Kanye West and Amy Winehouse lead Grammy nominees

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rap star Kanye West scored a leading eight nominations for the 50th annual Grammy Awards, the music industry's highest honors, organizers said on Thursday.

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").

Selected List of Grammy Nominations

Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal · Bon Jovi - "(You Want To) Make a Memory" · Daughtry - "Home" · Maroon 5 - "Makes Me Wonder" · Plain White T's - "Hey There Delilah" · U2 - "Window in the Skies"

Best Hard Rock Performance · Evanescence - "Sweet Sacrifice" · Foo Fighters - "The Pretender" · Ozzy Osbourne - "I Don't Wanna Stop" · Queens of the Stone Age - "Sick, Sick, Sick" · Tool - "The Pot"

Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal · Daughtry - "It's Not Over" · Green Day - "Working Class Hero" · Nickelback - "If Everyone Cared" · U2 - "Instant Karma" · The White Stripes - "Icky Thump"

Best Metal Performance · As I Lay Dying - "Nothing Left" · King Diamond - "Never Ending Hill" · Machine Head - "Aesthetics of Hate" · Shadows Fall - "Redemption" · Slayer - "Final Six"

Best Rock Song · Lucinda Williams - "Come On" · The White Stripes - "Icky Thump" · Daughtry - "It's Not Over" · Foo Fighters - "The Pretender" · Bruce Springsteen - "Radio Nowhere"

Best Rock Album · Daughtry - Daughtry · John Fogerty - Revival · Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace · Bruce Springsteen - Magic · Wilco - Sky Blue Sky

Best Pop Vocal Album · Bon Jovi - Lost Highway · Feist - The Reminder · Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long · Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full · Amy Winehouse - Back to Black

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance · Mary J. Blige - "Just Fine" · Fantasia - "When I See U" · Alicia Keys - "No One" · Chrisette Michele - "If I Have My Way" · Jill Scott - "Hate on Me"

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance · Raheem DeVaughn - "Woman" · Musiq Soulchild - "B.U.D.D.Y." · Ne-Yo - "Because of You" · Prince - "Future Baby Mama" · Tank - "Please Don't Go"

Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals · R. Kelly (featuring Usher) - "Same Girl" · Chaka Khan (featuring Mary J. Blige) - "Disrespectful" · Rihanna (featuring Ne-Yo) - "Hate That I Love You" · Angie Stone (featuring Betty Wright) - "Baby" · T-Pain (featuring Akon) - "Bartender"

Best R&B Song · India.Arie - "Beautiful Flower" · Rihanna (featuring Ne-Yo) - "Hate That I Love You" · Alicia Keys - "No One" · Musiq Soulchild - "Teachme" · Fantasia - "When I See U"
Best Contemporary R&B Album · Akon - Konvicted · Keyshia Cole - Just Like You · Fantasia - Fantasia · Emily King - East Side Story · Ne-Yo - Because of You

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group · Common (featuring Kanye West) - "Southside" · Fat Joe (featuring Lil Wayne) - "Make It Rain" · Shop Boyz - "Party Like a Rockstar" · UGK (featuring Outkast) - "Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)" · Kanye West, Nas and KRS-One - "Better Than I've Ever Been"

Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package · My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade · Panic! at the Disco - A Fever You Can't Sweat Out · The White Stripes - Icky Thump · H.I.M. - Venus Doom · V/A - What It Is!: Funky Soul and Rare Grooves (1967-1977)

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical · Howard Benson · Joe Chiccarelli · Mike Elizondo · Mark Ronson · Timbaland