Jay-Z Eyes More Grammy Wins
(Matt Sheret) – Jay-Z is likely to be one of the big winners at this year's Grammy Awards. Eminem is the only other performer in the field with the kind of reach that rap's premier businessman currently enjoys.
Last.fm Trends takes a look at how the odds are stacked in his favor for the Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group and the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration categories.
Jay-Z's album, The Blueprint 3, has had a huge impact, and its presence throughout the Grammy shortlists shows that its effect is being felt strongly even 16 months after its release.
While the record itself faces stiff competition from Eminem's Recovery, the singles chosen in these Grammy categories have a comfortable lead over the competition.
"On To The Next One," his collaboration with Swizz Beatz, is up on Big Boi's "Shutterbug" by about 100,000 plays. Even though the track's popularity has steadily declined throughout the year it still pulls more listeners per week than its competition and, as the graph shows, its listeners appear to be stabilizing.
Meanwhile, "Empire State Of Mind" absolutely storms the competition in the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration category. Thousands of listeners return to it every week and it's been a fixture on playlists since release. Alicia Keys's recent marriage nudged its plays a little higher at the tail end of 2010, but it's now running steady around 4,500 listeners every week; very strong indeed.
But with "Love The Way You Lie" close on its heels for week-on-week plays it might cause a last minute upset for Jay-Z's New York opus.
Find out if Last.fm listeners' favorite acts come out on top when the Grammys air on CBS on February 13th. Meanwhile get the latest about the music you love with Last.fm Trends' Grammy coverage.
