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U2, Arie to vie for Grammys on February 27

U2 has drawn eight Grammy nominations, including best record, album and song of the year.

BEVERLY HILLS, California -- Both longtime and new musicians will vie for Grammy Awards at the 44th annual ceremonies set for February 27 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

Among the veterans are U2, the Irish band that leads all nominees with eight nominations, including album of the year for "All That You Can't Leave Behind," and classical conductor and composer Pierre Boulez, who is nominated for six awards.

Both U2 and Boulez have won before. U2 -- singer Bono, guitarist the Edge, bass player Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. -- already has 10 Grammys, including album of the year for its 1987 opus "The Joshua Tree," which has sold about 17 million copies worldwide. Boulez has 23 Grammys.

EXTRA INFORMATION Special Reports: Grammys 2002

The newcomers were led by R&B singers India.Arie and Alicia Keys.

Arie has seven nominations, including album of the year for "Acoustic Soul," and Keys, who topped the charts with the song "Fallin,' " holds six. Though Keys' "Songs in A Minor" was among the year's 10 top-selling discs, with 4.1 million albums sold, it was shut out of the album of the year category. Her No. 1 smash "Fallin' " is nominated for record and song of the year, however.

Rick Krim, a VH1 executive vice president, said even though Arie's debut "wasn't a massive, massive commercial success, in the industry it was clearly an album that people loved."

Diverse list of nominees

India.Arie received seven nominations for her debut album, "Acoustic Soul."

Diversity reigns in the album of the year category. Nominees include Bob Dylan for "Love and Theft," OutKast's eclectic "Stankonia" and the bluegrass compilation soundtrack to the film "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" as well as Arie's "Acoustic Soul" and U2's "All That You Can't Leave Behind."

Besides U2, Arie, Keys and Boulez, other multiple nominees include country singer Alison Krauss, R&B vocalist Brian McKnight and funk rappers OutKast, with five each.

T-Bone Burnett, Nelly Furtado, Train, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler and Lucinda Williams are each up for four awards.

Among Furtado's four was a prestigious song of the year nomination for her breezy breakout hit, "I'm Like a Bird." She is also nominated for best new artist, along with Keys, Arie, alternative singer David Gray and rockers Linkin Park.

Furtado said she felt her nomination for songwriting meant that she would have a long career in music.

"After sitting in the studio for 12 months just trying to get my album right ... I really feel like my work paid off," the Canadian singer told The Associated Press.

"I'm Like a Bird" will compete in the song of the year category against Train's "Drops of Jupiter," Keys' "Fallin,' " U2's "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" and Arie's "Video."

"Video" is also nominated for record of the year, along with "Fallin,' " "Drops of Jupiter," U2's "Walk On" and OutKast's "Ms. Jackson."

In the best country song category, singer Jamie O'Neal has two songwriting nominations, "There Is No Arizona" and "When I Think About Angels."

O'Neal said she hoped the double nomination would secure a win.

"It's all in the stars," she said. "I'm elated. I'm on Cloud 10 -- no, put that down as Cloud 11."

Other nominees include Lonestar's "I'm Already There," Diamond Rio's "One More Day" and "The Lucky One" by Krauss and the band Union Station.

Grammys 'looking at artists who made an impact'

Bob Dylan is nominated in the album of the year category for "Love and Theft."

Though a number of Grammy nominees are in the platinum range, observers noted the nods weren't necessarily tied to commercial success as they've often seemed in the past.

"I think the Grammys this year, they weren't necessarily looking at sales and sex and glitziness," Emil Wilbekin, editor in chief at Vibe magazine, told the AP. "They were looking at artists who made an impact with their music and really touched people's hearts."

"If we can get back to the great singer/songwriters, music will just improve overnight," said Stevie Nicks, a Grammy nominee in the female rock vocal category.

There were a few notable snubs when nominations were announced in January, perhaps most notably Enya's "A Day Without Rain." The disc became a hit after the September 11 attacks, fueled by the success of her soothing ode "Only Time." But it received only a single nomination -- for best New Age album. "A Day Without Rain" outperformed even Keys' disc, with 4.4 million copies sold.

U2 is scheduled to perform at the ceremony, and the group is considering touring Europe in the summer. The group played 115 shows across North America and Europe in 2001.