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Grammy Nominees walk the red carpet in downtown Atlanta

ATLANTA,None — Who will take home a Grammy Award this year?

A few dozen Georgia hopefuls and past winners gathered at the W Hotel Downtown Tuesday night. They walked the red carpet before enjoying a party for all the nominees from the state.

Members of Sugarland and the Zac Brown Band were there. Ludacris stopped by. Jimmy Jam made an appearance. Members of Collective Soul, the Allman Brothers Band, even  Phaedra Parks from the "Real Housewives of Atlanta" attended the event.

"I think the talent level on Georgia acts today is underrated," Sugarland's Kristian Bush told Nelson's News on wsbtv.com. "There are people that you know, and for every person you know, there are about 15 you don't that are as good or better. They're on their way."

"The history here is so rich," Chuck Leavell of The Allman Brothers and Rolling Stones said. "We could talk about Little Richard, James Brown, Otis Redding, Ray Charles, my musical hero. I was proud to come here (to Georgia) and start working with The Allman Brothers back in the '70s and I've worked with the Black Crowes from here. The history goes on, and it continues to go on each and every day. Georgia is one of the greatest states in our country in terms of what we produce in music."

Several guests at the event recalled their first Grammy win including a member of the Zac Brown Band.

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"It's weird, I like blacked out," Coy Bowles of the Zac Brown Band said about the band winning Best New Artist. "I don't remember much of it. They said our name and all of a sudden, like everything (went to black) and I came to when I was hugging Smokie Robinson backstage. I was hugging Smokie Robinson and I was like, 'I'm hugging Smokie Robinson. This is crazy.'"

Miles Walker was one of the attendees in the running for a Grammy this year. He's up for Record of the Year for his work on Katy Perry's "Firework" and Album of the Year for his contributions to Rihanna's "Loud" album. Though he admits that Adele may well sweep the awards this year, he's thrilled to be in the running.

"(I'm) excited more than anything else," Walker said. "At this point, my work is already done so I don't have to worry about it too much. It's just great to be here and I'm excited that everyone else loves the record enough to nominate me. So, more excitement than nervous, I'd say."

The 54th annual Grammy Awards takes place Feb. 12 in Los Angeles.