Nominations for the Grammy Awards were announced last night (November 30th 2011) and it was Kanye West who led the way with a mighty seven nods across various categories, thanks to the success of his solo album 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' and his work with fellow rap heavyweight Jay Z. Both of those albums went to the top of the US Billboard Charts, going platinum with sales of more than 1 million in the process.
Major awards Yeezy's up for include 'Song of The Year', 'Best Rap Song' and 'Best Rap Album,' whilst Watch the Throne is up for 'Best Rap Performance'. West won't have it all his own way however and indeed misses out on three of the big categories including- 'Best Album' and 'Best Record' - the biggest selling artist in the world this year, Adele, is up for both of those along with four other categories. Bruno Mars too has a chance in both whilst being nominated in four other categories. A win for Adele would put a much deserved gloss on a phenomenal year which suffered a sad end when the singer was forced to cancel her US tour and go under the knife for surgery on her throat.
Overall the nominations haven't thrown up too many surprises, with big hitters including Lady GaGa, Rihanna and Katy Perry all included, though there is a notable absentee of rock bands - Foo Fighters flying the mast in the bigger categories with their album 'Wasted Light' up for 'Best Album'. The 54th Grammy Awards will take place on February 12th 2011.