Grammy Nominations Announced

Nominations for the 48th Annual Grammy Awards were announced yesterday. Mariah Carey, Kanye West, and John Legend all top the list, receiving eight each. Also worth noting is six nominations each for 50 cent, Beyonce Knowles, Black Eyed Peas’, Will.I.Am and Stevie Wonder. The Grammy Awards will be broadcast February 8th from the Los Angeles’ Staples Center on CBS.

A list of nominees in the top categories follows:

Record Of The Year: “We Belong Together,” Mariah Carey; “Feel Good Inc.,” Gorillaz Featuring De La Soul; “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams,” Green Day; “Hollaback Girl,” Gwen Stefani; “Gold Digger,” Kanye West

Album Of The Year: The Emancipation Of Mimi, Mariah Carey; Chaos And Creation In The Backyard, Paul McCartney; Love. Angel. Music. Baby. Gwen Stefani; How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, U2; Late Registration, Kanye West;

Song Of The Year: “Bless The Broken Road,” Bobby Boyd, Jeff Hanna & Marcus Hummon, songwriters (Rascal Flatts); “Devils & Dust,” Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen); “Ordinary People,” W. Adams & J. Stephens, songwriters (John Legend); “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own,” U2, songwriters (U2); “We Belong Together,” J. Austin, M. Carey, J. Dupri & M. Seal, songwriters; (D. Bristol, K. Edmonds, S. Johnson, P. Moten, S. Sully & B. Womack, songwriters) (Mariah Carey)

Best New Artist: Ciara, Fall Out Boy, Keane, John Legend, SugarLand

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Best Female Pop Vocal Performance: “It’s Like That,” Mariah Carey; “Since U Been Gone,” Kelly Clarkson; “Good Is Good,” Sheryl Crow; “I Will Not Be Broken,” Bonnie Raitt; “Hollaback Girl,” Gwen Stefani

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: “Sitting, Waiting, Wishing,” Jack Johnson; “Fine Line,” Paul McCartney; “Walk On By,” Seal; “Lonely No More,” Rob Thomas; “From The Bottom Of My Heart,” Stevie Wonder.

Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal: “Don’t Lie,” The Black Eyed Peas; “Mr. Brightside,” The Killers; “More Than Love,” Los Lonely Boys; “This Love,” Maroon 5; “My Doorbell,” The White Stripes

A complete list as well as news and trivia on the Grammys are all available at Grammy.com

28 nominations went to RCA artists. Alicia Keys, Foo fighters and the Luther Vandross tribute So Amazing each earned five nominations. Fantasia received four nods from the academy and two nominations each went to Kelly Clarkson and Mario.

(Photo left: Big Kenny Alphin of Big & Rich, Natasha Bedingfield & Chad Kroeger of Nickleback)

Brad Paisley and Gretchen Wilson top the Country category with four nominations each, both vying for Best Country Song (“Alcohol” and “All Jacked Up” respectively) and Best Country Album (Time Well Wasted and All Jacked Up).

Notable Jazz nominations include, Dianne Reeves for Good Night, And Good Luck; Nnenna Freelon for Blueprint of a Lady: Sketches of Billie Holiday;; and Eddie Palmieri for Listen Here

The Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim were each nominated twice in both the “Best Dance Recording” category and the “Best Electronic/Dance Album” category. Kraftwerk was also nominated in the latter category. The Six Feet Under Volume 2 – Everything Ends soundtrack was also recognized twice.

The nominations were announced at Gotham Hall in New York City. Natasha Bedingfield, Big & Rich, Mariah Carey, Chad Kroeger (Nickelback), Patti LaBelle, John Legend, Carly Simon, Sway, and CeCe Winans read the nominations to key music industry and the members of the press who were in attendance.

As we celebrate the Grammys coast-to-coast, this year’s nominations truly reflect a dynamic and vibrant community of music makers that includes artists, producers, engineers, songwriters and everyone involved in the creative process. As this is the only music award that is voted on by music makers, the Grammy continues to be the preeminent symbol of excellence and achievement as well as the most coveted demonstration of peer-recognition and honor. Once again, our highly respected process has delivered a wealth of music and talent to spotlight on Feb. 8, 2006, during Music’s Biggest Night. ( Neil Portnow, President of The Recording Academy)