Justin Timberlake, "Conchords," "Idol" Score Emmy Nominations

Nominees for 2009's Emmy Awards were announced today, and among the countless nods for 30 Rock, Mad Men and the entire HBO programming schedule, Justin Timberlake managed to grab three nominations. Timberlake's work as guest host for the Saturday Night Live was recognized in the Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series category, while JT also picked up a pair of nods in the Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics for his hilarious SNL digital short "Motherlover" and his "I Live Sports" song from the 2008 ESPY Awards. Timberlake previously won an Emmy in the category for 2007's "Dick in a Box."

Other musical notables include HBO's Flight of the Conchords, with Jemaine Clement scoring an Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series nod — a longshot considering he's facing against 30 Rock's Alec Baldwin and The Office's Steve Carell — while Conchords itself was also nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series as well as Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics for their Season 2 highlight "Carol Brown." Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger was also among the nominees, grabbing a Music And Lyrics nod for "Much Worse Things" from Stephen Colbert's A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift Of All.

And then there's American Idol, which received too many technical and directing nominations to list. However, in the bigger categories, AI secured yet another Outstanding Reality - Competition Program nod (perhaps the magnetism of Adam Lambert will finally allow AI to win the category after losing six consecutive years to The Amazing Race), while re-signed host Ryan Seacrest garnered a nomination in the Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Reality-Competition Program category for the second consecutive year. For the full list of nominees, check out the Emmy Website.

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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