Blige leads Grammy noms

For Mary J. Blige, "The Breakthrough" was a smash -- with an asterisk.

The 35-year-old R&B singer dominated the nominations for the 49th annual Grammy Awards by accumulating eight, including nods for song and record of the year, even though "Breakthrough," which has sold about 2 million copies, was not one of the five finalists for album of the year.

Behind their strong "Stadium Arcadium," iconic Los Angeles rock band the Red Hot Chili Peppers — whose lone Grammy award came 13 years ago — earned six nominations. Country trio the Dixie Chicks, funk veteran Prince, Black Eyed Peas singer will.i.am, composer John Williams and singer-songwriters James Blunt and John Mayer earned five each.

Earning four nominations each were Justin Timberlake, Gnarls Barkley, Beyoncé, Bryan-Michael Cox, Israel Houghton and T.I.

The Dixie Chicks, bouncing back after the controversy that beset the trio after singer Natalie Maines lashed out at President Bush in 2003, earned an album of the year nomination for "Taking the Long Way," released in May. It will compete against "Stadium Arcadium," Gnarls Barkley's "St. Elsewhere," Mayer's "Continuum" and Timberlake's "FutureSex/LoveSounds" in that category.

Gnarls Barkley, the collaboration between Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse that spawned the ubiquitous "Crazy," received a record of the year nomination for that track but was not among the finalists for best new artist.

Blunt, R&B singer Chris Brown, ex-Frou Frou singer Imogen Heap, "American Idol" product Carrie Underwood and British songstress Corinne Bailey Rae earned nods for best new artist.

Rae and Blunt were among the nominees for record of the year, with "Put Your Records On" and "You're Beautiful," respectively. They will compete against Blige's "Be Without You," the Dixie Chicks' "Not Ready to Make Nice" and "Crazy."

Those same tracks from Rae, Blunt, Blige and the Dixie Chicks earned nominations for song of the year, along with Underwood's "Jesus, Take the Wheel."

Bob Dylan's "Modern Times" was considered a sure bet coming into the nominations, but the voice of the 1960s failed to garner his third album of the year nomination.

Soul singer John Legend, who broke out earlier this year by winning three awards, surfaced again as a finalist for best male pop vocal, for "Save Room." Paul McCartney's "Jenny Wren," Mayer's "Waiting on the World to Change," Blunt's "You're Beautiful" and Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" were the other nominees.

Behind "Ain't No Other Man," three-time winner Christina Aguilera was nominated for female pop vocal performance, a category she won at the 46th annual awards held in 2004. Breakout songstress KT Tunstall ("Black Horse and the Cherry Tree") joined Natsha Bedingfield ("Unwritten"), Sheryl Crow ("You Can Close Your Eyes") and Pink ("Stupid Girls") as the other nominees

A trio of songs from dance-floor favorites of the 1980s will challenge the Timberlake/Timbaland hit "SexyBack" for best dance recording. Depeche Mode ("Suffer Well"), the Pet Shop Boys ("I'm With Stupid") and Madonna ("Get Together") are nominated in that category, along with Goldfrapp for "Ooh La La."

The Grammys will be handed out Feb. 11 in a nationally televised ceremony from the Staples Center.