Lady GaGa
Ella Pellegrini/Newspix/REX
Lady Gaga sold more than 1.5 million copies of The Fame, but the costumed diva won’t be recognized in the Best New Artist category due to her nomination in the Best Dance Recording category for "Just Dance" last year. However, we’ll most likely see her in the Album, Record or Song of the year categories.
Gaga’s exclusion mirrors last year’s snub of Jennifer Hudson in the same category due to her 2007 nomination in the Outstanding Motion Picture Soundtrack Compilation category for Dreamgirls.
Could it be time for the Grammys to consider changing their rules? "This particular issue in the Best New Artist category is on our radar and I would expect changes to address it in next year's voting," Grammy president Neil Portnow tells PEOPLE.
Other artists to watch this year include Taylor Swift, U2, Beyoncé, Maxwell, Green Day, the Black Eyed Peas, Keri Hilson and Kings of Leon.
But, don’t expect to see Michael Jackson as a major contender. Though he won big at the American Music Awards, the soundtrack for This Is It missed the Sept. 1 cutoff date. But, the release of Motown box set Hello World The Complete Motown Solo Collection could very well make the cut in historical categories.
Watch the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards on Jan. 31 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, live on CBS – and catch up on all the news and style from the show on PEOPLE.com!
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