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Mariah tops Grammy list
09/12/2005 08:12 - (SA)
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| Singer Mariah Carey smiles on stage during the Grammy Awards nominations news conference in New York. (Jeff Christensen, AP) |
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New York - First Mimi was emancipated; now Mariah Carey is being celebrated.
Carey, who just a couple of years ago was considered a dimming star, was reaffirmed as one of music's brightest on Thursday as she was nominated for eight Grammy awards, including album of the year for The Emancipation of Mimi.
While critics and fans have focused on her amazing career turnaround, Carey doesn't like to call it a comeback. Instead, the 35-year-old diva, who received her first and only Grammy in 1991 for best new artist and best pop vocal performance, sees her new-found success as a validation of the kind of music she's wanted to do all along.
"A lot of times in my career, I was never allowed to release my favourite songs as the singles. Sometimes they would be my favourite songs, but sometimes no," Carey said after the nominations were announced. "This is like an album of my favourite songs, and so that's what feels great, because as an artist, you want people to hear your best work."
Besides album of the year, Carey's other nominations included record and song of the year for the heartbreak ballad We Belong Together, and best female pop vocal for the club hit It's Like That. But Carey wasn't the only one showered with eight nominations.
Multiple nominations for West, Legend
Vanguard rapper/producer Kanye West, who last year led all nominees with ten, equalled Carey's accomplishment, and was also nominated for album of the year for Late Registration. His Ray Charles-inspired hit Gold Digger was nominated for record of the year and he also was cited for being a producer on Carey's album.
West could also revel in the good fortune of another nominee, John Legend. The R&B crooner, who also earned eight nominations, is a West protege, and West appeared on his album. Legend's nominations included best new artist, along with Ciara, Fall Out Boy, Sugarland, and Keane.
U2 was another multiple nominee, receiving five, including album of the year for their best-selling How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and song of the year for Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own.
Rare nominations for McCartney and Wonder
Paul McCartney was also nominated in the album of the year category for Chaos and Creation in the Backyard. The album garnered the former Beatle his best reviews in decades; it also marked his first Grammy nomination in 26 years.
The other album of the year nominee was Gwen Stefani for her kitschy, '80s tribute Love. Angel. Music. Baby. disc. The album marked the solo debut of the No Doubt frontwoman and budding fashion designer. The album sold more than three million copies and included one of the biggest songs of the year, the nonsensical foot-stomper Hollaback Girl. That single also earned Stefani a nomination for record of the year and best female pop vocal performance; in all she had five.
Also nominated for five Grammys were Missy Elliott, Alicia Keys and Bruce Springsteen, whose song Devils & Dust is up for song of the year. Stevie Wonder, who put out his first album in 10 years this fall, A Time to Love, got six nominations, as did Beyonce, The Black Eyed Peas' Will.i.am, and 50 Cent, who had the year's best-selling disc with The Massacre.
Carey's magnificent comeback
Carey's album was the No 2 selling album of the year with more than four million copies. Given her previous blockbuster sales, the figure might not come as a surprise.
But Carey seemed to have lost her multi-platinum touch over the last few years. She endured the bomb movie and soundtrack Glitter in 2001, and a 2002 follow-up album, Charmbracelet, was a slow seller.
The Emancipation of Mimi - so named for her alter-ego and nickname - marked her return to multi-platinum greatness. Carey says the reason the album did so well was because she stayed true to her own musical intuition by delivering a strong R&B album instead of listening to the advice of others and going more pop.
Urban music was well represented in the Grammy nominations. Black music stars led the multiple nominees list, and Legend was the freshest face.
His ballad Ordinary People was nominated for song of the year. Though Legend did not have a hand in penning the tune, he was perhaps more excited over that nomination than his own.
The Grammys will be handed out in Los Angeles on February 8.
www.grammy.com
- AP
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