Femi Kuti Loses Grammy Prize For The Third Time

Nigerian musician and respected Afrobeat singer Femi Kuti has for the third time lost out at the Grammy Awards. This follows his two other Grammy losses (2003 and 2010).

Femi who was nominated in the ‘Best World Music Album‘ category for his ‘Africa for Africa‘ album lost the award to Malian band Tinariwen for the album Tassili. Latin/Roots music band AfroCubism and South African male choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo were the other losers in the group.

The announcement was made this evening Sunday, February 12, 2012 at the Pre-telecast (where most awards are given). The awards show itself runs from 8 to 11:30 (G.M.T).

As reported earlier, Femi Kuti deliberately skipped out on attending the awards show stating that he ‘didn’t want to raise his hopes high’. He was however excited when the news of his nomination came about late last year.

Check out the other winners announced at the Pre-telecast:

Best New Age Album ‘What’s It All About’ - Pat Metheny

Best Reggae Album ‘Revelation Pt 1: The Root Of Life - Stephen Marley

Best World Music Album ‘Tassili’ - Tinariwen

Best Children’s Album ‘All About Bullies … Big And Small’ (Various Artists) Jim Cravero, Gloria Domina, Kevin Mackie, Steve Pullara & Patrick Robinson

Best Engineered Album, Classical ‘Aldridge: Elmer Gantry’ - Byeong-Joon Hwang & John Newton, engineers; Jesse Lewis, mastering engineer (William Boggs, Keith Phares, Patricia Risley, Vale Rideout, Frank Kelley, Heather Buck, Florentine Opera Chorus & Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra)

Producer Of The Year, Classical Judith Sherman

Best Orchestral Performance Brahms: Symphony No. 4 - Gustavo Dudamel, conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic)

Best Opera Recording Adams: Doctor Atomic Alan Gilbert, conductor; Meredith Arwady, Sasha Cooke, Richard Paul Fink, Gerald Finley, Thomas Glenn & Eric Owens; Jay David Saks, producer (Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; Metropolitan Opera Chorus)

Best Choral Performance Light & Gold - Eric Whitacre, conductor (Christopher Glynn & Hila Plitmann; The King’s Singers, Laudibus, Pavão Quartet & The Eric Whitacre Singers)

Best Small Ensemble Performance ‘Mackey: Lonely Motel — Music From Slide’ -Rinde Eckert & Steven Mackey; Eighth Blackbird

Best Classical Instrumental Solo ‘Schwantner: Concerto For Percussion & Orchestra’ Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor; Christopher Lamb (Nashville Symphony) Track from: ‘Schwantner: Chasing Light…’

Best Classical Vocal Solo ‘Diva Divo’ - Joyce DiDonato (Kazushi Ono; Orchestre De L’Opéra National De Lyon; Choeur De L’Opéra National De Lyon)

Best Contemporary Classical Composition ‘Aldridge, Robert: Elmer Gantry’ - Robert Aldridge & Herschel Garfein

Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance ‘Jesus,’ Le’Andria Johnson - Track from: ‘The Awakening Of Le’Andria Johnson’

Best Gospel Song ‘Hello Fear’- Kirk Franklin, songwriter (Kirk Franklin)

Best Contemporary Christian Music Song ‘Blessings’ - Laura Story, songwriter (Laura Story)

Best Gospel Album ‘Hello Fear’ - Kirk Franklin

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album ‘And If Our God Is For Us…’ - Chris Tomlin

Best Latin Pop, Rock, Or Urban Album ‘Drama Y Luz’- Maná

Best Regional Mexican Or Tejano Album ‘Bicentenario’ - Pepe Aguilar

Best Banda Or Norteño Album ‘Los Tigres Del Norte And Friends’ - Los Tigres Del Norte

Best Tropical Latin Album ‘The Last Mambo’ - Cachao

Best Recording Package: ‘Scenes From The Suburbs,’ Caroline Robert, art director (Arcade Fire)

Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package ‘The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story,’ Dave Bett & Michelle Holme, art directors (Bruce Springsteen)

Best Album Notes: ‘Hear Me Howling!: Blues, Ballads & Beyond As Recorded By The San Francisco Bay By Chris Strachwitz In The 1960s,’ Adam Machado, album notes writer (Various Artists)

Best Historical Album: Band On The Run (Paul McCartney Archive Collection — Deluxe Edition), Paul McCartney, compilation producer; Sam Okell & Steve Rooke, mastering engineers (Paul McCartney & Wings)

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical ‘Paper Airplane,’ Neal Cappellino & Mike Shipley, engineers; Brad Blackwood, mastering engineer (Alison Krauss & Union Station)

Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical ‘Cinema’ (Skrillex Remix) Sonny Moore, remixer (Benny Benassi). Track from: ‘Electroman’

Best Surround Sound Album ‘Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs’ (Super Deluxe Edition) Elliot Scheiner, surround mix engineer; Bob Ludwig, surround mastering engineer; Bill Levenson & Elliot Scheiner, surround producers (Derek & The Dominos)

Best Instrumental Composition ‘Life In Eleven.’ Béla Fleck & Howard Levy, composers (Béla Fleck & The Flecktones)

Best Instrumental Arrangement ‘Rhapsody In Blue,’ Gordon Goodwin, arranger (Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band)

Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) ‘Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)’ Jorge Calandrelli, arranger (Tony Bennett & Queen Latifah)

First award, for Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media: ’Boardwalk Empire: Volume 1′ (Various Artists), Stewart Lerman, Randall Poster & Kevin Weaver.

Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media: ‘The King’s Speech,’ Alexandre Desplat, composer

Best Song Written For Visual Media: ‘I See The Light’ (From ‘Tangled’). Alan Menken & Glenn Slater, songwriters (Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi).