NEW YORK, NY (Universal
Music Australia) – As the nominations for the 48th annual Grammy Awards were announced this morning at Gotham Hall in Manhattan,
Kanye West began his day in San Jose, CA on the last leg of his critically acclaimed Touch The Sky Tour, which has been hailed by the Los Angeles Times as 'one of the most celebrated hip-hop tours ever.' The usually outspoken West, who was recently named to
Barbara Walters' list of the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2005, was unusually humble on hearing word that, for the second year in a row, he'd topped the Grammy field with an astounding eight nominations. 'I'd like to thank the academy for paying attention to my music,' he said. 'Not my mouth.'
Kanye scored major nods in the General Field, including two of Grammy's biggest honors: Record Of the Year for 'Gold Digger,' and Album Of the Year for Late Regristration. He also dominated the Rap Field, where he is up for Best Rap Solo Performance ('Gold Digger'), Best Rap Song ('Diamonds From Sierra Leone'), and Best Rap Album. Kanye's guest spot with John Legend on Common's 'They Say' brought a nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. And Kanye's work as a producer brought him nominations for Mariah Carey's The Emancipation Of Mimi (Album Of the Year) and Alicia Keys' 'Unbreakable' (Best R&B Song).
West shocked the world in 2004 by emerging from behind the production boards to release The College Dropout, his stunning solo debut album which sold over 2 million copies, became in instant classic, and went on to grab the majority of his record-breaking 10 Grammy nominations. Dropout, which won the Grammy for Best Rap Album, may have lost in the Album Of The Year category to Ray Charles, but West stole the show with an impassioned performance of his Best Rap Song-award winning 'Jesus Walks,' and a show-stopping acceptance speech that brought the Staples center crowd to its feet. Kanye West had truly arrived.
And in 2005, West's star rose even higher. To unanimous, deafening critical acclaim, including the coveted 5 Stars in Rolling Stone, Late Registration arrived at #1 – with over 860,000 copies sold in its debut week- just a week after Time Magazine dubbed him 'the smartest man in pop music' on its historic cover. 'Gold Digger' became an instant smash, rocketing to the top of the digital, video and radio charts, including Billboard's Hot 100, where it remained at #1 for a remarkable 10 consecutive weeks. A show-stopping performance at the 2005 VMAs was followed by performances on Good Morning America, Oprah, Ellen and the NFL 2005 Kickoff special. Late Registration became the biggest first-week debut in Def Jam Recordings' illustrious history.
Kanye then launched a sprawling, ambitious national headlining tour, The Touch Sky Tour, which has delighted fans and critics across the country for the past two months. In mid-December, West will support U2 for a string of dates, and wraps up his U.S. tour on New Year's Eve in Las Vegas. European tour dates for 2006 will be announced shortly.
Stay tuned for more on Kanye West's road to Grammy glory.
