Las Vegas Weekly

December 4, 2008 · 9:28 AM

Morning Call: Grammy noms tip their hat to Vegas headliners and heroes

By Robin Leach

Ne-Yo at home with the mic at Pure.

Photo: Erik Kabik/Retna/www.erikkabikphoto.com

Hometown hero Ne-Yo racked up six Grammy Award nominations when the nominees were announced live last night for the first time on primetime television. He tied with Kanye West and Jay-Z, but they were pipped by Las Vegas regular Lil Wayne, who grabbed eight nominations, and Coldplay, who garnered seven.

Photo: Preferred PR

Jay-Z.

The Recording Academy handed out nominations in 110 categories from the 32 Grammy fields. Ne-Yo’s album Year of the Gentleman was nominated for Album of the Year, and he goes up against Coldplay, Lil Wane, Radiohead and Robert Plant & Alison Krauss. The Jonas Brothers, who played here at MGM last weekend, were nominated for Best New Artist along with Lady Antebellum, who played downtown at the Fremont Street Experience last night.

Las Vegas Hilton headliner Barry Manilow was nominated for his album In the Swing of Christmas as Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. Jay-Z’s American Gangster was nominated for Best Rap Album, as was his songwriting contributions for T.I., Kanye West and Lil Wayne on “Swagga Like Us” as Best Rap Song.

Photo: Courtesy

Celine Dion.

Among the performers and presenters on the CBS broadcast from L.A.’s Nokia Theatre were Celine Dion, a five-time Grammy winner herself, plus Mariah Carey and Christine Aguilera. The 51st annual Grammy Awards will air live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 8.

Share This