Andy Samberg, MGMT, & Ethan Johns Snag Grammy Nominations

My first reaction to the 2010 Grammy nominations, which were announced tonight, was to write off the award show completely (no Dead Weather?), but there are a few categories/nominees of note and Radiohead did bring that killer performance of “15 Step” to last year’s telecast (now available for purchase), so let’s not give them the cold shoulder just yet. In short, Beyoncé got 10 nods (is that a lot when you’re Beyoncé?), while Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift brought the total between the trio of chart-topping pop stars to 23. Check out the full list of nominations here, but here are some less expected ones.

The Lonely Island, aka SNL’s Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone, were nominated for best rap/sung collaboration with T-Pain. That’s right: Andy Samberg will face off against Jay-Z, Kanye West, Rihanna, T.I., Justin Timberlake, Keri Hilson, and Ne-Yo. Oh, Grammys, I just can’t quit you. Yes I can.

Former Ryan Adams producer Ethan Johns was nominated for both producer of the year and best engineered album for his work on Ray LaMontagne’s third LP, Gossip in the Grain. As we’ve noted before, Johns is one of our favorite producers, so needless say, we’re rooting for him (though in all honesty, this nomination is probably just payback for his earlier (better) work being snubbed).

MGMT got the exact kind of hype they’ll need to push their upcoming album, Congratulations, up the charts: the duo were nominated for best new artist and are pitted against the likes of the Black Eyed Peas, the Fray, Bon Jovi, and Hall & Oates for the best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals award.