My First Grammy: 9 Of The Year’s First Time Nominees, Will They Win ?

I am trying to bring good music back to R&B.” – J. Holiday, Singersroom 2007 Like Trey Songz, who spoke with us just before the release of Trey Day, J. Holiday felt comfortable about his album “Back Of My Lac” just before its release. Beating ‘one-hit-wonder’ status with several well charting singles including “Suffocate” after delivering the Billboard smash “Bed,” J. Holiday seems well poised to hit the Grammys Sunday to not only celebrate the success of his debut album but also to promote his new album “Round 2″ due in March. J. Holiday, like Trey Songz, faces heavy competition including the Queen of Hip-Hop/soul Mary J. Blige, Ne-Yo, Jazmine Sullivan and Karina Pasian for Best Contemporary R&B Album. Jordin Sparks “Working with Chris was definitely quite the experience. He’s so awesome! He’s very personable and funny. Very hyper, but he’s really cool. He made things very, very fun. I would love to work with him again sometime.” – Jordin Sparks speaks “No Air” with Chris Brown. Jordin Sparks is going to the Grammys with a nod for “No Air”in the Best Pop Collaboration field. Does she stand a chance ? Sparks’ will face off with Alicia Keys, Robert Plant, Madonna and Rihanna. Estelle “I think people are shocked when they see me come out. They’re like, ‘She really does rap.’” – Estelle on being labeled an R&B singer and rapper. Estelle has come a long way with her sophomore album “Shine.” While many are just being introduced to the “American Boy” singer, she’s actually been around for a few years. However, Sunday marks a new beginning for Estelle as she faces stiff competition for her first Grammy. Nabbing two nominations, one for Song of The Year and the other for Best Rap/Sung collaboration, Estelle may have a fighting chance against her fellow Brit stars Leona Lewis, Adele and Duffy – all of whom are nominated for at least one Grammy. Leona Lewis “I love being on stage, I love performing and that’s where I get my buzz and my adrenalin rush.” – Leona Lewis on performing the hit “Bleeding Love”. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard about British singing sensation Leona Lewis. Lewis, who released the now multi-platinum album “Spirit” is up for her first Grammy this year after winning the UK version of American Idol entitled “The X-Factor”. While the much-talked-about singer, who has also been compared to Mariah Carey, is up for three awards, her biggest moment could be the Record of the Year category. “Bleeding Love,” clearly one of 2008s most downloaded songs is in some eyes a shoe in for Record of the Year however, it faces competition from Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” and M.I.A’s “Paper Planes”. Karina Pasian “I was with my whole family and we were all watching.” “They didn’t announce mine on TV, so my sister went online and looked through it, and said, “You got nominated!” – Karina Pasian on receiving her first Grammy nomination. After garnering attention with the single “16 At War” during the summer of 2008, Karina Pasian set out to release her Def Jam debut “First Love”. To the surprise of many critics, Pasian’s seemingly strong debut fell below the radar and thus the singer’s Grammy nomination in December came as a surprise, proving that artistry wins over the charts. While Pasian’s Grammy nod is great news, she faces an intense line up of albums in the Best Contemporary R&B Album field where she’s up against Ne-Yo, J. Holiday, Mary J. Blige and Jazmine Sullivan. At least Karina can say she’s “Grammy-nominated” now. Anthony David “You know how you take the initials and you know how we do. A friend of mine just called me one day and was like Ace-ay Duce-ay! That became the new nickname, and I know that didn’t sound like a good word, but the record, Acey Deucy, is a compilation of the two independent records I have.” – Anthony David talks on the name of his album Acey Deucy. Teaming up with his dear friend India.Arie proved to be a wise decision for soul singer Anthony David. David, who is signed to India.Arie’s Republic based label is nominated for Best R&B Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocals for his collaboration with the “Chocolate High” singer on “Words”. David, who is an At-alien (Atlanta, GA), cites Bill Withers, Donny Hathaway and Anita Baker as influences. Anthony David will face tough competition from Jennifer Hudson, who has the track “I’m His Only Woman” feat. Fantasia in the field of Best R&B Performance By A Duo or Group with Vocals. Note: The Grammys are right around the corner and we’re ready. In celebration of the awards and the near R&B/Hip Hop domination represented in this year’s nominations, Singersroom is going Grammy through Monday. Stay clicked as we countdown to Sunday’s awards with news, photos, red carpet, Grammy flashbacks and much more. You Tell Us: Of the 9 nominees listed, who are you looking forward to seeing with an award on Sunday ?

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