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LOS ANGELES - R&B singer Mary J. Blige led the nominees for the Grammy Awards today, while country outcasts the Dixie Chicks picked up key nods for a defiant tune stemming from critical comments they made about President George W. Bush.
Blige, the 35-year-old "queen of hip-hop soul," earned eight nominations, followed by the Los Angeles rock band the Red Hot Chili Peppers with six.
The Dixie Chicks were one of eight acts with five nominations each. The others were English singer/songwriter James Blunt, singer/guitarist John Mayer, funk veteran Prince, producer Rick Rubin, Black Eyed Peas singer will.i.am, Danger Mouse of the duo Gnarls Barkley, and composer John Williams.
Blige is riding high with her current album The Breakthrough, which has sold more than 6 million copies worldwide. It was not nominated for the coveted album of the year, but the three-time Grammy-winner was cited in such key categories as record and song of the year.
Rock veterans the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who won their lone Grammy in 1993, will compete for album of the year (Stadium Arcadium) alongside the Dixie Chicks (Taking the Long Way), Mayer (Continuum), and a pair of four-time nominees, Gnarls Barkley (St. Elsewhere) and Justin Timberlake (FutureSex/LoveSounds).
The Dixie Chicks have had a tough few years ever since the Texas trio's lead singer Natalie Maines said during a London concert in 2003 that she was ashamed to come from the same state as Bush. Country radio stations boycotted the group, and sales for Taking the Long Way were disappointing. The unrepentant single, Not Ready to Make Nice, was nominated for both song and record of the year.
Rubin, who produced both the Dixie Chicks and Red Hot Chili Peppers albums, said he viewed the country trio's nominations as a validation of their creative integrity.
"They've told the truth. They didn't 'showbiz' their way out of it," he said of the album's tone.
Conversely, Rubin - who was also nominated for producer of the year - was disappointed that the Grammys snubbed the recent No. 1 album by late country icon Johnny Cash, whose career he resurrected in the early 1990s. All four previous releases in Cash's American Recordings series yielded Grammys.
"I'm a little surprised, but it's all cool. Whatever's meant to be," he said.
Another Grammys favorite, Bob Dylan, was shut out of the major categories, with his recent No. 1 album Modern Times yielding just two nominations.
Other acts with four nominations each included R&B singer Beyonce, producer Bryan Michael Cox, gospel artist Israel Houghton, and rapper T.I.
Contenders for best new artist were Blunt and fellow British singers Imogen Heap and Corinne Bailey Rae, American Idol winner Carrie Underwood and R&B singer Chris Brown.
Blunt, 34, whose ballad You're Beautiful was ubiquitous this year, told Reuters, "The Grammys is a pretty phenomenal institution ... so to have my name associated with it is a great honor."
It is rare for three British acts to compete for best new artist, which possibly suggests that American music fans are becoming less "provincial," said Neil Portnow, president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which organizes the event. Nominees and winners are determined by the academy's members, who are music industry professionals.
The artists nominated for record of the year - which goes to the performer and producers - were Blige (Be Without You), Blunt (You're Beautiful), the Dixie Chicks (Not Ready to Make Nice), Gnarls Barkley (Crazy), and Corinne Bailey Rae (Put Your Records On).
The Blige, Blunt, Dixie Chicks and Rae songs will compete for song of the year - a songwriters award - alongside Underwood's Jesus, Take the Wheel.
The 49th annual Grammy Awards will take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 11.
- REUTERS
