 and troubled singer Amy Winehouse walking away with the 2008 award.

This year out of the five nominated act, two of them hail from England; the indie rock band Florence and the Machine and folk rock band Mumford & Sons. However good they may they are up against American teenage singing sensation Justin Bieber, thankfully the award is given by members of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences not screaming teenage girls! Other nominated acts include Canadian singer Drake (a former cast member of Degrassi: The Next Generation) and finally American jazz bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding.

A win for Florence & the Machine would make up for losing out to The XX in the 2010 Barclaycard Mercury Music Prize.

Odds for this category come from bookmakers Paddy Power.

7/4 – Florence & The Machine5/2 – Mumford & Sons11/4 – Esperanza Spalding4/1 – Drake9/2 – Justin Bieber

Click here to claim your free £30 bet from Paddy Power

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Written by mcohen · Filed Under Bookmakers, Music, Paddypower, Specials 
Tagged: 53rd Grammy Award, Adele, Amy Winehouse, best new artist, Drake, English artists, Esperanza Spalding, Florence & The Machine, Florence and the Machine, Justin Bieber, Michael Jackson, Mumford & Sons, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, nominated acts, Staples Centre

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Could 2011 be India's year at the Grammys?

With the tremendous success of Slumdog Millionaire [ Images ] and Smile Pinki, 2009 was the year of India [ Images ] at the Academy Awards.
Could 2011 be India's year at the Grammys?

Two Indian Americans -- Sanskrit chant vocalist Chandrika Krishnamurthy Tandon and jazz pianist-cum-composer Vijay Iyer -- have been nominated for awards at the 53rd Annual Grammy [ Images ] Awards ceremony, to be held in February in Los Angeles.

Tandon, a Chennai native who now doubles as a New York-based businesswoman, has been nominated in the Best Contemporary World Music Album category, for her Om Namo Narayanaya: Soul Call, a collection of Sanskrit chants. On the album, Tandon handled the vocals and vocal arrangements, while Tejendra Narayan Majumdar and Snehasish Majumdar did the orchestral arrangements.

The critically acclaimed Iyer, whose much-anticipated album Historicity earned phenomenal praise following its launch in 2009, has been nominated for the Best Jazz Instrumental Album award. Featuring Iyer's original compositions alongside an eclectic group of covers, the album is performed by Iyer's famed 'Vijay Iyer Trio', which features Iyer on the piano and long-time collaborators Marcus Gilmore on the drums and Stephan Crump on the bass.

Historicity has already had its day in the sun, in fact. Thanks in large part to its success, The Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards recently named Iyer their 2010 Musician of the Year, an honour previously awarded to jazz legends like Herbie Hancock and Ornette Coleman.

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