Amy Winehouse, the British soul singer whose continued troubles with substance abuse have turned her into a tabloid regular, drew six Grammy nominations, including nods in the four premier categories, as the contenders for the 50th annual awards ceremony were announced here last week.
Winehouse, who scored a hit with her modern twist on soul music but has suffered repeated setbacks, including a drug seizure and cancellations of her tour, received nominations for album of the year, for Back to Black as well as for record and song of the year for the self-referential hit single, Rehab, about her refusal to enter treatment. This 24-year-old singer, whose well-publicized problems raised questions about how Grammy voters would view her, will also be in contention for best new artist when the awards are handed out Feb. 10 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and broadcast on CBS.
Though Winehouse was the only performer to appear in all four of the most prestigious categories, she fell short of drawing the most nominations. That distinction went to the rap star Kanye West, who led the field with eight nominations, including his third for album of the year for the latest CD in his college-themed trilogy, Graduation. West's nominations also included those for best rap album and two of the five slots in the best rap song field, Good Life and Can't Tell Me Nothing.
PHOTO: NY TIMES NEWS
The biggest surprise may have been the relatively low profile of Bruce Springsteen, whose new album, Magic, with the E Street Band, had been praised by critics as a return to his classic rock style. Springsteen did draw four nominations, but none in the marquee categories. Magic had been seen as a favorite for the album of the year category, which Springsteen has never won.
Instead the album of the year field included surprise entries from recordings far removed from the pop mainstream, including the country singer Vince Gill's These Days, and the jazz composer Herbie Hancock's River: the Joni Letters. In addition to Winehouse and West, the competition will include the new album, Echoes, Patience & Grace, from a previous Grammy favorite, the Foo Fighters. Nominees for song of the year included Before He Cheats, recorded by Carrie Underwood, Winehouse's Rehab, Rihanna's hit Umbrella, Corinne Bailey Rae's Like a Star, and the hit song Hey There Delilah by the Plain White T's.
The contenders for best new artist - four female solo performers and a female-fronted band - yielded some unexpected names, including the R&B singer Ledisi and the pop-punk act Paramore. Also nominated were the Canadian singer-songwriter Feist, Winehouse and the teenage country star Taylor Swift. (Not all the nominees were exactly new: Paramore garnered fame this year with its second album; this was Feist's third solo work.)
The nominations came as the event's organizer, the National Academy of Recordings Arts and Sciences, is aiming to add weight to the ceremony, which over the years has come under fire for hewing too closely to the music industry's commercial priorities. Grammy organizers already have undertaken an effort to create a historic feel for the event, including the broadcast of a two-hour special on the CBS network last week, My Night at the Grammys, spotlighting past performances, and the creation of a seven-CD series collecting Grammy-winning songs from the major genre fields.
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