Lil Wayne, Coldplay star in Grammy
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 19:54:00 12/04/2008
Filed Under: Entertainment (general), Music
LOS ANGELES—New Orleans rapper Lil Wayne, riding a wave with his hugely successful album, raked in eight nominations for the 51st Grammy awards, while British rockers Coldplay followed with seven.
The nominations were announced at a first-ever concert special aired live, with performances by past winners Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Taylor Swift and B.B. King.
Grammy nominations in the past were announced at a news conference but faced with a declining television audience for previous awards shows, organizers staged a much-hyped television event hoping to spark wider interest.
Lil Wayne dominated the nominations in the wake of his best-selling album "That Carter III," which sold a million copies in its first week -- bucking trends in the troubled recording industry.
The hip-hop-heavy nominations saw rappers Jay-Z, Ne-Yo and Kanye West garner six nods apiece in various categories, while singer-guitarist John Mayer, duo Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, Radiohead and R&B artist Jazmine Sullivan each obtained five nominations.
Singer-songwriter Adele, bands Danger Mouse and the Eagles, country star George Strait and rappers Lupe Fiasco and T.I. earned four nominations apiece.
In the key category of album of the year, Coldplay's "Viva la vida" will square off against "Tha Carter III: The Rebirth" by Lil Wayne, Ne-Yo's "Year of the Gentleman," "Raising Sand" by Plant and Krauss, and Radiohead's "In Rainbows."
Fighting it out for best new artist on the Recording Academy's 51st Grammy awards show airing February 8 will be The Jonas Brothers, Brits Adele and Duffy, Sullivan and Lady Antebellum.
For best record of the year, nominations went to "Chasing Pavements" by 20-year-old British soul singer Adele, "Viva La Vida" from Coldplay, "Bleeding Love" by British artist Leona Lewis, "Paper Planes" by M.I.A -- a Briton of Tamil ancestry -- and "Please Read The Letter" by Krauss and Led Zeppelin legend Robert Plant.
Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" also won a nomination for best performance by a duo or group, competing against the reunited Eagles with "Waiting in the Weeds," "Going On" by Gnarls Barkley, Maroon 5's "Won't Go Home Without You" and "Apologize" by OneRepublic.
It was a family night for Coldplay singer Chris Martin, whose wife, Hollywood film star Gwyneth Paltrow, won a nomination for best spoken word album for children for "Brown Bear and Friends."
Madonna and Justin Timberlake got a nomination for best collaboration with vocals for "4 minutes." Madonna also got a nomination for best dance recording for "Give It 2 Me," along with Daft Punk for "Harder Better Faster Stronger" and "Disturbia" by Rihanna.
Australian heavy metal veterans AC/DC -- who released their first album in eight years "Black Ice -- were nominated for best performance in rock by a duo or group. Fellow metal stars Metallica got three nominations including one for best rock album.
Bruce Springsteen's "Girls in Their Summer Clothes," a track from his album "Magic," was nominated for best rock song, a category focused on songwriting. Coldplay won a nomination in the same category for "Violet Hill" as did Radiohead for "House of Cards" and Death Cab for Cutie for "I Will Possess Your Heart."
Former Beatle Paul McCartney was nominated for best male pop vocal performance for the track "That was Me." Ne-Yo was also nominated in the same category for "Closer" as were John Mayer for "Say," 1970s icon James Taylor for "Wichita Lineman," Kid Rock for "All Summer Long" and Jason Mraz for "I'm Yours."
The Grammy Awards show is scheduled for February 8.
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