India's hopes at Grammy

Rahman is nominated for two gramophones for his “Slumdog Millionaire” score in the ‘Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media’ and ‘Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media’ categories (“Jai ho”).

Tabla wizard Zakir Hussain, who won a Grammy last year, has bagged a nomination in the ‘Best Classical Crossover Album’ category for the album “The Melody of Rhythm”.

It features Leonard Slatkin, Bela Fleck, Hussain and Edgar Meyer (Detroit Symphony Orchestra).

Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan got nomination in the ‘Traditional World Music’ category for his album Ancient Sounds in collaboration with Iraqi oud artiste Rahim Alhaj.
The 52nd Grammy Awards will take place live on Sunday night at Staples Centre in Los Angeles.

R&B singer Beyonce leads the field of contenders with 10 nominations while teen country sensation Taylor Swift has eight.

Hip-hop band Black Eyed Peas, R&B singer Maxwell and rapper Kanye West each have six nominations while legendary band U2, glam singer Lady Gaga and rapper Jay-Z earned five nominations each.

Posthumous honour for Jackson

Los Angeles, reuters: Michael Jackson won yet another posthumous honour on Saturday, joining six other musicians, including Leonard Cohen and Loretta Lynn who received Grammy awards for lifetime achievement. But Jackson’s family, whose members rarely turn down an opportunity to share his spotlight, did not attend the ceremony at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre, despite speculation that some of his children might accept the statuette on his behalf.

Instead, Jackson’s former manager Frank DiLeo did the honours, describing the pop star as “a funny guy”. “He had a sense of humour like none of you ever knew,” DiLeo said.