Kanye West up for 7 Grammy Awards

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- U.S. hip-hop star Kanye West leads the field with seven Grammy Award nominations, The Recording Academy announced.

Adele, Foo Fighters and Bruno Mars each garnered six Grammy nods, while Lil Wayne and Skrillex are up for five awards apiece.

Drake, Paul Epworth, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Nicki Minaj, Mumford & Sons, Radiohead, Rihanna, and Justin Vernon received four nominations each.

The nominees for Album of the Year are Adele's "21," Foo Fighters' "Wasting Light," Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," Bruno Mars' "Doo-Wops & Hooligans" and Rihanna's "Loud."

Adele's "Rolling in the Deep," Bon Iver's "Holocene," Bruno Mars' "Grenade" and Mumford and Sons' "The Cave" are all nominated for both Record and Song of the Year. Katy Perry's "Firework" also is up for Record of the Year.

"All of the Lights" by Kanye West, Rihanna, Fergie and Kid Cudi is the final contender for Song of the Year, as well as a nominee in the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration category.

West and Jay-Z's "Otis" is up for Best Rap Performance and their CD "Watch the Throne" is up for Best Rap Album. The album will compete against West's solo effort "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" for the honor. The other nominees for Best Rap Album are Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter IV," Lupe Fiasco's "Lasers" and Nicki Minaj's "Pink Friday."

In the running for Best New Artist are Skrillex, Bon Iver, Nicki Minaj, The Band Perry and J. Cole.

Some of the Grammy nominations were announced during a concert in Los Angeles Wednesday night. The show, which aired on CBS, featured performances by Rihanna, The Band Perry, Lady Gaga, Jason Aldean and Ludacris. The rest of the nominations were announced after the concert.

"Once again, it is most gratifying to see the Grammy Awards process produce a broad cross-section of diverse and impressive nominees across multiple genres," Neil Portnow, the academy's president/chief executive officer, said in a statement. "This year's nominations truly reflect an exceptional and talented creative community that embodies some of the highest levels of excellence and artistry in their respective fields. Coupled with the fourth year of our prime-time nominations special, the road to Music's Biggest Night, the 54th Annual Grammy Awards in February, is off to an exciting and appropriate start."

Winners of the Grammy Awards are to be announced at a ceremony Feb. 12.