The recent announcement of nominees for the Hawaiian music Grammy overshadowed a few other nominees with Island ties:

• Hiroshima, which is up for best pop instrumental album("Legacy"), includes Farrington grad Kimo Cornwell, the group's keyboardist. Trumpeter Chris Botti, who played at the Monarch Room at The Royal Hawaiian earlier this year is also nominated ("In Boston") in the same category.

• 1968 Saint Louis School grad Dean Pitchford is up for best spoken world album for children ("Captain Nobody").

• Of the five nominees for best new artist, three played in Honolulu this year. Keri Hilson came to town with Lil Wayne, and MGMT and Silversun Pickups played Pipeline Café. MGMT is also up for best performance by a duo or group with vocals. Hilson is also up for best rap/song collaboration with Kanye West and Ne-Yo, who played a solo show at Blaisdell Arena in 2009.

• T-Pain, who also came to town with Lil Wayne, is up for best contemporary R&B album ("Thr33 Ringz") and best rap/single song collaboration (with Lonely Island).

Other nominees who played on O'ahu in 2009:

BayFest headliner the Black Eyed Peas are up for six Grammys; Band Camp VII headliner The Fray is up for best pop vocal album; while Mos Def (best new rap album), John Legend (best male pop vocal performance), The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band (best traditional blues album), Ziggy Marley (best family album) and Eddie Vedder (best rock song) all played here. Promoters have some tough acts to follow in 2010.

The final list of nominees for the Oscars hasn't been announced yet, but of the 15 still in the running for best documentary, four — "The Cove," "Every Little Step,""Food Inc." and "Valentino: The Last Emperor" — have played in Honolulu, and primarily at Kahala 8 Theatres. A fifth documentary still in the running is "Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders," which shows just one time in simulcast at 7:30 Monday night at Regal Dole Cannery Stadium 18 and across the country. This is the first uncensored look at the field operations and some of the footage is extremely powerful. The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced Feb. 2.

Through Jan. 3, make your way Sunday nights to the Mai Tai Bar at Ala Moana Center for the 2nd annual "Mai Tai Hot Island DJ Spin-Off." Crowd response is part of the judging, so be there and be vocal.

Ala Moana Hotel's $79 "Lucky We Live Hawai'i" kama'aina rates include a chance to win a free trip to Las Vegas with every overnight stay through Jan. 31.The flyaway includes roundtrip airfare for two from O'ahu, four nights accommodations, airport and hotel transportation and a meal plan. Call 955-4811 for reservations .