Queen returns: Carey leads Grammy nominees
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-12-09 11:45

The queen comes back. Mariah Carey, once considered a dimming star, was nominated on Thursday for eight Grammy awards in New York.

Carey is tied with vanguard rapper/producer Kanye West and R&B newcomer John Legend. Other multiple nominees include U2, Bruce Springsteen and Gwen Stefani.

Mariah Carey returns with the release of her highly anticipated album "The Emancipation of Mimi", setting out to prove she has freed herself of her dramas.

Carey's "The Emancipation of Mimi" was nominated for best album of the year, while the ballad "We Belong Together" made the grade for best record of the year.

Critics and fans have focused on 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 was quoted as saying by AP. "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."

Mariah Carey (L) is congratulated by Patti LaBelle (R) as she reacts to being nominated for eight Grammy awards in New York December 8. (Reuters)

West was also nominated in those two categories, for the song "Gold Digger" and the hit album "Late Registration," while his protege Legend was nominated for best male R&B vocal performance and best new artist.

It was the second year in a row that West topped the list of nominations -- last year he picked up 10 nods but was then snubbed in most categories, winning only three awards.

The top female awards look to be another run off between Carey and Stefani, who staged a surprise upset at the American Music Awards last month when she was named favorite female pop/rock artist over the hotly tipped Carey.

"The Emancipation of Mimi" - named for Carey's 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.

The 48th Annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast live on CBS from Los Angeles' Staples Center on February 8th.