December 06, 2007. LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Grieving rapper Kanye West and troubled British soul singer Amy Winehouse emerged as the top contenders for next year's 50th Grammy Awards after picking up a total of 14 nominations here Thursday.
West, 30, whose mother Donda died suddenly last month after undergoing plastic surgery, heads the field with eight nominations, including a nod in the coveted album of the year prize for his "Graduation."Winehouse, 24, the talented singer-songwriter who has rarely been out of the tabloid headlines this year following a reported drug overdose, a string of cancelled concerts and turbulent private life, earned six nominations.The Grammys -- the music industry's most prestigious awards -- will be handed out at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 10.As well as being nominated in the best new artist category, Winehouse picked up nods for her hit single "Rehab" in the record of the year and "Back to Black" in the album of the year categories."Rehab" also earned Winehouse nods for song of the year and best female pop vocal performance, while "Back to Black" was also nominated for best pop vocal album.Announcing Winehouse's nominations, comedian George Lopez remarked: "Can someone wake her up around six and tell her?"The quip was a reference to recent photos of Winehouse that appeared in the British media featuring the singer outside her London home in the early hours of Sunday morning, wearing only a bra and jeans.Winehouse was the only artist to earn nominations in the four top categories open to all-comers -- record of the year, album of the year, song of the year and best new artist.Winehouse and West's rivals for honors in the best album stakes include rock band Foo Fighters for "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace."Other contenders for record of the year are Beyonce for "Irreplaceable," Foo Fighters for "The Pretender," Rihanna featuring Jay-Z for "Umbrella" and Justin Timberlake for "What Goes Around ... Comes Around."Winehouse faces stiff competition in the song of the year category from Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats," Plain White T's for "Hey There Delilah," Corinne Bailey Rae for "Like a Star" and Rihanna/Jay-Z for "Umbrella."Elsewhere a crop of artists earned four nominations each, including veteran rocker Bruce Springsteen.Although Springsteen was ignored in the top categories, he picked up nods including best rock album ("Magic") and rock song ("Radio Nowhere"). Other artists earning four nods included hip-hop star Akon and Rihanna.Former Beatle Paul McCartney was also among the nominees, with nods including best male pop vocal performance for "Dance Tonight" and best pop vocal album "Memory Almost Full."The 110 categories see prizes given out in a plethora of obscure categories including polka, Hawaiian and Native American music.Meanwhile, the best spoken word album category will see a politically themed contest featuring White House hopeful Barack Obama and former president Bill Clinton.Obama -- currently locked in a fierce contest with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination -- earned a nod for his audio version of book "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream."Bill Clinton meanwhile was nominated for his reading "Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World," his best-selling guide to how individuals can contribute to worthy causes.