Lil Wayne Leads Grammy Nominees

Not only did Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III sell more copies than any other album in its first week in American stores this year, but it also earned the New Orleans rapper more Grammy Award nominations than anyone else.

Lil Wayne received eight nominations, including an album of the year nod, on Wednesday night. He was closely followed by Coldplay, with seven nominations, and Jay-Z, Kanye West and Ne-Yo, who got six each. Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, John Mayer, Radiohead and Jazmine Sullivan received five, while Adele, Danger Mouse, Eagles, Lupe Fiasco, George Strait and T.I. had four.

Canadian nominees included: Neil Young for best solo rock vocal performance for "No Hidden Path;" Rufus Wainwright for best traditional pop vocal album for Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall; Northern Cree (who were honoured twice at last Friday's Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards) for best native American music album for Red Rock; and the great Walter Ostanek for the 21st time for best polka album for Back To Back Hall Of Fame Polkas.

Six of the Grammys' 110 categories were announced in a prime-time hour-long television special on CBS hosted by hip-hop veteran LL Cool J and teen country star Taylor Swift at Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre. Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Foo Fighters, Christina Aguilera, B.B. King and John Mayer performed on the show, which also helped launch the downtown L.A. Grammy Museum that officially opens on Saturday.

The winners of the 51st annual Grammys will be announced on Feb. 8 at Los Angeles' Staples Center. The event will be broadcast on CBS starting at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

The full list of nominees can be found on the Grammy website. Here are the contenders in some of the categories:

Album Of The Year
Coldplay — Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
Lil Wayne — Tha Carter III
Ne-Yo — Year Of The Gentleman
Robert Plant And Alison Krauss — Raising Sand
Radiohead — In Rainbows

Record Of The Year
Adele — "Chasing Pavements"
Coldplay — "Viva La Vida"
Leona Lewis — "Bleeding Love"
M.I.A. — "Paper Planes"
Robert Plant And Alison Krauss — "Please Read The Letter"

Best New Artist
Adele
Duffy
Jonas Brothers
Lady Antebellum
Jazmine Sullivan

Best Rock Album
Coldplay — Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
Kid Rock — Rock N Roll Jesus
Kings Of Leon — Only By The Night
Metallica — Death Magnetic
The Raconteurs — Consolers Of The Lonely

Best Rock Song
Bruce Springsteen — "Girls In Their Summer Clothes"
Radiohead — "House Of Cards"
Death Cab For Cutie —" I Will Possess Your Heart"
Kings Of Leon — "Sex On Fire"
Coldplay — "Violet Hill"

Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
AC/DC — "Rock N Roll Train"
Coldplay — "Violet Hill"
Eagles — "Long Road Out Of Eden"
Kings Of Leon — "Sex On Fire"
Radiohead — "House Of Cards"

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance
John Mayer — "Gravity"
Paul McCartney — "I Saw Her Standing There"
Bruce Springsteen — "Girls In Their Summer Clothes"
Eddie Vedder — "Rise"
Neil Young — "No Hidden Path"

Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
Coldplay — "Viva La Vida"
Eagles — "Waiting In The Weeds"
Gnarls Barkley — "Going On"
Maroon 5 — "Won’t Go Home Without You"
OneRepublic — "Apologize"

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Adele — "Chasing Pavements"
Sara Bareilles — "Love Song"
Duffy — "Mercy"
Leona Lewis — "Bleeding Love"
Katy Perry — "I Kissed A Girl"
Pink — "So What"

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
Kid Rock — "All Summer Long"
John Mayer — "Say"
Paul McCartney — "That Was Me"
Jason Mraz — "I’m Yours"
Ne-Yo — "Closer"
James Taylor — "Wichita Lineman"

Best Rap Album
Jay-Z — American Gangster
Lil Wayne — Tha Carter III
Lupe Fiasco — The Cool
Nas — Nas
T.I. — Paper Trail

Best Alternative Music Album
Beck — Modern Guilt
Death Cab For Cutie — Narrow Stairs
Gnarls Barkley — The Odd Couple
My Morning Jacket — Evil Urges
Radiohead — In Rainbows

Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical
Danger Mouse
Nigel Godrich
Johnny Karkazis
Rick Rubin
Will.i.am

Best Dance Recording
Daft Punk — "Harder Better Faster Stronger"
Hot Chip — "Ready For The Floor"
Lady Gaga & Colby O’Donis — "Just Dance"
Madonna — "Give It 2 Me"
Rihanna — "Disturbia"
Sam Sparro — "Black & Gold"

Best Hard Rock Performance
Disturbed — "Inside The Fire"
Judas Priest — "Visions"
The Mars Volta — "Wax Simulacra"
Mötley Crüe — "Saints Of Los Angeles"
Rob Zombie — "Lords Of Salem"

Best Metal Performance
DragonForce — "Heroes Of Our Time"
Judas Priest — "Nostradamus"
Metallica — "My Apocalypse"
Ministry — "Under My Thumb"
Slipknot — "Psychosocial"

Best Short Form Music Video
Erykah Badu — "Honey"
Gnarls Barkley — "Who's Gonna Save My Soul"
Alicia Keys And Jack White — "Another Way To Die"
Radiohead — "House Of Cards"
Weezer — "Pork And Beans"

Best Long Form Music Video
John Mayer — Where The Light Is — Live In Los Angeles
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers — Runnin’ Down A Dream
Rihanna — Good Girl Gone Bad Live
Various Artists - Respect Yourself — The Stax Records Story
The Who — Amazing Journey: The Story Of The Who

Here's just one of the many reasons why Walter Ostanek is a Canadian treasure and perennial Grammy nominee who has won three of the trophies: