: LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Grieving rapper Kanye West and troubled British soul singer Amy Winehouse emerged as the top contenders for next year's 50th Grammy Awards after picking up a total of 14 nominations here Thursday.
West, 30, whose mother Donda died suddenly last month after undergoing plastic surgery, heads the field with eight nominations, including a nod in the coveted album of the year prize for his "Graduation."
Winehouse, 24, the talented singer-songwriter who has rarely been out of the tabloid headlines this year following a reported drug overdose, a string of cancelled concerts and turbulent private life, earned six nominations.
The Grammys -- the music industry's most prestigious awards -- will be handed out at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 10.
As well as being nominated in the best new artist category, Winehouse picked up nods for her hit single "Rehab" in the record of the year and "Back to Black" in the album of the year categories.
"Rehab" also earned Winehouse nods for song of the year and best female pop vocal performance, while "Back to Black" was also nominated for best pop vocal album.
Announcing Winehouse's nominations, comedian George Lopez remarked: "Can someone wake her up around six and tell her?"
The quip was a reference to recent photos of Winehouse that appeared in the British media featuring the singer outside her London home in the early hours of Sunday morning, wearing only a bra and jeans.
Winehouse was the only artist to earn nominations in the four top categories open to all-comers -- record of the year, album of the year, song of the year and best new artist.
Winehouse and West's rivals for honors in the best album stakes include rock band Foo Fighters for "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace."
Other contenders for record of the year are Beyonce for "Irreplaceable," Foo Fighters for "The Pretender," Rihanna featuring Jay-Z for "Umbrella" and Justin Timberlake for "What Goes Around ... Comes Around."
Winehouse faces stiff competition in the song of the year category from Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats," Plain White T's for "Hey There Delilah," Corinne Bailey Rae for "Like a Star" and Rihanna/Jay-Z for "Umbrella."
Elsewhere a crop of artists earned four nominations each, including veteran rocker Bruce Springsteen.
Although Springsteen was ignored in the top categories, he picked up nods including best rock album ("Magic") and rock song ("Radio Nowhere"). Other artists earning four nods included hip-hop star Akon and Rihanna.
Former Beatle Paul McCartney was also among the nominees, with nods including best male pop vocal performance for "Dance Tonight" and best pop vocal album "Memory Almost Full."
The 110 categories see prizes given out in a plethora of obscure categories including polka, Hawaiian and Native American music.
Meanwhile, the best spoken word album category will see a politically themed contest featuring White House hopeful Barack Obama and former president Bill Clinton.
Obama -- currently locked in a fierce contest with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination -- earned a nod for his audio version of book "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream."
Bill Clinton meanwhile was nominated for his reading "Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World," his best-selling guide to how individuals can contribute to worthy causes.
I love Kanye, I love ALL his music but y'all know he's gonna have another bitch fit if he doesn't win every single award... I feel bad about his mom and everything but why he gotta be such a diva all the time? It's the same with 50 Cent he just kicks and screams till he gets what he wants!
Gangstas my ass... Khia be keepin it real, she could whoop both of them, or at least bitch slap them with her saggy ole titties!
Kanye is that soft ass pop sounding rap music so of course he's going to get reconized by white american award shows like the grammy's.
White people love him right now for that sample of that techno song for "stronger".
They think that techno sample is the best thing since Ally McBeal.
And since the Grammy's are NOT based on record sales it's a damn shame they don't give props like that to hip hop artist like Common, Talib Kwelib, and we know we will never see a tribute to Public Enemy on that joint LMAO
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I'm happy for Kanye because he deserves it...Graduation was truly legendary. I didn't see Common listed but he should get nominated for Finding Forever as well.
As for the others...why are Beyonce and Corrine Bailey Rae still getting nominations? First of all, I love me some Beyonce but didn't B'day come out like 12 years ago? And as for Corrine Bailey Rae...well, she can't sing.
That is all.
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dAMN bEY tAKE a oNE yEAR vACATION yOU dESERVE iT sPEND sOME tIME wITH yOUR mAN, gET mARRIED hAVE a bABY, [EXPLETIVE] sLEEP iN - sTAY uP lATE dO aLL tHAT, jUST sTAY oFF mY dAMN tV fOR a mINUTE...gIVE mE tIME tO mISS yOU, [EXPLETIVE] i sEE yOU mORE tHAN jAYz
I hope he wins album of the year but I have to be honest here! If he wins ALBUM OF THE YEAR its because his Mom passed away and its gonna be a bittersweet victory! He's gonna be a charity case! If his Mom was still here, they would have made him sweat once again, because Late Registration was just as worthy for that award but they gave it to U2! Good Luck tho Kanye, even if it is BITTERSWEET! Congrats in advance!
aye yall how do u make ur screename a different color somebody answer??? but yeah kanye's album was really great, but amy should get album of the year. her album is stupendous. she is great. and Common has 3 grammy nods. so he did get some nods. but the grammys are nothing more than a huge laughing stock. rihanna got 6 nods, and t-pain got 5. come on now. these are like 2 of the most untalented artist ever. there is nothing at all artistic about there music whatsoever. my goodness what has music come to. prime example the ama's akon wins best rnb male soul??? rihanna wins best female rnb soul??? where the hell does either of them have any soul... or better yet they are not even really singers, and they damn sure aint rnb. the grammys get it wrong all the time. why aint musiq soulchild and robin thicke nominated. now thats real deserving talent. award shows these days are nothing more than a popularity contest. the grammys have lost there luster...
he doesnt deserve 8 nods, i mean they are tryin 2 console him followin her mother's death?and t pain got 5 nods(this is a joke ever)...anotha bitch christina aguilera didnt deserve it either....and i wont be surpriesed if kanye wont win and throw a tantrum like he did wit mtv awards..but rihanna didnt rcv a nod for her album,its completely unfair..she should ve been the strongest contender..but i guess i ve 2 deal with it
well, since they gave him all these nominations, I pray he wins something. I would hate to see KANYE turn to a little baby about the situation. What u all have to realize is that this not just a black award, it is all-around. Just because a couple hoodlums bought his album does not constitute he should win. Also, I am sorry for his loss, but we all have loss someone dear to us. The CD is OK, the lyrics are cool, but why does it deserve a Grammy? Because it makes you bob ur head, hmmm? I like Kanye, straight up, and he is hott right now, but these people need better guidelines when selecting artists. You should be nominated for a Grammy because ur well-known or have received other awards...
@ TheMan00: Scroll to top of screen and click account.
Congrats to all the nominees.
The Grammy's are a joke though. It's just a huge popularity contest, real artists' like Common, Talib, Erica Badu, Jill Scott, never get appreciated.
And where the hell are Fergie's nominations? Damn she should at least get an award for having like 5 successful singles from one album. Damn how many folk can do that now?
Most people have one good single on an entire album, but her album is off the chain. LOL
The Grammys need to really acknowledge Kayne Wests' Graduation CD. It's one of the best hiphop CDs out there! May he finds the strength to continue to keep his head up following his mom's untimely death though. I don't know enuf about A. Winehouse but the crap she doing & the media MAKES SURE we know of it. Hope she gets herself 2gether too!!
At one time, the grammy was the hardest award to get. But now, every body gets a nomination. Bunch of mess.
Rick Ross, India arie, fergie, avril lavigne, john legend, robin thicke, etc deserved nominations. robin and sean kingston deserved best new artists. song of the year belongs to sean kingston, wait he didn't get nominated.
this is the worst set of nominees so far.
