LEGASPI: The Hollywood Writers Strike almost derailed this year’s 50th annual Grammy Awards. But an interim agreement struck last week between the writers and the Recording Academy means the show will go on. And that’s good news for Chicago as this year the city leads the Midwest region in Grammy nominations. 

From young rapper Lupe Fiasco, to the R&B funk of Chaka Khan. The jazzy stylings of Chicago-bred Herbie Hancock, to Windy City darlings Wilco. Leading the overall nominations is Kanye West, with eight nods, including the coveted album of the year award for his third record, Graduation. The six-time Grammy winner has famously pouted over not receiving this prestigious award in the past. 

While his fits haven’t always been becoming, there’s no denying his positive influence on Chicago’s hip-hop community. Kanye fostered Lupe Fiasco’s career. And now Fiasco earned a nomination for best urban/alternative performance for the song “Daydreamin’.” Kanye also collaborated with and produced the rapper, Common. Call it the “Kanye Factor,” he’s been pivotal in bringing national attention to Chicago’s rap scene. 

Both Common and West are up for multiple awards, some of which they worked on together. So, will this be Kanye’s year? Well, Tera Healy, of The Recording Academy’s Chicago Chapter refuses to speculate. But she says the category’s nominees are more diverse than ever. 

HEALY: Best Album: It’s the first time we’ve had five nominees in five different genres, we’ve got a rock nominee in the Foo Fighters, Vince Gill is up for a country album, Herbie Hancock for a jazz album, Kanye West for rap, and Amy Winehouse for R&B so it’s kind of exciting, I don’t know how the votes gonna go this year. 

LEGASPI: But it’s not only Chicago’s hip-hop community that promotes rising talent. The local pop-punk scene also helps bolster its own. The breakout band Fall Out Boy has drawn attention to other pop-punskter friends like The Plain White T’s. That group topped the Billboard charts last summer with its song, “Hey There Delilah,” which is nominated for song of the year and best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals. 

While Plain White T’s have been playing around these parts for the past decade or so, they broke out nationally when the re-released “Hey There Delilah” was added to the band’s Hollywood debut album called Every Second Counts. Healy says the Plain White T’s have a great story. 

HEALY: I love the fact that it’s kind of an odd song for them, if you know their music, but that’s the one that hits so big, and that’s exciting. And they are really supportive of the local scene. 

LEGASPI: While hip-hop and pop-punk are examples of our more mainstream nominees, Gospel always makes a strong showing. The Recording Academy’s Donald Lawrence is a nominee himself. He and his group the Tri Singers are up for best gospel song, “Encourage Yourself,” and best gospel album, The Grand Finale: Encourage Yourself. He says Chicago is the seat of gospel.

GOSPEL: My specific genre is definitely gospel, and because Chicago is the birthplace of Gospel music, Tomas Dorsey did it back in the 1930s, Gospel music tends to really be a culture here. 

LEGASPI: 2007 was a good year musically in terms of Chicago Grammy nominations, but there’s also been tragedy. In December, after a performance in the western Mexican state of Michoacán, the group K-Paz De La Sierra’s lead singer, Sergio Gomez, was brutally murdered. The group’s album, Conquistando Corazones, is up for Best Banda Album. The city’s Latin music community is credited for popularizing Duranguense, the Mexican musical genre for which K-Paz de La Sierra is known. Another Latin-American Chicago act nominated is Sones de Mexico Ensemble, whose Esta Tierra Es Tuya album is up for best Mexican-American album. Both bands shine a spotlight on Chicago’s Latin music scene, which has grown in popularity. Healy says the nominations recognize Chicago’s significance in the genre. 

HEALY: I know we have a huge emerging Latin music scene here in town and it’s really exciting to see more and more Chicago bands being recognized. I know Sones de Mexico was also recognized. They were also up for nomination in the Latin Grammys this year so it’s great for us to see that community emerging. 

LEGASPI: In addition to Chicago nominees, there are some lesser-known locals going to the Grammys. Michelle Moralis and Andrew Pearson are two of 15 contestants playing in an orchestra conducted by Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones. Healy says they’ll be accompanying The Foo Fighters. 

HEALY: The public will vote on these 15 and will choose one who will get to have a solo in the midst of the Pretender which is one of the Foo Fighters songs, so that will be a live performance, and um I have a feeling that they might be filming that in an interesting position. 

LEGASPI: There are bound to be other surprises, but the true revelations will come by way of the Grammy winners. No telling yet how Chicago will do, but one thing’s for certain, we’re well represented. Chicago is one of the few cities in America where musicians can make a living. In part that’s because the music community is just that, a community that fosters and nourishes talent. That makes Chicago a standout not just at the Grammys, but in the music industry as a whole. The GRAMMY Awards air this Sunday at 7 p.m. on CBS.