Kanye West, Usher, Alicia Keys Lead Grammy Nominations

By: Jim Abbott
Posted In: Entertainment

New faces of R&B and one of the genre’s legends are among the leading nominees for top honors at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards.

Innovative rapper Kanye West led the field with 10 nods, followed by R&B singer and MTV sex symbol Usher and soulful singer Alicia Keys with eight each. American icon Ray Charles took seven nominations for his posthumously released “Genius Loves Company.”

Usher was expected to lead the nominations announced Tuesday in Los Angeles, so it was surprising to some industry insiders that West managed to slip by him. Usher’s “Confessions” has sold more than 7 million copies, roughly three times as many as West’s “The College Dropout.”

“The biggest surprise is Kanye getting more nods than Usher,” said Chuck Taylor, managing editor for Billboard Radio Monitor. “That may be a battle cry for rappers to come up with something different than the violence, crime, money and misogyny that has been carrying that genre for years. He made a more thoughtful album, and critics and the public are reacting to that.”

“College Dropout” will vie for best album against the Charles all-star duet album “Genius Loves Company,” Green Day’s “American Idiot,” Keys’ “The Diary Of Alicia Keys” and Usher’s “Confessions.”

Usher, Charles and Green Day also surfaced on the record of the year list: Usher for his collaboration with Ludacris and Lil Jon on “Yeah!”; Charles for his duet with Norah Jones on “Here We Go Again”; and Green Day for “American Idiot’s” title track.

Rounding out that category was “Let’s Get It Started” by the Black Eyed Peas and “Heaven” by Texas-based alt-country group Los Lonely Boys. The group also was nominated for best new artist, in a field against pop-rock band Maroon 5, British teen soul singer Joss Stone, West and country artist Gretchen Wilson.

The nominees for best song category, an award for songwriters, were “Daughters” (John Mayer); “If I Ain’t Got You” (Alicia Keys); “Jesus Walks” (C. Smith and Kanye West); “Live Like You Were Dying” (Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman); and Hoobastank’s “The Reason” (Daniel Estrin and Douglas Robb).

In other categories, Wilson’s “Here for the Party” is nominated for best country album against Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying,” Tift Merritt’s “Tambourine,” Keith Urban’s “Be Here” and Loretta Lynn’s “Van Lear Rose.” The latter, produced by White Stripes member Jack White, garnered five nominations for the longtime country star.

Still, Wilson’s recognition for “Redneck Woman” is more significant, says Billboard’s Taylor.

“It brought women back to forefront in country radio, and they had been missing for a long time,” he says. “Plus, it’s a great song, something really relatable to people, and it’s always nice when the Grammys recognize that.”

Winners will be announced in a live televised ceremony Feb. 13 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles (8 p.m. EST, CBS).

This year’s list of nominees is a diverse yet predictable group that shows the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences sticking to a familiar pattern. The academy has always has had a weakness for top-selling stars and well-established icons, the latter often honored long after defining moments- or even death.

There also were occasional oddities, such as Elvis Costello’s darkly country “The Delivery Man” showing up on the rock album list.

Charles, a 12-time Grammy winner who died in June at age 73, looks to be a strong sentimental favorite. A win also would dovetail nicely with the expected Oscar nomination of Jamie Foxx for his starring role in the hit bio-pic “Ray.”

Beach Boy Brian Wilson also was nominated in the pop vocal album category for “Smile,” the retooled version of his long-unreleased 1960s masterpiece.

Despite his influential work with the Beach Boys, Wilson and that band were ignored until a belated lifetime achievement award in 2001. A win this year for the brilliant “Smile” would be a make-good for that snub.

Billboard’s Taylor says the field is balanced enough that a Norah Jones-style sweep for one of the top nominees might be unlikely. He wouldn’t bet against Usher, though.

“I think Usher’s going to have a great year at the Grammys and I think he should,” Taylor says. “He had the best-selling album of 2004 for a reason. He’s had a phenomenal year- and he’s talented.”

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c 2004, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).

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