Reflecting a year during which a broad spectrum of artists and music — from R&B, rap and pop, to old-school rock, dance and country — shared the spotlight, a wide and diverse array of performers, producers and other creative professionals garnered multiple nods for the 45th Annual GRAMMY Awards, as announced by the Recording Academy. The press conference was held on the court at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and was attended by international media, top recording artists, and many key music industry executives. The 45th Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held on Feb. 23 at the Garden, and will be broadcast on the CBS Television Network from 8 – 11:30 p.m. (EST/PST).

"This year's nominations reflect the diversity and eclecticism that make music our universal language," said Neil Portnow, President of the Recording Academy. "It's gratifying to see established artists share nods with up-and-comers across the board — all of whom represent some of the most remarkable music makers out there today."

The diversity of the year was perhaps best exemplified in the Album Of The Year category, where nominations ranged from the challenging rap of Eminem and the pop-infused rap of Nelly; to the country sounds of the Dixie Chicks, the grand rock and roll style of Bruce Springsteen, and the sultry pop/jazz vocals of Norah Jones.

Female artists dominated the Best New Artist category, with Ashanti, Michelle Branch, Norah Jones, and Avril Lavigne being recognized, along with John Mayer.

The scope of nominations also reflects the surge of female artists who appeared on the scene last year. Many newcomers earned five nominations each, launching them into a league with seasoned GRAMMY veterans.

Of the newcomers, Ashanti stormed the R&B scene and earned nods for Best New Artist, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance ("Foolish"), Best Contemporary R&B Album (Ashanti), and two separate nominations in the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration category ("What's Luv?" with Fat Joe and "Always On Time" with Ja Rule). Norah Jones' sultry blend of jazz and traditional pop earned her five nominations, including Best New Artist, Record Of The Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance ("Don't Know Why"), and Album Of The Year and Best Pop Vocal Album (Come Away With Me). Avril Lavigne's nominations reflect her range as a singer/songwriter; in addition to earning a Song Of The Year nomination for writing "Complicated," she scored nominations for Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance ("Complicated"), Best Pop Vocal Album (Let Go), and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance ("Sk8er Boi").

Veterans include eight-time GRAMMY winner Sheryl Crow, who again showed her eclectic talent by garnering nominations for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance ("Soak Up The Sun"), Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals ("It's So Easy" with Don Henley), Best Female Rock Vocal Performance ("Steve McQueen"), Best Rock Album (C'mon C'mon), and Best Country Collaboration With Vocals ("Flesh And Blood" with Mary Chapin Carpenter and Emmylou Harris). Five-time GRAMMY winner Eminem nabbed nominations for Record Of The Year, Best Male Rap Solo Performance and Best Short Form Music Video ("Without Me"), as well as Album Of The Year and Best Rap Album (The Eminem Show). Nelly earned five nominations including Album Of The Year and Best Rap Album (Nellyville), Record Of The Year and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration ("Dilemma" featuring Kelly Rowland), as well as Best Male Rap Solo Vocal Performance ("Hot In Herre"). Singer/songwriter Raphael Saadiq (formerly a member of Tony! Toni! Tonι!) also earned five nods for the 45th show, including two separate songwriting nominations in the Best R&B Song category ("Be Here" featuring D'Angelo, and "Love Of My Life [An Ode To Hip Hop]" featuring Common) — the latter song also earning Saadiq a songwriting nom for Best Song Written For A Motion Picture, Television, Or Other Visual Media — as well as Best Urban/Alternative Performance ("Be Here") and Best R&B Album (Instant Vintage). Finally, seven-time GRAMMY winner Bruce Springsteen returned to touring with the E Street Band last year, and captured five nominations including Album Of The Year and Best Rock Album (The Rising), two songwriting nods for Song Of The Year and Best Rock Song ("The Rising"), and Best Male Rock Vocal Performance ("The Rising").

Several artists received four nominations apiece: the Dixie Chicks (including Album Of The Year and Best Country Album), Alan Jackson (including Song Of The Year and Best Country Album), Chad Kroeger of Nickelback (including one nomination with Nickelback for Record Of The Year and two songwriting noms for Best Rock Song and Best Song Written For A Motion Picture, Television, Or Other Visual Media), and Remy Shand (including Best R&B Song and Best R&B Album). Artists earning three nominations include India.Arie (including Best R&B Album and Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals for a duet with Stevie Wonder), Erykah Badu (including two songwriting noms for Best R&B Song and Best Song Written For A Motion Picture, Television, Or Other Visual Media), Ian Bostridge (including two separate nominations in the Best Opera Recording category), Vanessa Carlton (including Record Of The Year in addition to a songwriting nod for Song Of The Year, and an arranging nod for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists), Johnny Cash (including Best Male Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Collaboration With Vocals for a duet with Fiona Apple), Elvis Costello (including Best Alternative Album and Best Rock Album), Dr. Dre (including Album Of The Year for his work on Eminem's The Eminem Show, and Producer Of The Year), Arif Mardin (including Record Of The Year and Producer Of The Year for his work with Norah Jones), and No Doubt (including Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal and Best Pop Vocal Album), among many others.

The list of artists earning two nominations includes Tony Bennett, Coldplay, Dirty Vegas, Foo Fighters, Diana Krall, Ludacris, Musiq, Nappy Roots, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Pink, P.O.D., and Britney Spears, among many others.

The Academy announced first-time nominees in two new categories introduced for the 45th GRAMMYs as part of its ongoing effort to broaden its reach and fully reflect the dynamic diversity of the evolving contemporary music world:

The R&B Field was redefined when the Academy added two additional categories — Best Contemporary R&B Album and Best Urban/Alternative Performance. In Best Contemporary R&B Album, the nominees are Ashanti (Ashanti), Brandy (Full Moon), Faith Evans (Faithfully), Floetry (Floetic), and Meshell Ndegeocello (Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape). The Best Urban/Alternative Performance nominees include "Little Things" by India.Arie, "Love Of My Life [An Ode To Hip Hop]" by Erykah Badu featuring Common, "Gettin' Grown" by Cee-Lo, "Floetic" by Floetry, and "Be Here" by Raphael Saadiq featuring D'Angelo.

This year also marks a first for the dance genre. An independent Dance Music Field was created to contain the Best Dance Recording category, which features nominated recordings including "Gotta Get Thru This" (Daniel Bedingfield), "Days Go By" (Dirty Vegas), "Superstylin'" (Groove Armada), "Love At First Sight" (Kylie Minogue), and "Hella Good" (No Doubt).

GRAMMY Nominations ballots for the next round of voting will be mailed Jan. 10 to the voting members of the Recording Academy. They are due back to the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP by Feb. 3, 2003, when they will be tabulated and the results kept secret until the telecast.

The GRAMMY Awards are produced in association with Cossette Productions. Pierre Cossette is executive producer, Ken Ehrlich is writer/producer and Walter Miller is producer/director. John Cossette is supervising producer and Tisha Fein is the coordinating producer.

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