Lil Wayne Leads Grammy^® Nominations with Eight; Coldplay Earns Seven, and Jay-Z, Ne-Yo and Kanye West Each Garner Six

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nominations for the 51st Annual GRAMMY^® Awards were announced tonight by The Recording Academy^® and reflected one of the most diverse years ever with the Album Of The Year category alone representing the rap, R&B, folk and rock genres. For the first time, nominations for the annual GRAMMY Awards were announced on primetime television as part of "The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!! — Countdown To Music's Biggest Night^®." The one-hour special — broadcast live on CBS from NOKIA Theatre L.A LIVE — featured past GRAMMY winners and nominees reading nominations in several categories, as well as performing songs from the GRAMMY Hall of Fame in celebration of the grand opening of the GRAMMY Museum^SM. Two-time GRAMMY winner LL Cool J and 50th GRAMMY nominee Taylor Swift co-hosted the telecast, and presenters/performers included four-time GRAMMY winner Christina Aguilera, five-time GRAMMY winners Mariah Carey and Celine Dion, the six-time GRAMMY-winning Foo Fighters, 14-time GRAMMY winner B.B. King, five-time GRAMMY winner John Mayer, and Swift. The 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held on "GRAMMY Sunday," Feb. 8, 2009, at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles and once again will be broadcast live in high definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on CBS from 8 – 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

“If I Never See Your Face Again”

Lil Wayne tops the nominations with eight, Coldplay garners seven, and Jay-Z, Ne-Yo and Kanye West each earn six nods. Alison Krauss, John Mayer, Robert Plant, Radiohead and Jazmine Sullivan receive five each, and Adele, Danger Mouse, Eagles, Lupe Fiasco, George Strait, and T.I. each have four nominations.

"The GRAMMY Awards process once again has yielded a comprehensive, diverse and eclectic group of excellent nominees across multiple genres," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. "This year's nominations are truly reflective of the talented community of artists and creators who represent some of the highest levels of musical excellence. Coupled with our first-ever primetime nominations special, featuring stellar performances by past GRAMMY winners and nominees, we're off to an incredible start on the road to Music's Biggest Night and the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards in February."

Following is a sampling of nominations in 110 categories from the GRAMMY Awards' 32 Fields:

GENERAL FIELD

Nominees for Album Of The Year are:
Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends — Coldplay
Tha Carter III — Lil Wayne
Year Of The Gentleman — Ne-Yo
Raising Sand — Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
In Rainbows — Radiohead

Nominees for Record Of The Year are:
"Chasing Pavements" — Adele
"Viva La Vida" — Coldplay
"Bleeding Love" — Leona Lewis
"Paper Planes" — M.I.A
"Please Read The Letter" — Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Best New Artist nominees are:
Adele
Duffy
Jonas Brothers
Lady Antebellum
Jazmine Sullivan

Song Of The Year nominees include:
"American Boy" — William Adams, Keith Harris, Josh Lopez, Caleb Speir, John Stephens, Estelle Swaray & Kanye West, songwriters (Estelle Featuring Kanye West)
"Chasing Pavements" — Adele Adkins & Eg White, songwriters (Adele)
"I'm Yours" — Jason Mraz, songwriter (Jason Mraz)
"Love Song" — Sara Bareilles, songwriter (Sara Bareilles)
"Viva La Vida" — Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion, & Chris Martin, songwriters (Coldplay)

POP FIELD

Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals nominees are:
"Viva La Vida" — Coldplay
"Waiting In The Weeds" — Eagles
"Going On" — Gnarls Barkley
"Won't Go Home Without You" — Maroon 5
"Apologize" — OneRepublic

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals nods go to:
"Lesson Learned" — Alicia Keys & John Mayer
"4 Minutes" — Madonna, Justin Timberlake & Timbaland
"Rich Woman" — Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
"If I Never See Your Face Again" — Rihanna & Maroon 5
"No Air" — Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown

Nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album go to:
Detours — Sheryl Crow
Rockferry — Duffy
Long Road Out Of Eden — Eagles
Spirit — Leona Lewis
Covers — James Taylor

DANCE FIELD

For Best Dance Recording, the nominees are:
"Harder Better Faster Stronger" — Daft Punk
"Ready For The Floor" — Hot Chip
"Just Dance" — Lady Gaga & Colby O'Donis
"Give It 2 Me" —Madonna
"Disturbia" — Rihanna
"Black & Gold" — Sam Sparro

TRADITIONAL POP FIELD

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album nominees are:
Still Unforgettable — Natalie Cole
The Sinatra Project — Michael Feinstein
Noël — Josh Groban
In The Swing Of Christmas — Barry Manilow
Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall — Rufus Wainwright

ROCK FIELD

Nominations for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals go to:
"Rock 'N Roll Train" — AC/DC
"Violet Hill" — Coldplay
"Long Road Out Of Eden" — Eagles
"Sex On Fire" — Kings Of Leon
"House Of Cards" — Radiohead

Nods for Best Rock Song go to:
"Girls In Their Summer Clothes" — Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen)
"House Of Cards" — Colin Greenwood, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Philip Selway & Thom Yorke, songwriters (Radiohead)
"I Will Possess Your Heart " — Benjamin Gibbard, Nicholas Harmer, Jason McGerr & Christopher Walla, songwriters (Death Cab For Cutie)
"Sex On Fire" — Caleb Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill & Nathan Followill, songwriters (Kings Of Leon)
"Violet Hill" — Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion, & Chris Martin, songwriters (Coldplay)

Best Rock Album nominees are:
Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends — Coldplay
Rock N Roll Jesus — Kid Rock
Only By The Night — Kings Of Leon
Death Magnetic — Metallica
Consolers Of The Lonely — The Raconteurs

R&B FIELD

Nominees for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals are:
"Ribbon In The Sky" — Boyz II Men
"Words" — Anthony David Featuring Indie.Arie
"Stay With Me (By The Sea)" — Al Green Featuring John Legend
"I'm His Only Woman" — Jennifer Hudson Featuring Fantasia
"Never Give You Up" — Raphael Saadiq Featuring Stevie Wonder & CJ Hilton

Best Urban/Alternative Performance nods go to:
"Say Goodbye To Love" — Kenna
"Wanna Be" — Maiysha
"Be OK" — Chrisette Michele Featuring will.i.am
"Many Moons" — Janelle Monae
"Lovin You (Music)" — Wayna Featuring Kokayi

For Best R&B Album, the nominees are:
Love & Life — Eric Benét
Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA — Boyz II Men
Lay It Down — Al Green
Jennifer Hudson — Jennifer Hudson
The Way I See It — Raphael Saadiq

RAP FIELD

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration nods go to:
"American Boy" — Estelle Featuring Kanye West
"Low" — Flo Rida Featuring T-Pain
"Green Light" — John Legend & Andre 3000
"Got Money" — Lil Wayne Featuring T-Pain
"Superstar" — Lupe Fiasco Featuring Matthew Santos

Nominees for Best Rap Song are:
"Lollipop" — D. Carter, S. Garrett, D.Harrison, J. Scheffer & R. Zamor, songwriters (Lil Wayne Featuring Static Major)
"Low" — T. Dillard, M. Humphrey & T-Pain, songwriters (Flo Rida Featuring T-Pain)
"Sexual Eruption" — Calvin Broadus, S. Lovejoy & D. Stewart, songwriters (Snoop Dogg)
"Superstar" — Lupe Fiasco & Soundtrakk, songwriter (Lupe Fiasco Featuring Matthew Santos)
"Swagga Like Us" — D. Carter, S. Carter, Clifford Harris, & Kanye West, songwriters (M. Arulpragasam, N. Headon, M. Jones, J. Mellor, T. Pentz, P. Simonon, songwriters)(Jay-Z & T.I. Featuring Kanye West & Lil Wayne)

For Best Rap Album, the nominees are:
American Gangster — Jay-Z
Tha Carter III — Lil Wayne
The Cool — Lupe Fiasco
Nas — Nas
Paper Trail — T.I.

COUNTRY FIELD

Nods for Best Country Collaboration With Vocals go to:
"Shiftwork" — Kenny Chesney & George Strait
"Killing The Blues" — Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
"House Of Cash" — George Strait & Patty Loveless
"Life In A Northern Town" — Sugarland, Jake Owen & Little Big Town
"Let The Wind Chase You" — Trisha Yearwood & Keith Urban

For Best Country Song, the nominees are:
"Dig Two Graves" — Ashley Gorley & Bob Regan, songwriters (Randy Travis)
"I Saw God Today" — Rodney Clawson, Monty Criswell & Wade Kirby, songwriters (George Strait)
"In Color" — Jamey Johnson, Lee Thomas Miller & James Otto, songwriters (Jamey Johnson)
"Stay" — Jennifer Nettles, songwriter (Sugarland)
"You're Gonna Miss This" — Ashley Gorley & Lee Thomas Miller, songwriters (Trace Adkins)

Nominations for Best Country Album are:
That Lonesome Song — Jamey Johnson
Sleepless Nights — Patty Loveless
Troubadour — George Strait
Around The Bend — Randy Travis
Heaven, Heartache And The Power Of Love — Trisha Yearwood

JAZZ FIELD

For Best Contemporary Jazz Album, the nominees are:
Randy In Brasil — Randy Brecker
Floating Point — John McLaughlin
Cannon Re-Loaded: All-Star Celebration Of Cannonball Adderley — (Various Artists) Gregg Field & Tom Scott, producers
Miles From India — (Various Artists) Bob Belden, producer
Lifecycle — Yellowjackets Featuring Mike Stern

Nods for Best Jazz Vocal Album go to:
Imagina: Songs Of Brasil — Karrin Allyson
Breakfast On The Morning Tram — Stacey Kent
If Less Is More…Nothing Is Everything — Kate McGarry
Loverly — Cassandra Wilson
Distances — Norma Winstone (Glauco Venier & Klaus Gesing)

This year's Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical nominations go to: Danger Mouse, Nigel Godrich, Johnny Karkazis, Rick Rubin, and will.i.am.

GRAMMY ballots for the final round of voting will be mailed on Dec. 17 to the voting members of The Recording Academy. They are due back to the accounting firm of Deloitte by Jan. 14, 2009, when they will be tabulated and the results kept secret until the telecast.

The 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards are produced by John Cossette Productions and AEG Ehrlich Ventures for The Recording Academy. Ken Ehrlich and John Cossette are executive producers, Walter C. Miller is producer/director, Tisha Fein is the coordinating producer.

Established in 1957, The Recording Academy is an organization of musicians, producers, engineers and recording professionals that is dedicated to improving the cultural condition and quality of life for music and its makers. Internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards — the preeminent peer-recognized award for musical excellence and the most credible brand in music — The Recording Academy is responsible for groundbreaking professional development, cultural enrichment, advocacy, education and human services programs. The Academy continues to focus on its mission of recognizing musical excellence, advocating for the well-being of music makers and ensuring music remains an indelible part of our culture. For more information about The Academy, please visit www.grammy.com.

MEDIA, PLEASE NOTE: A complete list of nominees is available at www.grammy.com. For information detailing how to apply for press credentials to cover the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards, please click on the "Press" link located on the GRAMMY.com home page (http://www.grammy.com/press/credentials.aspx) and follow the directions posted. No credential applications will be accepted in any form other than that outlined on the Web site. The deadline to apply is Friday, Dec. 24, 2008, at 5 p.m. (PT). NO EXCEPTIONS.