Mariah Carey, Kanye West and John Legend lead Grammy nominations with eight

NEW YORK — Mariah Carey's comeback came full circle Thursday as she was nominated for eight Grammys, including album of the year for "The Emancipation of Mimi" and song and record of the year for her torch ballad "We Belong Together."

"This year has been such a blessing," Carey told The Associated Press shortly after the nominations were announced. "This is prayers answered. I'm grateful for the nominations and I'm really grateful for the fact that people are responding to the music I've made."

Carey's eight nominations tied John Legend and Kanye West. Soul crooner Legend's nominations included best new artist, while West is up for album of the year for "Late Registration" and song of the year for "Gold Digger."

"I feel incredible," said Legend, a West protege whose debut "Get Lifted" was a million-seller. "You put a lot of expectations into what you want the record to be."

Other multiple nominees included 50 Cent, Gwen Stefani, U2 and Bruce Springsteen.

Springsteen was among the surprises — his "Devils & Dust" was nominated for song of the year, along with Rascal Flatts' "Bless the Broken Road," Legend's "Ordinary People," Carey's "We Belong Together" and U2's "Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own."

Perennial Grammy favorite U2 was nominated for five awards, including album of the year for "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb." Besides Carey and West, other nominees in the category were Stefani's kitschy solo debut, "Love. Angel. Music. Baby," which mined 80s pop, and Paul McCartney's "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard," which earned his best reviews in years. The ex-Beatle's nomination came on the 25th anniversary of John Lennon's killing.

Besides "We Belong Together" and "Gold Digger," record of the year nominees included the Gorillaz' "Feel Good Inc." featuring De La Soul, Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and Stefani's "Hollaback Girl."

Carey's many nominations helped put an exclamation point on her amazing year. Her career had been languishing, and some insiders doubted whether the multi-octave singer could return to her multiplatinum ways after a series of debacles, including an emotional breakdown and being bought out of her Virgin Records contract.

"The Emancipation of Mimi" proved the skeptics wrong. Not only has it sold more than 4 million copies, making it the No. 2 best-selling album of the year, but it included one of the year's most popular songs with "We Belong Together."

"It really is all about giving thanks, in my opinion," said Carey, who helped announce the nominations.