Vacuum the red carpet, slip into the Armanis, strap on the Jimmy Choos, and flash the Fred Leightons, 'cause award season 2009 has arrived.  Whether it's the Oscars, the Grammys, the Golden Globes or the Screen Actors Guild Awards, BlogHer has got it covered.  I'll be doing special posts right up until the Oscars on all the happy winners, sore losers, tears, jeers and badly written thank yous. 

As we speak the stars are primping, preening and preparing for what they hope will be that once in a lifetime moment in front of millions of mercilessly critical viewers just like us.  

Early frontrunners for awards include the films "Slumdog Millionaire," "Milk," "Doubt," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "Revolutionary Road."  Performers who've either been nominated for Golden Globes or Screen Actors Guild Awards, and are considered prime Oscar bait are Sean Penn in "Milk," Meryl Streep in either, "Doubt" or "Mamma Mia," Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in "The

Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in "Revolutionary Road" (pictured left), "Frank Langella and Michael Sheen in "Frost/Nixon," and the late Heath Ledger in "Dark Knight."

The SAG awards and the Golden Globes also celebrate television shows.  Some of the shows looking to grab some golden love are the bad boys of "Mad Men," the cast of "Dexter," the cast of "House" and the cast of "The Closer."  Comedies in the hunt are "30 Rock," "The Office," and "Entourage."

When it comes to music Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Ne-Yo, the Jonas Brothers and Duffy are hoping to make some big noise on the Grammy stage next month.

But obviously it's not only performers who are hoping for a haul.  There are all those writers, producers, cinematographers, editors and costume designers who are looking for a big wins as well.

So here's a January/February calendar of award shows leading up to the big Kahuna, the Academy Awards.

January 7th People's Choice Awards, CBS 9PM.

January 8th Critics' Choice Awards, VH1 9PM.

January 11th Golden Globe Awards, NBC 8PM.

January 25th Screen Actors Guild Awards, TNT, TBS 8PM.

February 8th Grammy Awards, CBS 8PM.

February 12th NAACP Image Awards, FOX 8PM. 

February 21st Spirit Awards, IFC 8PM.

February 22nd Academy Awards, ABC 8PM.

Everything kicks off tomorrow night with what's really nothing more than a popularity contest, the People's Choice Awards, but it's a tasty little morsel to whet your appetite for the rockin' party that is the Golden Globes on Sunday.  The motto of the Golden Globes?  Serve drinks, and the stars will come.

If you're feeling nostalgic for past award shows look no further than YouTube where you can find a bunch of acceptance speeches from years gone by and clips from academy members about their favorite movie going memories.  You can see the late Issac Hayes accepting his Oscar for the theme from "Shaft," or Halle Berry winning for "Monster's Ball" or Ben Affleck and Matt Damon winning as the writers of "Good Will Hunting."  It's all on the Oscar Channel.

Or for something from the SAG awards, there's the very touching tribute Daniel Day Lewis made to the late Heath Ledger during his acceptance speech last year for "There Will Be Blood."

What movies have you seen?  Who would you like to see win big this season?  If you've done any movie or music reviews on your own blog, be sure to provide links in the comments below and don't forget to check back on Monday when I'll have my Golden Globes wrap-up.

I'd like to thank the academy for allowing me to preview what's coming this award season and to also thank my 5th grade writing teacher, my 6th grade music teacher, my high school dance teacher and my college acting coach.  I could never have gotten where I am today without them.

Related Links:

Stella at Well Above Average has a Review of "Slumdog Millionaire"

The Savvy Sista has a Review of "Seven Pounds"

You can read more about women in film at Critical Women on Film

Megan Smith is the BlogHer Contributing Editor covering Television and Online Video and she has a review of "Revolutionary Road" on her personal entertainment blog Megan's Minute, Quirky Commentary Around The Clock.