Oscar Noms; Grammy Ratings Spur Digital Sales; CMT Special

Academy Award nominations were revealed this morning (2/2), with country music movie Crazy Heart getting a few nods. Nominated for Best Music (Original Song) is “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart),” by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett. The film’s star Jeff Bridges secured a nod for Actor in a Leading Role, and Maggie Gyllenhall received a nomination for Actress in a Supporting Role. The 82nd annual Academy Awards will air March 7 on ABC.

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GRAMMY Ratings Hit High Note: The 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards posted the highest ratings since 2004 with an average audience of 25.8 million viewers, up 35 percent from last year’s telecast, and marked increases across key demographics, according to preliminary ratings results from Nielsen. Compared to last year’s telecast, the GRAMMYs posted a 36 percent increase in adults 25–54, and a 32 percent increase in adults 18–34 and 18–49.

GRAMMY Songs Dominate iTunes Top 20: Yesterday, following the Sunday night Grammys, fans flocked to iTunes to download the songs performed on the show. Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now,” hit No. 1 on iTunes’ Top Songs chart. The Black Eyed Peas had two songs in the Top 10 with “Imma Be” and “I Gotta Feeling.” Andrea Bocelli and Mary J. Blige’s duet of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” was No. 11, with all proceeds benefitting Haiti relief. Other GRAMMY-performed songs charting included tracks from Taylor Swift, Pink, Dave Matthews Band, Lady Gaga and the 2010 GRAMMY Nominees collection.

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MTV, VH1 and CMT say “Save The Date.” On 10-10-10 the networks will host a special live musical event highlighting the top artists of the decade as selected by the viewers. For the first time ever, these powerful music brands will come together to celebrate the decade in music on one big night, across all 3 networks.