Lil Wayne, Coldplay Lead Grammy Nominee Field

Already on track to have the best-selling album of 2008, rapper Lil Wayne leads the nominations for the 51st Annual Grammy Awards with eight, including album of the year and best rap album for "Tha Carter III," best rap song for "Lollipop" and best rap/sung collaboration for "Got Money" featuring T-Pain.Other leading artists are Coldplay, who earned seven nominations, and Jay-Z, Ne-Yo and Kane West, who each scored six.In album of the year, the nominees were: Coldplay for "Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends," Lil Wayne for "Tha Carter III," Ne-Yo for "Year of the Gentlemen," Robert Plant and Alison Krauss for "Raising Sand" and Radiohead for "In Rainbows."For record of the year, the nominees were: Adele for "Chasing Pavements," Coldplay for "Viva La Vida," Leona Lewis for "Bleeding Love," M.I.A. for "Paper Planes" and Plant & Krauss for "Please Read the Letter."Song of the year nominees include: "American Boy," by songwriters William Adams, Keith Harris, Josh Lopez, Caleb Speir, John Stephens, Estelle Swaray and Kanye West; "Chasing Pavements" by songwriters Adele Adkins and Eg White; "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz; "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles; and "Viva La Vida" by songwriters Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Chris Martin.

Two of West's nominations came for his production on "Tha Carter III" and "American Boy." He is also up against himself in the best rap performance by a duo or group category, for "Swagga Like Us" with Jay-Z & T.I. and featuring Lil Wayne and "Put On" with Young Jeezy. Jay-Z also faces off against himself in that category, with "Swagga" going up against his collaboration with Wayne on "Mr. Carter."In the best new artist category, Adele, Duffy, the Jonas Brothers, Lady Antebellum and Jazmine Sullivan received nominations. In the best pop collaboration category with vocals, the nominees were: Alicia Keys and John Mayer for "Lessons Learned," Madonna, Justin Timberlake and Timbaland for "4 Minutes," Plant and Krauss for "Rich Woman," Rihanna and Maroon 5 for "If I Never See Your Face Again" and Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown for "No Air."Brooks & Dunn's "God Must Be Busy," Lady Antebellum's "Love Don't Live Here," Rascal Flatts' "Everyday," the SteelDrivers' "Blue Side of the Mountain" and Sugarland's "Stay" are up for best country performance by a duo or group with vocals.Danger Mouse, Nigel Godrich, Johnny Karkazis, Rick Rubin, and will.i.am are nominated for producer of the year, non-classical.For the first time this year, the Recording Academy unveiled nominations in the top categories via a primetime concert special on CBS. Co-hosted by Taylor Swift and LL Cool J from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, it featured performances by Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Mayer and B.B. King and the Foo Fighters, all singing their favorite songs that have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.Proceeds will benefit the Grammy Museum, which opens Dec. 6 at the L.A. Live complex in downtown Los Angeles.Grammy ballots will be mailed Dec. 17; they are due back on Jan. 14, 2009. The 51st Annual Grammy Awards will be held Feb. 8, 2009 at Staples Center in Los Angeles and again broadcast on CBS.