Award season is in full swing, isn’t it? Coming less than two weeks after the American Music Awards and less than a week after the Soul Train Awards, and just a short time before the year-end best-of lists start raining down, the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences will announce the nominees for next January’s Grammy Awards. For the second consecutive year, there will be a prime time TV special announcing the nominees for the major categories, with scheduled performers including the ubiquitous Justin Bieber, as well as Katy Perry and B.o.B.

Grammy nominations have tended to be a lot more old fogeyish and less trendy than the fan-voted AMAs, since they’re picked by a panel of industry-types. You have to have a credit on three (I think) albums before you can even vote. Nevertheless, the artists that tend to get the most nominations generally fall in line with artists that sell the most records. This year? I think the big nominees will be Eminem and Lady Antebellum. Eminem is a Grammy favorite (hell, last year’s horrible “Relapse” won two trophies), so the fact that “Recovery” was a return to form AND the biggest selling album of the year should result in some serious nominations. Meanwhile, Lady A scored the year’s second biggest album with “Need You Now” and while their country base is solidified, they’ve got a pretty big pop audience, too. I’m sure the likes of Usher, Sade, Lady GaGa and other 2010 big names will scoop up a few nominations apiece, and there are always dark horses involved as well.

Most of the Grammy attention focuses on the four main categories: Record, Album and Song of the Year, plus Best New Artist. Song of the Year isn’t the easiest category to call since it allegedly honors the songwriter instead of the artist (which makes it even more of a head-scratcher that Beyonce’s so-elementary-an-8-year-old-could-have-written-it “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” won last year. So after the jump, check out my predictions for the three main categories and check back tomorrow to see how close I was!

Record of the Year: “Love the Way You Lie” Eminem feat. Rihanna

“Empire State of Mind”-Jay-Z and Alicia Keys

“Bad Romance” Lady GaGa

“Need You Now” Lady Antebellum

“Hey, Soul Sister” Train

(Also look out for: “Soldier of Love” by Sade (which will probably be nominated for Song of the Year), “Fuck You” by Cee-Lo, “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry and “Nothin’ on You” by B.o.B. feat. Bruno Mars)

Album of the Year: “Recovery” Eminem

“The Blueprint 3” Jay-Z

“Live at the Troubadour” Carole King & James Taylor

“Need You Now” Lady Antebellum

“Soldier of Love” Sade

(I feel pretty confident about this line-up)

Best New Artist: Justin Bieber

Susan Boyle

Drake

Ke$ha

Mumford & Sons

(Also look out for: Nicki Minaj (although they might hold out on her until next year), Janelle Monae, B.o.B., Bruno Mars, and I’m not sure if they’re eligible, but I wouldn’t count the Glee Cast out if they are).

The nominees are announced tonight! Check back tomorrow to see if I got my Official Miss Cleo Psychic Badge!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6UTxKKhqfk