Kanye West, Amy Winehouse, Foo Fighters, Jay-Z, Justin Score Big Grammy Nominations

Akon, Fergie, Foos, Linkin Park among announcers at ceremony.

Everyone figured there would be two names dominating this year's Grammy Awards nominees: rapper Kanye West and troubled songstress Amy Winehouse. And Thursday morning (December 6), when the nominees were announced in Hollywood, West's and Winehouse's names came up a lot.

By the time the nominees had all been named -- a serviced performed this year by Akon, Fergie, Linkin Park's Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda, the Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins, country artist Taylor Swift and comedian George Lopez at the Music Box @ Fonda theater -- Kanye West topped the nominations with eight. Amy Winehouse scored six, while the Foo Fighters, Jay-Z, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and T-Pain each earned five nods. Akon, Dierks Bentley, Chris Daughtry, Feist, Tim McGraw, John Newton, Ne-Yo, Rihanna and Bruce Springsteen received four each.

Kanye and Winehouse will go head-to-head for Album of the Year honors: West for his third opus, Graduation, and Winehouse for her sophomore LP, Back to Black. Both are in the running alongside the Foo Fighters, for Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace; country singer Vince Gill's These Days; and jazz legend Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters.

Winehouse responded to the news on Thursday, according to UsMagazine.com. "I'm honored to have my music recognized with these nominations," the singer reportedly said. "This is a true validation from people I respect and admire."

The 50th Grammy Awards will be held February 10 in Los Angeles' Staples Center; only albums released between October 1, 2006, and September 30, 2007, could be considered for this year's awards. The Grammys are determined by 12,000 music industry professionals who belong to the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences.

West is also up for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for his track "Good Life," which features T-Pain. He'll contend with Akon and Snoop Dogg's "I Wanna Love You"; Chris Brown and T-Pain's "Kiss, Kiss"; Keyshia Cole, Missy Elliott and Lil' Kim's "Let It Go"; and Rihanna and Jay-Z's smash hit, "Umbrella." He's also nominated for Best Rap Album for Graduation and produced fellow nominee Common's Finding Forever; other nods for the award went to Jay-Z's Kingdom Come, Nas' Hip Hop Is Dead and T.I.'s T.I. vs. T.I.P.

The numerous nominations come as good news for West, following the [article id="1573999"]unexpected death of his mother, Donda West[/article], last month.

Winehouse, a major tabloid media target this year who Lopez said "makes Lindsay Lohan look normal," is also in the running for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Rehab." Also nominated is Christina Aguilera (for "Candyman"), Feist ("1234"), Fergie ("Big Girls Don't Cry") and Nelly Furtado ("Say It Right"). Winehouse's "Rehab" was also nominated for Song of the Year alongside Carrie Underwood (for "Before He Cheats"), the Plain White T's ("Hey There Delilah"), Corinne Bailey Rae ("Like a Star") and Rihanna ("Umbrella").

Winehouse is also nominated for Best New Artist, a category that also saw the nominations of Feist, Ledesi, Paramore and Taylor Swift. "Rehab" is also up for Record of the Year, against Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable," the Foo Fighters' "The Pretender," Rihanna's "Umbrella" and Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around ... Comes Around."

When the Record of the Year contenders were announced, Swift rushed to the side of Foos Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins and hugged them. Grohl told her, "Don't worry -- you've got it in the bag."

In the Best Solo Rock Vocal category, Beck came through with a nod, for "Timebomb," while Paul McCartney's "Only Mama Knows," John Mellancamp's "Our Country," Bruce Springsteen's "Radio Nowhere" and Lucinda Williams' "Come On" were also noticed. Meanwhile, Lily Allen's Alright, Still was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album and will do battle with the Arcade Fire's Neon Bible, Björk's Volta, the Shins' Wincing the Night Away and the White Stripes' Icky Thump.

Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around ... Comes Around" was nominated for the year's Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, as were nominees Michael Bublé ("Everything"), John Mayer ("Belief"), McCartney ("Dance Tonight") and Seal ("Amazing"). Bon Jovi's Lost Highway, Feist's The Reminder, Maroon 5's It Won't Be Soon Before Long, McCartney's Memory Almost Full and Winehouse's Back to Black are all in the running for Best Pop Vocal Album.

West was nominated twice in the Best Rap Song category, grabbing nods for his tracks "Good Life" and "Can't Tell Me Nothing," which gives him the upper edge over fellow nominees 50 Cent (for "Ayo Technology"), T.I. ("Big Things Poppin' "), and Soulja Boy "Crank That)." 'Ye's song "Stronger" will face off against 50's "I Get Money," Common's "The People," Jay-Z's "Show Me What You Got," and T.I.'s "Big Things Poppin'," for Best Rap Solo Performance.

Ledisi's Lost and Found also picked up a nomination in the Best R&B Album category. That album will be pitted against Chaka Khan's Funk This, Musiq Soulchild's Luvanmusiq, Jill Scott's The Real Thing and Tank's Sex, Love & Pain.

Last but not least, in a quirky intersection of entertainment and politics, Senator Barack Obama will face off with former President Bill Clinton in the Best Spoken Word Album category. Clinton's "Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World" audio disc has been nominated, as has Obama's "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream." Obama previously nabbed the Best Spoken Word Album Grammy in 2006 for "Dreams from My Father."

Selected List of Grammy Nominations

Record of the Year

· Beyoncé - "Irreplaceable"

· Foo Fighters - "The Pretender"

· Rihanna (featuring Jay-Z) - "Umbrella"

· Justin Timberlake - "What Goes Around ... Comes Around"

· Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"

Album of the Year

· Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace

· Vince Gill - These Days

· Herbie Hancock - River: The Joni Letters

· Kanye West - Graduation

· Amy Winehouse - Back to Black

Song of the Year

· Carrie Underwood - "Before He Cheats"

· Plain White T's - "Hey There Delilah"

· Corinne Bailey Rae - "Like a Star"

· Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"

· Rihanna (featuring Jay-Z) - "Umbrella"

Best New Artist

· Feist

· Ledisi

· Paramore

· Taylor Swift

· Amy Winehouse

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance

· Christina Aguilera - "Candyman"

· Feist - "1234"

· Fergie - "Big Girls Don't Cry"

· Nelly Furtado - "Say It Right"

· Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance

· Michael Bublé - "Everything"

· John Mayer - "Belief"

· Paul McCartney - "Dance Tonight"

· Seal - "Amazing"

· Justin Timberlake - "What Goes Around ... Comes Around"

Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal

· Bon Jovi - "(You Want To) Make a Memory"

· Daughtry - "Home"

· Maroon 5 - "Makes Me Wonder"

· Plain White T's - "Hey There Delilah"

· U2 - "Window in the Skies"

Best Hard Rock Performance

· Evanescence - "Sweet Sacrifice"

· Foo Fighters - "The Pretender"

· Ozzy Osbourne - "I Don't Wanna Stop"

· Queens of the Stone Age - "Sick, Sick, Sick"

· Tool - "The Pot"

Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal

· Daughtry - "It's Not Over"

· Green Day - "Working Class Hero"

· Nickelback - "If Everyone Cared"

· U2 - "Instant Karma"

· The White Stripes - "Icky Thump"

Best Metal Performance

· As I Lay Dying - "Nothing Left"

· King Diamond - "Never Ending Hill"

· Machine Head - "Aesthetics of Hate"

· Shadows Fall - "Redemption"

· Slayer - "Final Six"

Best Rock Song

· Lucinda Williams - "Come On"

· The White Stripes - "Icky Thump"

· Daughtry - "It's Not Over"

· Foo Fighters - "The Pretender"

· Bruce Springsteen - "Radio Nowhere"

Best Rock Album

· Daughtry - Daughtry

· John Fogerty - Revival

· Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace

· Bruce Springsteen - Magic

· Wilco - Sky Blue Sky

Best Pop Vocal Album

· Bon Jovi - Lost Highway

· Feist - The Reminder

· Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long

· Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full

· Amy Winehouse - Back to Black

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance

· Mary J. Blige - "Just Fine"

· Fantasia - "When I See U"

· Alicia Keys - "No One"

· Chrisette Michele - "If I Have My Way"

· Jill Scott - "Hate on Me"

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance

· Raheem DeVaughn - "Woman"

· Musiq Soulchild - "B.U.D.D.Y."

· Ne-Yo - "Because of You"

· Prince - "Future Baby Mama"

· Tank - "Please Don't Go"

Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals

· R. Kelly (featuring Usher) - "Same Girl"

· Chaka Khan (featuring Mary J. Blige) - "Disrespectful"

· Rihanna (featuring Ne-Yo) - "Hate That I Love You"

· Angie Stone (featuring Betty Wright) - "Baby"

· T-Pain (featuring Akon) - "Bartender"

Best R&B Song

· India.Arie - "Beautiful Flower"

· Rihanna (featuring Ne-Yo) - "Hate That I Love You"

· Alicia Keys - "No One"

· Musiq Soulchild - "Teachme"

· Fantasia - "When I See U"

Best Contemporary R&B Album

· Akon - Konvicted

· Keyshia Cole - Just Like You

· Fantasia - Fantasia

· Emily King - East Side Story

· Ne-Yo - Because of You

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group

· Common (featuring Kanye West) - "Southside"

· Fat Joe (featuring Lil Wayne) - "Make It Rain"

· Shop Boyz - "Party Like a Rockstar"

· UGK (featuring Outkast) - "Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)"

· Kanye West, Nas and KRS-One - "Better Than I've Ever Been"

Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package

· My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade

· Panic! at the Disco - A Fever You Can't Sweat Out

· The White Stripes - Icky Thump

· H.I.M. - Venus Doom

· V/A - What It Is!: Funky Soul and Rare Grooves (1967-1977)

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical

· Howard Benson

· Joe Chiccarelli

· Mike Elizondo

· Mark Ronson

· Timbaland

For a complete list of Grammy nominees, go to grammy.com.

Don't sleep until February 10 -- geek out on the Grammys with MTV News' complete coverage right here!

[This story was originally published at 12:38 pm E.T. on 12.06.2007]