NEW YORK — First Mimi was emancipated; now Mariah Carey is being celebrated.
Carey, who just a couple of years ago was considered a dimming star, was reaffirmed as one of music's brightest Thursday as she was nominated for eight Grammy awards, including album of the year for "The Emancipation of Mimi."
Vanguard rapper/producer Kanye West equaled Carey's accomplishment with eight nominations, as did his protege, John Legend. Other multiple nominees included U2, Bruce Springsteen and Gwen Stefani.
Nominated in the best gospel choir- or chorus-album category was Gladys Knight's "One Voice," in which she leads the Saints Unified Voices choir. The album was released last January on Knight's own Many Roads Records label.
Critics and fans have focused on Mariah Carey's amazing career turnaround, but she doesn't like to call it a comeback. Instead, the 35-year-old diva, who received her only Grammys in 1991 for best new artist and best pop vocal performance, sees her newfound success as a validation of the kind of music she's wanted to do all along.
"A lot of times in my career, I was never allowed to release my favorite songs as the singles. Sometimes they would be my favorite songs, but sometimes no," Carey told The Associated Press after the nominations were announced. "This is like an album of my favorite songs, and so that's what feels great, because as an artist, you want people to hear your best work."
Besides album of the year, Carey's other nominations included record and song of the year for the heartbreak ballad "We Belong Together," and best female pop vocal for the club hit "It's Like That."
West, who last year led all nominees with ten including album of the year, was nominated in that category again this year for "Late Registration." His Ray Charles-inspired hit, "Gold Digger," was nominated for record of the year and he also was cited for being a producer on Carey's album.
West could also revel in the good fortune of Legend, whose nominations included best new artist, along with Ciara, Fall Out Boy, Sugarland, and Keane. U2 received five nominations, including album of the year for the best-selling "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" and song of the year for "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own."
Paul McCartney was also nominated in the album of the year category for "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard." The album garnered the former Beatle his best reviews in decades; it also marked his first Grammy nomination in 26 years.
The other album of the year nominee was Stefani for her kitschy, '80s tribute "Love. Angel. Music. Baby." disc. The album marked the solo debut of the No Doubt frontwoman and budding fashion designer. It sold more than 3 million copies and included one of the biggest songs of the year, the nonsensical foot-stomper "Holla-back Girl." That single also earned Stefani a nomination for record of the year and best female pop vocal performance; in all she had five.
"I think part of the success of the album is because it is so different from No Doubt," said producer of the year nominee Jimmy Jam, who along with partner Terry Lewis worked on "Love. Angel. Music. Baby."
"I think on her own she probably made the album she would have made if she hadn't been the girl in the band and if she had been the girl of the '80s."
Besides Stefani, Carey and West, the other record of the year nominees were the Gorillaz featuring De La Soul for "Feel Good Inc." and Green Day for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams."
Also nominated for five Grammys were Missy Elliott, Alicia Keys and Springsteen, whose song "Devils & Dust" is up for song of the year. Stevie Wonder, who put out his first album in 10 years this fall, "A Time to Love," got six nominations, as did Beyonce, The Black Eyed Peas' Will.i.am, and 50 Cent, who had the year's best-selling disc with "The Massacre."
Carey's album was the No. 2 selling album of the year with more than 4 million copies. Given her previous blockbuster sales, the figure might not come as a surprise.
But Carey seemed to have lost her multiplatinum touch over the last few years. She endured the bomb movie and soundtrack "Glitter" in 2001, and a 2002 follow-up album, "Charmbracelet," was a slow seller.
"The Emancipation of Mimi" — named for her alter-ego and nickname — marked her return to multiplatinum greatness. Carey says the reason the album did so well was because she stayed true to her own musical intuition by delivering a strong R&B album instead of listening to the advice of others and going more pop.
"I feel like record companies were a little scared of urban music a couple of years back, and because I've always wanted to go further into that direction, I kind of got put in a box," a buoyant Carey said, chatting in the back seat of a car.
"I feel like now everyone is going to come around to understanding this is the music that is honestly the future and it's the past and present, so that in and of itself is a triumph. So, win or lose, I'm already grateful."
Urban music was well represented in the Grammy nominations. Black music stars led the multiple nominees list, and Legend was the freshest face.
His ballad "Ordinary People" was nominated for song of the year. Though Legend did not have a hand in penning the tune, he was perhaps more excited over that nomination than his own.
"To get that made my heart skip," he told the AP. "As a songwriter, it's a category I take very seriously."
The Grammys will be handed out in Los Angeles on Feb. 8.
On the Net: www.grammy.com