Kanye West Grammy Nominations: Rapper Ties With Jay-Z, Mumford & Sons, Frank Ocean, Dan Auerbach & Fun. For Most Nods

By CHRIS TALBOTT, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NASHVILLE, Tenn. The Grammy Awards celebrated the diversity of music as six different artists tied for top nominee Kanye West, Jay-Z, Frank Ocean, Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, Mumford & Sons and fun.

Auerbach received five nominations as a member of the Keys and also is up for producer of the year, earning a spot with the others at the top of the list as the Grammy's primetime television special came to his hometown Wednesday night.

The rockers little resemble any of the other acts at the top of the list. The top nominations for Jay-Z and West, two of hip-hop's most important figures, is a familiar refrain; each has routinely been at or near the top of the nominations list for the last several years.

Indie pop band fun., a featured performer during the show, aired live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on CBS, rode the success of its anthemic hit "We Are Young," featuring Janelle Monae, to sweep of the major categories, earning nods for best new artist, song and record for "We Are Young" and album of the year for "Some Nights." The band's producer Jeff Bhasker is up for four nominations.

"When you call your band fun. with a period at the end of the sentence, you set a very high standard for yourself and for fun itself," Taylor Swift, the concert's co-host, said in introducing them. "Fortunately this band from New York has lived up to the name in the best possible way

R&B singer Ocean made a bold social statement earlier this year when he noted he had a same-sex relationship in the liner notes of his new album "channel ORANGE," and The Recording Academy rewarded him with the major nominations best new artist, record for "Thinkin Bout You" and album of the year.

And British folk-rock band Mumford & Sons, which made an auspicious deb! ut in front of an international audience during the 2011 Grammys, is up for album of the year for "Babel," one of 2012's best-selling releases.

Miguel, who helped Ocean shake up the R&B world this year, and jazz great Chick Correa join the Keys with five nominations apiece. Nas and recording engineer Bob Ludwig join Bhasker at four apiece.

There were no major snubs among the top nominees. Most of 2012's inescapable hits are represented in some way Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know" is up for record of the year and Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" garnered a song of the year nod. Drake, Rihanna and Nashville residents Swift, Kelly Clarkson, Jack White and best new artist nominee Hunter Hayes were among 16 nominees with three nods.

In many ways the nominations reflect a singles-driven year when no album rose to the level of acclaim as Adele's "21" or West's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," which dominated the Grammys last February.

Rock, relegated to second stage in the era of electronic dance music, made something of a comeback and young bands are peppered in with the nominees we've come to expect each year.

The 55th annual Grammy Awards will be held Feb. 10 in Los Angeles. Trophies will be handed out in 81 categories.

The 5-year-old nominations show was held outside Los Angeles for the first time and showcased Music City for its growing role in the music industry. The Bridgestone Arena marked the largest venue the show has been held in and it may have been a dress rehearsal for a chance to host the main awards show sometime in the future.

LL Cool J returned as host, sharing duties with Swift, whose hit song "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" earned a nod in the jam-packed record of the year category. She was joined by fun., Gotye, Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)," The Black Keys' "Lonely Boy" and Ocean's "Thinkin Bout You."

Swift and LL Cool J opened the show by putting together a beat-box version of Swift's hit "Mean." H! ayes disp! layed his versatility while announcing the best pop vocal album by singing snippets of each star's hit song. Maroon 5 played headliner, singing three songs mid-show before finishing off the live broadcast. The group stuck around for an hourlong performance afterward for the crowd in attendance.

Assisted by Monae, fun. reimagined "We Are Young" with orchestral strings as the crowd sang along, Ne-Yo, in wine-colored bowler, kicked things up with a cadre of dancers on his new club-infused song "Let Me Love You." And the show tipped it's hat to Nashville with a salute to Johnny Cash by Dierks Bentley and The Band Perry.

The Black Keys' "El Camino" was nominated for album of the year along with fun.'s "Some Nights," Mumford & Sons' "Babel," Ocean's "channel ORANGE" and White's "Blunderbuss." For best new artist, fun. and Ocean were joined by Alabama Shakes, Hayes, The Lumineers.

Record of the year nominees were "Lonely Boy" by The Black Keys, "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" by Clarkson, "We Are Young" by fun., "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye featuring Kimbra, "Think Bout You" by Ocean and "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Swift.

Song of the year nominees were Ed Sheeran's "The A Team," Miguel's "Adorn," Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe," Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" and fun.'s "We Are Young."

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• Frank Ocean

  Record of the Year - "Thinkin Bout You"Best New ArtistAlbum of the Year - "Channel Orange"Best Urban Contemporary Album - "Channel Orange"Best Rap/Sung Collaboration - "No Church In The Wild" by Jay-Z & Kanye West Featuring Frank Ocean & The-Dream

• fun.

  Best Pop Vocal Album - "Some Nights"Record of the Year - "We Are Young"Best New ArtistAlbum of the Year - "Some Nights"Song of the Year - "We Are Young"Best Pop Duo/Group Performance - "We Are Young"

• The Black Keys

  !

  Record! of the Year - "Lonely Boy"Album of the Year - "El Camino"Best Rock Performance - "Lonely Boy"Best Rock Song - "Lonely Boy"Best Rock Album - "El Camino"Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical - Dan Auerbach

• Mumford & Sons

  Album of the Year - "Babel"Best Rock Performance - "I Will Wait"Best Rock Song - "I Will Wait"Best Americana Album - "Babel"Best Song Written For Visual Media - "Learn Me Right (From Brave)"Best Long Form Music Video - "Big Easy Express"

• Jack White

  Album of the Year - "Blunderbuss"Best Rock Song - "Freedom At 21"Best Rock Album - "Blunderbuss"

• Kelly Clarkson

  Best Pop Vocal Album - "Stronger"Record of the Year - "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)"Best Pop Solo Performance - "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)"

• Gotye

  Record of the Year - "Somebody That I Used To Know"Best Pop Duo/Group Performance - "Somebody That I Used To Know"Best Alternative Music Album - "Making Mirrors"

• Taylor Swift

  Record of the Year - "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"Best Country Duo/Group Performance - "Safe & Sound"Best Song Written For Visual Media - "Safe & Sound (From The Hunger Games)"

• Carrie Underwood

  Country Solo Performance - "Blown Away"Best Country Song - "Blown Away"

• Blake Shelton

  Country Solo Performance - "Over"

• Ronnie Dunn

  Country Solo Performance - "Cost of Livin"Best Country Song - "Cost Of Livin'"

• Eric Church

  Country Solo Performance - "Springsteen"Best Country Song - "Springsteen"

• Dierks Bentley

  Country Solo Performance - "Home"

• Hunter Hayes

  Best New ArtistCountry Solo Performance - "Wanted"Best Country Album - "Hunter Hayes"

• The Lumineers

  Best New ArtistBest Americana Album - "The Lumineers"

• Alabama Shakes

  Best New ArtistBest Rock Performance - "Hold On"

• Florence + The Ma! chine

  Best Pop Vocal Album - "Ceremonials"Best Pop Duo/Group Performance - "Shake It Out"

• Maroon 5

  Best Pop Vocal Album - "Overexposed"Best Pop Duo/Group Performance - "Payphone"

• P!nk

  Best Pop Vocal Album - "The Truth About Love"

• Adele

  Best Pop Solo Performance - "Set Fire To The Rain [Live]"

• Carly Rae Jepsen

  Song Of The Year - "Call Me Maybe"Best Pop Solo Performance - "Call Me Maybe"

• Miguel

  Song Of The Year - "Adorn"Best R&B Performance - "Adorn"Best R&B Song - "Adorn"Best Urban Contemporary Album - "Kaleidoscope Dream"

• Ed Sheeran

  Song Of The Year - "The A Team"

• Katy Perry

  Best Pop Solo Performance - "Wide Awake"

• Rihanna

  Best Pop Solo Performance - "Where Have You Been"Best Rap/Sung Collaboration - "Talk That Talk"Best Short Form Music Video - "We Found Love"

• LMFAO

  Best Pop Duo/Group Performance - "Sexy And I Know It"

• Avicii

  Best Dance Recording - "Levels"

• Calvin Harris

  Best Dance Recording - "Let's Go"

• Skrillex

  Best Dance Recording - "Bangarang"Best Dance/Electronica Album - "Bangarang"Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical - "Promises (Skrillex & Nero Remix)"

• Swedish House Mafia

  Best Dance Recording - "Don't You Worry Child"

• Al Walser

  Best Dance Recording - "I Can't Live Without You"

• Steve Aoki

  Best Dance/Electronica Album - "Wonderland"

• The Chemical Brothers

  Best Dance/Electronica Album - "Don't Think"

• Deadmau5

  Best Dance/Electronica Album - "> Album Title Goes Here <"

• Kaskade

  Best Dance/Electronica Album - "Fire & Ice"

• Michael Bubl

  Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album - "Christmas"

• Carole King

  Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album - ! "A Holida! y Carole"

• Paul McCartney

  Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album - "Kisses On The Bottom"Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package - "Ram - Paul McCartney Archive Collection (Deluxe Edition)"Best Historical Album - "Ram - Paul McCartney Archive Collection (Deluxe Edition)"

• Coldplay

  Best Rock Performance - "Charlie Brown"Best Rock Album - "Mylo Xyloto"

• Bruce Springsteen

  Best Rock Performance - "We Take Care Of Our Own"Best Rock Song - "We Take Care Of Our Own"Best Rock Album - "Wrecking Ball"

• Anthrax

  Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance - "I'm Alive"

• Halestorm

  Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance - "Love Bites (So Do I)"

• Iron Maiden

  Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance - "Blood Brothers"

• Lamb of God

  Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance - "Ghost Walking"

• Marilyn Manson

  Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance - "No Reflection"

• Megadeth

  Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance - "Whose Life (Is It Anyways?)"

• Muse

  Best Rock Song - "Madness"Best Rock Album - "The 2nd Law"

• Fiona Apple

  Best Alternative Music Album - "The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver Of The Screw And Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do"

• Bjrk

  Best Alternative Music Album - "Biophilia"

• M83

  Best Alternative Music Album - "Hurry Up, We're Dreaming."

• Tom Waits

  Best Alternative Music Album - "Bad As Me"

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