By SANDY COHEN
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lil Wayne — the most prolific, ubiquitous and successful performer on today's music scene — was the most rewarded by the Recording Academy on Wednesday, receiving eight Grammy nominations including album of the year for "Tha Carter III."
Following close behind with seven was Coldplay, whose "Viva La Vida" is one of the year's best-selling CDs. It was in album of the year contention, along with Radiohead's groundbreaking "In Rainbows"; singer-songwriter Ne-Yo's "Year of the Gentleman"; and Robert Plant's collaboration with Alison Krauss, "Raising Sand."
Nominations were announced in a brand-new format this year, with an hourlong live prime-time CBS concert special that featured a brisk procession of performers and LL Cool J and Taylor Swift as hosts.
Coldplay and Plant & Krauss were also nominated in the coveted record of the year category for the respective songs "Viva La Vida" and "Please Read the Letter." Other record of the year nominees were British songstress Leona Lewis for "Bleeding Love"; another British newcomer, Adele, for chasing pavement; and M.I.A. for her breakthrough hit, "Paper Planes."
Some surprising omissions: Katy Perry, who had one of the year's biggest hits with "I Kissed a Girl," was shut out of the top categories, including record of the year and best new artist. Metallica got three nominations, but their huge comeback record "Death Magnetic" didn't get a nod for album of the year despite being one of the year's top sellers.
Shut out was Swift, last year's best new artist nominee. She has had a sensational year thanks to the continued success of her 2006 self-titled debut album and her latest top-selling CD, "Fearless." While neither were eligible for consideration, her recent singles were.
While Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III" was not regarded by critics as his greatest CD, it was the album that made the highly regarded veteran a pop superstar, thanks to massive hits like "Lollipop" and "A Milli." The CD was the only record this year to sell 1 million copies in its first week.
Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" was its first album in three years, and was also a huge hit.
Radiohead's "In Rainbows" didn't break sales records, but it was as revolutionary as it was critically acclaimed. First released last fall in a pay-as-you wish format on the band's Web site, "In Rainbows" was an instant viral sensation, and shook up an industry struggling with its traditional business model (although Radiohead later released the album traditionally via a record label).
Plant linked up with Grammy darling and bluegrass artist Krauss for a CD that pushed both in different musical directions, while Ne-Yo, who has produced several smashes for other artists, had success with "Year of the Gentleman."
"When I was putting it together, I was trying to do something that everybody could get into, as opposed to just my pop and R&B core group," Ne-Yo, who got six nominations, said after the ceremony. "I was trying to do something that the world could enjoy and I think that the Grammy people paid attention to that."
Also nominated were The Jonas Brothers for the best new artist category. While they have already released two CDs, their latest, "A Little Bit Longer," was their biggest yet in their breakthrough year. The teen sensations join Duffy and Adele, both singers with a soul bent; singer-songwriter Jazmine Sullivan; and breakout country act Lady Antebellum.
Sullivan, who has drawn comparisons to Lauryn Hill with her hit "I Need You Bad," had a breakthrough night, with five nominations. Other multiple nominees included Jay-Z, Ne-Yo and Kanye West, who had six each; Krauss, who has numerous Grammy wins, got five nominations.
Another Grammy favorite, John Mayer, netted five as well.
The Recording Academy typically has announced nominations like most top awards shows, during a morning news conference. But in an era where awards shows are as commonplace as reality shows, even the top-tier events are finding it hard to stand out.
So they put on the prime-time event, which kicked off with past Grammy winner Mariah Carey singing a song from her classic Christmas album, decked out in a short red minidress to give some holiday cheer. Christina Aguilera sang "I Loves You Porgy," while the Foo Fighters rocked up Carly Simon's classic "You're So Vain."
Held at the Nokia Theatre, the show also celebrated the Saturday opening of the new Grammy Museum next door.
The Grammy Awards are scheduled for live broadcast on CBS on Feb 8. Last year's show drew 17.2 million viewers, making it one of the least-watched Grammys and continuing the trend of shrinking awards-show audiences.
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