'Because I Got High' nominated for a Grammy!

Does anyone else find this hilarious?

BEVERLY HILLS, California — U2
stand to take home the most golden
gramophones at the 44th annual
Grammy Awards ceremony in
February, though India.Arie just
might steal their spotlight.

The neo-soul songstress and her
debut album, Acoustic Soul, were the
buzz of Friday's (January 4)
nomination ceremony after
garnering an unexpected seven
nominations, including the "big
four": Album of the Year, Song of
the Year, Record of the Year and
Best New Artist.

"I'm in shock right now," Arie said.
"I think [my excitement] is going to
grow. By this evening, I will be
jumping and shouting. Musicians
listen to other music real close, and
to have your peers say that they
love your stuff, that right there is a
good, good, good, good, good thing."

Arie, who danced with Furtado near
the podium as their names were repeatedly announced, also scored nods
for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance ("Video"), Best R&B Album and
Best R&B Song.

In between posing for dozens of paparazzi who were shouting, "India!
India!," the singer equated Grammys with artistic freedom. "[Winning]
will give me more freedom in how I choose to move in my career, and that
means a lot to me, because there are a lot of things I want to do that
would not sell albums if I didn't have a Grammy," she said.

U2 are a step ahead of Arie with eight nods and will compete against her
in three of the big four, save, of course, Best New Artist. The group also
received nominations for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With
Vocal ("Elevation"), Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal
("Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of"), Best Rock Album (All That
You Can't Leave Behind) and two in the Best Rock Song category
("Elevation," "Walk On"). The Irish rockers have won 10 Grammys in
their career, including two last year for "Beautiful Day," which unlike All
That You Can't Leave Behind, was released before the cut-off qualifying
date last fall (see "U2, Steely Dan Enjoy Post-Grammy Surge; WWF LP
Debuts Big").

Newcomer Alicia Keys, who was expected to be a Grammy favorite after
impressive album sales and critical acclaim, follows with six
nominations, including Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of
the Year ("Fallin' ").

Outkast and Brian McKnight each have five nominations, followed by
Train and Nelly Furtado with four apiece. The latter is up for Best New
Artist, Best Pop Vocal Album (Whoa, Nelly!) Song of the Year ("I'm Like a
Bird") and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance ("I'm Like a Bird").

"The nominations mean a lot to me," said Furtado, whose glowing face
was as bright as her hot pink top. "From the beginning, when my album
came out, I always said it came down to the music for me. I've been
making music, playing instruments and writing songs since I was a little
girl. I feel at home at a Grammy ceremony. It's all about the music. You
can just be a nerdy musician."

Whoa, Nelly! producers Gerald Eaton and Brian West will take on last
year's winner, Dr. Dre, and others in the Producer of the Year,
Non-Classical category. Veteran production team Jimmy Jam and Terry
Lewis are named in the category for the seventh time.

"It speaks to longevity," Jimmy Jam said. "It's 20 years of production
business for Terry and I and 30 years of being friends. [Those were] a
couple of milestones we were looking forward to celebrating, and now with
the nomination we have another. But it's really about the artists. When
you work with Janet [Jackson], Mariah [Carey], Mary J. Blige, Sting,
Yolanda Adams, you know you're going to get some good records. You
just don't want to blow it. We were fortunate enough to win it the first
time, so the pressure's off."

Train's four nominations are all for their unavoidable hit, "Drops of
Jupiter." The San Francisco roots rockers are competing for Song of the
Year, Record of the Year, Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance by
a Duo or Group with Vocal, though singer Pat Monahan said he was just
happy to get a single nod.

"The [Recording] Academy has honored such great people in the past, it
means a lot," Monahan said. "I hope these people will listen to the rest of
the album, which has some great songs."

Several artists earned three nominations, including Aerosmith, Bob
Dylan, Coldplay, Missy Elliott, Linkin Park, Jay-Z, Ja Rule, Janet Jackson
and Justin Timberlake (two with 'NSYNC, one for his collaboration with
McKnight on "My Kind of Girl"). Aerosmith have won four Grammys in the
past — all in the Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
category. The rock veterans are nominated in that category again this
year for "Jaded." Dylan has won five Grammys, including Album of the
Year in 1997 for Time Out of Mind.

Love and Theft, Dylan's follow-up to Time Out of Mind, will vie for the
prestigious Album of the Year title this year with U2, Arie, Outkast's
Stankonia and the soundtrack to "O Brother, Where Art Thou?".
Competing for Record of the Year, which honors song performers, are
Arie, Keys, U2, Train and Outkast's "Ms. Jackson." Arie, Keys, Train and
U2 are competing for Song of the Year, which honors songwriters, along
with Furtado.

Furtado, David Gray and Linkin Park hope their beginners' luck will
outshine that of Keys and Arie in the Best New Artist category, following
in the footsteps of last year's surprise winner, singer/songwriter Shelby
Lynne, who beat out Jill Scott, Papa Roach and Sisqó.

The announcement of the Grammy nominations traditionally causes a few
utterances of "Huh?," and this year's list is no exception. The Best Male
Pop Vocal Performance category rounds up the bizarre quintet of Michael
Jackson, Elton John, Brian McKnight, James Taylor and Craig David.
French electronica duo Daft Punk will compete against Lionel Richie and
Gloria Estefan in the Best Dance Recording category ("Who Let the Dogs
Out?" won last year). And pop singer Sheryl Crow is nominated for Best
Female Country Vocal Performance (for a cover of "Long Gone Lonesome
Blues" she recorded for a Hank Williams tribute album).

Two Against Nature, by avant-funk duo Steely Dan, walked away with the
Album of the Year award last year, stealing a bit of attention from
controversial rapper Eminem, who performed with Elton John at the
ceremony (see "Eminem, Dre And, Uh, Steely Dan Dominate Grammys").

Friday's press conference was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los
Angeles, with the nominations announced by Destiny's Child,
producer/songwriter David Foster, Jimmy Jam, Stevie Nicks, Furtado,
Arie, Ja Rule, country singer Jamie O'Neal, film/TV director Carl Reiner,
Monahan and Usher. In all, nominations for 101 categories were
revealed.

In December, jazz artist Count Basie, easy listening crooner Perry Como,
vocalist Rosemary Clooney, soul singer Al Green and folkie Joni Mitchell
were named this year's recipients of the Recording Academy's Lifetime
Achievement Awards, and Tom Dowd and Alan Freed will receive
Trustees Awards.

The Lifetime Achievement Award honors lifelong artistic contributions to
the recording medium, while the Trustees Award recognizes outstanding
contributions to the industry in a non-performing capacity.

The 44th annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast on CBS live from the
Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

(MTV's parent company, Viacom, also owns CBS.)

Partial list of nominees for the 44th annual Grammy Awards (for a full list
of nominees, go to grammy.com):

Album of the Year

Acoustic Soul, India.Arie
Love and Theft, Bob Dylan
Stankonia, Outkast
All That You Can't Leave Behind, U2
O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Various Artists

Record of the Year

"Video," India.Arie
"Fallin'," Alicia Keys
"Ms. Jackson," Outkast
"Drops of Jupiter," Train
"Walk On," U2

Song of the Year

"Drops of Jupiter," Train; Charlie Colin, Rob Hotchkiss, Pat Monahan,
Jimmy Stafford and Scott Underwood, songwriters
"Fallin'," Alicia Keys; Alicia Keys, songwriter
"I'm Like a Bird," Nelly Furtado; Nelly Furtado, songwriter
"Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of," U2; U2, songwriters
"Video," India.Arie; India.Arie, "Six July" Broady and Shannon
Sanders, songwriters

Best New Artist

India.Arie
Nelly Furtado
David Gray
Alicia Keys
Linkin Park

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group

"Clint Eastwood," Gorillaz
"Put It on Me," Ja Rule featuring Vita
"Change the Game," Jay-Z featuring Beanie Sigel and Memphis Bleek
"Ms. Jackson," Outkast
"Bad Boy for Life," P. Diddy, Black Rob and Mark Curry

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance

"Rock the Boat," Aaliyah
"Video," India.Arie
"Family Affair," Mary J. Blige
"Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)," Blu Cantrell
"Fallin'," Alicia Keys
"A Long Walk," Jill Scott

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance

"Fill Me In," Craig David
"You Rock My World," Michael Jackson
"I Want Love," Elton John
"Still," Brian McKnight
"Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight," James Taylor

Best R&B Album

Aaliyah, Aaliyah
Acoustic Soul, India.Arie
No More Drama, Mary J. Blige
Survivor, Destiny's Child
Songs in A Minor, Alicia Keys

Best Rap Solo Performance

"Because I Got High," Afroman
"Who We Be," DMX
"Get Ur Freak On," Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott
"Izzo (H.O.V.A.)," Jay-Z
"Ride Wit Me," Nelly

Best Short Form Music Video

"Fly Away From Here," Aerosmith (Joseph Kahn, video director; Greg
Tharp, video producer)
"One Minute Man," Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott featuring Ludacris
(David Meyers, video director; Ron Mohrhoff, video producer)
"Weapon of Choice," Fatboy Slim featuring Bootsy Collins (Spike Jonze,
video director; Vincent Landay and Deannie O'Neil, video producers)
"Don't Tell Me," Madonna (Jean-Baptiste Mondino, video director;
Maria Gallagher, video producer)
"Ms. Jackson," Outkast (F. Gary Gray, video director; Meredyth
Frattolillo, video producer)

Best Metal Performance

"The Wizard," Black Sabbath
"Disciple," Slayer
"Left Behind," Slipknot
"Chop Suey!," System of a Down
"Schism," Tool

Best Male Rock Vocal Performance

"New York, New York," Ryan Adams
"Superman Inside," Eric Clapton
"Honest With Me," Bob Dylan
"Dig In," Lenny Kravitz
"Peaceful World," John Mellencamp

Best Dance Recording

"One More Time," Daft Punk and Romanthony
"I Feel Loved," Depeche Mode
"Out of Nowhere," Gloria Estefan
"All for You," Janet Jackson
"Angel," Lionel Richie

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals

"Lady Marmalade," Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya and Pink
"New York State of Mind," Tony Bennett and Billy Joel
"Nobody Wants to Be Lonely," Ricky Martin with Christina Aguilera
"My Kind of Girl," Brian McKnight and Justin Timberlake
"It Wasn't Me," Shaggy featuring Ricardo "RikRok" Ducent

Best Long Form Music Video

"Recording the Producers - A Musical Romp With Mel Brooks," Mel
Brooks, with various artists including Nathan Lane and Matthew
Broderick (Susan Froemke, video director; Susan Froemke and Peter
Gelb, video producers)
"Rebel Music - The Bob Marley Story," Bob Marley (Jeremy Marr, video
director; Jeremy Marr, video producer)
"Freddie Mercury - The Untold Story," Freddie Mercury (Rudi Dolezal
and Hannes Rossacher, video directors; Jim Beach and Rudi Dolezal,
video producers)
"Play: The DVD," Moby (Moby, video director; Moby and Jeff Rogers,
video producers)

Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal

"What Would You Do," City High
"Survivor," Destiny's Child
"Can't Believe," Faith Evans featuring Carl Thomas
"Contagious," The Isley Brothers
"Peaches & Cream," 112

Best Hard Rock Performance

"Smooth Criminal," Alien Ant Farm
"Crawling," Linkin Park
"Alive," P.O.D.
"Renegades of Funk," Rage Against the Machine
"Your Disease," Saliva

Best Rock Song

"Drops of Jupiter," Train; Charlie Colin, Rob Hotchkiss, Pat Monahan,
Jimmy Stafford and Scott Underwood, songwriters
"Elevation," U2; U2, songwriter)
"Jaded," Aerosmith; Marti Frederiksen and Steven Tyler, songwriters
"Elevation," U2; U2, songwriters
"Yellow," Coldplay; Guy Berryman, Jon Buckland, Will Champion and
Chris Martin, songwriters

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical

T Bone Burnett
Dr. Dre
Gerald Eaton, Brian West
Nigel Godrich
Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance

"Missing You," Case
"Lifetime," Maxwell
"Love of My Life," Brian McKnight
"Love," Musiq Soulchild
"U Remind Me," Usher

Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal

"Jaded," Aerosmith
"Yellow," Coldplay
"The Space Between," Dave Matthews Band
"Drops of Jupiter," Train
"Elevation," U2

Best Rock Album

Gold, Ryan Adams
Just Push Play, Aerosmith
Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea, PJ Harvey
Hybrid Theory, Linkin Park
All That You Can't Leave Behind, U2

Best R&B Song

"Didn't Cha Know," Erykah Badu; Erykah Badu, songwriter
"Fallin'," Alicia Keys; Alicia Keys, songwriter
"Get Ur Freak On," Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott; M. Elliott and T.
Mosley, songwriters
"Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)," Blu Cantrell; Dallas Austin, songwriter
"Love of My Life," Brian McKnight; Brian McKnight, songwriter
"Video," India.Arie; India.Arie, Carlos "Six July" Broady and Shannon
Sanders, songwriters

Best Rap Album

Scorpion, Eve
Pain Is Love, Ja Rule
The Blueprint, Jay-Z
Back for the First Time, Ludacris
Stankonia, Outkast

Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal

"Shape of My Heart," Backstreet Boys
"Superman (It's Not Easy)," Five for Fighting
"Gone," 'NSYNC
"Imitation of Life," R.E.M.
"Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of," U2

Best Female Rock Vocal Performance

"Strange Little Girl," Tori Amos
"I Want to Be in Love," Melissa Etheridge
"This Is Love," PJ Harvey
"Planets of the Universe," Stevie Nicks
"Get Right With God," Lucinda Williams

Best Pop Instrumental Performance

"Room 335," Larry Carlton and Steve Lukather
"Reptile," Eric Clapton
"Short Circuit," Daft Punk
"Rain," Eric Johnson
"There You'll Be," Kirk Whalum

Best Rock Instrumental Performance

"High Falls," The Allman Brothers Band
"Dirty Mind," Jeff Beck
"Vampires," Godsmack
"Always With Me, Always With You," Joe Satriani
"Whispering a Prayer," Steve Vai

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance

"I'm Like a Bird," Nelly Furtado
"There You'll Be," Faith Hill
"Someone to Call My Lover," Janet Jackson
"By Your Side," Sade
"Essence," Lucinda Williams

Best Alternative Music Album

Strange Little Girls, Tori Amos
Vespertine, Björk
Parachutes, Coldplay
Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars, Fatboy Slim
Amnesiac, Radiohead

Best Pop Vocal Album

Whoa, Nelly!, Nelly Furtado
All for You, Janet Jackson
Songs From the West Coast, Elton John
Celebrity, 'NSYNC
Lovers Rock, Sade

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration

"Let Me Blow Ya Mind," Eve featuring Gwen Stefani
"Livin' It Up," Ja Rule featuring Case
"Where the Party At," Jagged Edge featuring Nelly
"Area Codes," Ludacris featuring Nate Dogg
"W," Mystic and Planet Asia