The Recording Academy was definitive yesterday at the nomination ceremony for the 50th annual Grammy Awards in Hollywood: Go West, young man.
Rapper Kanye West led the pack, garnering eight nominations for his CD “Graduation,” including the top prize, Album of the Year.
But West, who has whined about not winning awards, might find himself Winehousing instead. Er ratic British singer Amy Wine house was nominated for six awards – including Album of the Year.
Comic George Lopez, who read her nominations, couldn’t help but poke fun at the hard-living singer, saying, “Could somebody wake her up this afternoon around 6 and tell her?”
Other multiple nominees include the Foo Fighters, Jay-Z, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and T-Pain, each snagging five nods.
Bruce Springsteen got four nods, even though his record “Magic” was in contention only because of a clever trick: Columbia Records released a vinyl LP version on the cutoff date, when the CD wouldn’t be ready until a week later.
Of the 110 categories this year, no single category illustrated the stylistic scatter gun that has divided music in 2007 as well as Album of the Year, where country, hip-hop, jazz, pop and rock genres are all facing off.
For top honors, West’s decidedly urban “Graduation” goes up against Winehouse’s “Back to Black,” the Foo Fighters’ “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace,” country star Vince Gill’s “These Days” and pianist Herbie Hancock’s “River: The Joni Letters.”
At the ceremony, Neil Portnow, president of the Recording Academy concurred, saying, “This year’s nominations truly reflect a diverse and talented community of artists.”
The Grammy Awards will be held Feb. 10 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and broadcast on CBS.