Last Update on December 04, 2008 03:46 EST

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Lil Wayne is set up to have a big night at the Grammys. He has eight nominations going into this year's awards, including the one for album of the year. If it came down to sales, Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III" would already be the winner. It is the only record this year to sell 1 million copies in its first week. The CD featured a pair of huge hits, "Lollipop" and "A Milli." Closest to Lil Wayne for the most Grammy nods is Coldplay, with seven. This year's nominations were announced in a different way than in years past. Instead of the names being read off at a news conference, they were sprinkled throughout an hour-long TV special featuring a series of performances and hosted by LL Cool J and Taylor Swift.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Ne-Yo says when he was working on his album "Year of the Gentleman," he tried to create "something that everybody could get into." And in this case, "everybody" included the Grammy people. He has picked up six nominations -- among the leaders for most nods. He says by trying to offer music that would appeal beyond his core base of R&B and pop fans, he'd have an album that "the world could enjoy," adding: "I think that the Grammy people paid attention to that." The album represents an expansion of Ne-Yo's resume. In the past, he has produced several smash hits for other artists. And with "Gentleman" he has been able to make a big name for himself as an artist in his own right.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Before now, few outside the R&B world had heard of Jazmine Sullivan. But that's about to change. She has picked up five Grammy nominations, including one for best new artist. Her style has earned her comparisons with Lauryn Hill, another Grammy favorite before her career took a nosedive. Other multiple nominees include Jay-Z and Kanye West, who, like Ne-Yo, have six nominations each.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, B.B. King has another Grammy nomination. He says it never gets old for him to be honored by the music community.

Winners will be announced at a ceremony set for February 8th in Los Angeles. The event will be broadcast by CBS, which saw last year's Grammy audience draw just 17.2 million viewers -- one of the least-watched Grammys ever.

On the Net:

Grammy site: http://www.grammy.comERIC BENET: UP FOR R&B GRAMMY

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A batch of veteran artists and a relative newcomer make up the field of artists in the running for the Grammy for best R&B album. Eric Benet , in some circles better known as Halle Berry's ex, is up for his project, "Love & Life." He's up against Boyz II Men for "Lay It Down" and "The Way I See It" by Raphael Saadiq, who used to be a member of Tony Toni Tone. Jennifer Hudson is the only female in the best R&B album competition. She's up for her self-titled solo debut, which comes on the heels of her Oscar win for her role in "Dreamgirls."

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Jay-Z is showing he still has it, especially with the Grammy people. His "American Gangster" is in the running for the Grammy for best rap album. He faces off against Lil Wayne and "Tha Carter III" in that category, as well as Lupe Fiasco, who is nominated for "The Cool." The other nominees in the rap album category are Nas and his self-titled project and T.I.'s album, "Paper Trail."

CHICAGO (AP) -- We're getting our first idea of what might have been behind the shooting deaths of Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and nephew. Police in Chicago say Hudson's brother-in-law shot his victims because he was angry that his soon-to-be ex-wife was dating another man. Authorities say William Balfour confronted his estranged wife at work and told her "her family would suffer" if she saw other men. Prosecutors say Balfour made good on his threat, using a gun he had stolen earlier from Hudson's brother, who was one of the victims. Balfour appeared in court yesterday for the first time in connection with the deaths. He had been held since the night of the shootings on a parole violation but is now charged with all three of the murders. He was denied bond. Balfour's attorney says authorities have no forensic evidence linking his client to the killings. But prosecutors say both witness statements and the suspect's lies about his whereabouts the day of the crime helped them pin the case on him.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- In the days since Plaxico Burress shot himself at a New York nightclub, there have been a lot of questions about what happened. Now, the New York Giants are filling in some of the blanks. The team says a trainer was the first team official to get word of the shooting. They say linebacker Antonio Pierce, who was with Burress at the club, called the trainer right after the shooting and was told what hospital they should take Burress. Once he arrived at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, he was examined by a doctor who has treated Giants players in the past. The doctor noted Burress had been admitted under a false name. An attending physician treated Burress. She has been suspended for not reporting the gunshot injury to police, as required by law.

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MARSHALL, Texas (AP) -- "I never stole anything from anybody -- never." With those words, Tyler Perry set about defending himself against a copyright infringement lawsuit. Donna West is suing Perry in federal court, claiming he swiped material from a script she wrote titled: "Fantasy of a Black Woman," based on her own experiences. She says the material ended up being made into Perry's blockbuster movie, "Diary of a Mad Black Woman." West wants a jury to award her family all the profits of the 2005 film, which earned some $50 million. Perry insists his screenplay is an original work. But under questioning by West's attorney, said he didn't know whether anyone actually saw him write the script. Testimony continues today in Marshall, Texas.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Performances by Beyonce and Jamie Foxx and a flick of a switch -- that was about all it took to kick off the holiday season at New York's Rockefeller Center. The R&B stars were among those who took the stage before the huge tree was lit last night. Tens of thousands crowded the plaza outside NBC's New York headquarters to see the tree-lighting ceremony.

MIAMI (AP) -- It's a little embarrassing now, but it will be great story to tell the grandkids someday. A Florida congresswoman can tell people she hung up on Barack Obama. The president-elect called Ileana Ros-Lehtinen to congratulate her on her re-election. She tells the Miami Herald she thought it was a hoax -- so after talking about a minute, she told Obama she "wasn't falling for the hoax" and hung up. Then Rahm Emanuel, Obama's chief of staff, called to confirm it was really Obama -- and she hung up on him, too. Finally a fellow lawmaker, Howard Berman, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, to convince her it was really Obama who wanted to chat with her. And chat they did. She says Obama was gracious, saying he couldn't blame her for thinking the call may have been some kind of radio station prank.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush has signed legislation to mint a commemorative silver dollar marking the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. Sponsors of the measure to create the coin include President-elect Barack Obama, and Congressman John Lewis, a veteran of the civil rights movement. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 barred restaurants, hotels and other public places from denying service to blacks and outlawed employment discrimination against women and minorities. The U.S. Mint is slated to produce 350,000 of the $1 coins in 2014, which will be 50 years after the Civil Rights Act was signed.

UNDATED (AP) -- On this date in 1989, the Supreme Court upheld an appeals court ruling said Prince didn't steal the song "U Got the Look" from his half-sister. Lorna Nelson claimed the lyrics were similar to ones she had written.

UNDATED (AP) -- Jazz singer Cassandra Wilson has a birthday today. She turns 53.

UNDATED (AP) -- A birthday for the man considered by many to be the top man in the rap game today. Jay-Z turns 39 today.