Ringo Starr, Linkin Park, Katy Perry to Present at Grammy Nominations Concert

Ringo Starr, Linkin Park, Katy Perry and Smokey Robinson will be among the artists on hand to reveal who will be up for Grammy Awards at tomorrow night's Grammy Nominations Concert, airing live from Los Angeles' Club Nokia on CBS. As Rolling Stone previously reported, LL Cool J will host the event, with performances by the Black Eyed Peas, Maxwell, Sugarland, French DJ David Guetta and, for the first time live, Nick Jonas and the Administration.

The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards will take place at Los Angeles' Staples Center on January 31st, 2010. As Rolling Stone reported last week, there's one thing we know about the 2010 nominees, and it's that Lady Gaga won't be among those named in the Best New Artist category when the nominations are announced. Because Gaga was nominated for the 2009 Grammy Awards in the Best Dance Recording category for "Just Dance," The Fame Monster singer was ineligible for Best New Artist. Katy Perry, who will be at Club Nokia as a presenter, is likely also disqualified from the Best New Artist category as "I Kissed a Girl" was up for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2009.

Related Stories:
• Grammys Will Not Let Lady Gaga Compete for Best New Artist
• Nick Jonas' Administration to Debut at Grammy Nominations Concert in Los Angeles

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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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