Seth MacFarlane Receives Two Grammy Nominations (Video)

Seth MacFarlanecan add another talent (musician) to his list.our editor recommends'Simpsons' and 'Beavis and Butthead' Creators Join Seth MacFarlane at His THR Cover Shoot (Video)VIDEO: Behind the Scenes of THR's 'Seth MacFarlane' Cover Shoot Seth MacFarlane: The Restless Mind of a Complicated CartoonistGrammy Nominations: Kanye West Tops With 7 Nods; Adele, Rihanna Among Album of Year Contenders The showrunner, who is behind Fox's multi-billion dollar animated empire, is now a two-time Grammy nominee. PHOTOS: 54th Annual Grammy Nominees MacFarlane, who only recently began trying his hand at writing music, was nominated in the Best Song Written For Visual Media category, with "Christmastime is Killing Us," which he co-wrote withRon JonesandDanny Smith. In an even bigger coup, the producer, who is currently overseeingAmerican Dad!,The Cleveland Show, an update of the classic animated seriesThe Flintstones, a revamp of the 1980s PBS seriesCosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey, an untitled animated series he's preparing to pitch, a feature film due out next summer calledTed, a recurring gig as Comedy Central's celebrity roast master (most recent victim: Charlie Sheen) and the series that made them all possible,Family Guy, was also nominated for his big band album Music Is Better Than Words. PHOTOS: From the Mind of Seth MacFarlane The debut album is nominated alongside musical heavyweightsTony Bennett,Barbra Streisand,Harry Connick Jr.andSusan Boylein the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category. STORY: Seth MacFarlane Secretly Wants 'Family Guy' to End; Relaunch 'Star Trek' for TV The Hollywood Reporter's Oct. 21 cover story reported that when he set out to make the record withAmerican Dad!composerJoel McNeely, he had one goal in mind: to introduce others to the kind of music -- including many obscure songs from the 1940s, '50s and '60s -- he has been listening to and loving since he was a boy. In a nod to his idol, he recorded the vocals with the actual microphoneFrank Sinatraused on many of his classic albums. (According to McNeely, there's already talk of a brief East Coast tour this year and a desire to make a follow-up album.) "Seth is probably more knowledgeable about this music than anybody I've ever known," says McNeely, who has spent his career ensconced in that world. "If you name a song off of a particular album from that era, he'll be able to tell you not just who arranged it, but what studio it was recorded at, probably the year that it was recorded and who some of the players were. It's a little freaky." To read THR's MacFrarlane cover story in full, click here. Watch "Christmastime is Killing Us" below. PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery Behind the Scenes With the Showrunners Grammy Awards Barbra Streisand Harry Connick Jr. Seth MacFarlane Tony Bennett The Cleveland Show American Dad Family Guy Susan Boyle Grammys 2012