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LOS ANGELES - Rap star Kanye West scored a leading eight nominations for the 50th annual Grammy Awards, the music industry's highest honors.
British pop/soul singer Amy Winehouse, whose promising career has been sidelined by drug and alcohol problems, followed with six Grammy bids.
Five acts received five nominations each - rock band the Foo Fighters, rapper Jay-Z, hip-hop producer Timbaland, pop singer Justin Timberlake, and R&B singer T-Pain.
Winehouse, 24, was nominated in all four of the top categories: record of the year, album of the year, song of the year (a songwriter's award), and best new artist.
Her second disc, Back to Black, will compete for album of the year with West's Graduation, the Foo Fighters' Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, country singer Vince Gill's These Days, and jazz pianist Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters.
Winehouse's autobiographical single Rehab will vie for record of the year with the Foo Fighters' The Pretender, Timberlake's What Goes Around ... Comes Around, and tracks from two R&B singers - Beyonce's Irreplaceable and Rihanna's Umbrella, featuring Jay-Z.
Rehab and Umbrella were nominated for song of the year, alongside country star Carrie Underwood's Before He Cheats, pop band Plain White T's Hey There Delilah, and singer/songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae's Like a Star.
The field for best new artist is dominated by women: Winehouse, Canadian singer/songwriter Feist, country singer Taylor Swift, R&B singer Ledisi, and the female-fronted rock band Paramore.
West's categories were mostly in the rap field, including nominations for best rap album (Graduation) and two entries for best rap song (Can't Tell Me Nothing and Good Life).
Winners will be announced during ceremonies in Los Angeles on February 10.
- REUTERS
