Lil’ Wayne is the top nominee for next February’s 51st Grammy Awards (on CBS), scoring eight nominations, including Album of the Year for his acclaimed and commercially successful Tha Carter III.

Scoring seven nods is Coldplay for its Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, also nominated for Album of the Year, plus Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

With six each are Jay-Z, Ne-Yo and Kanye West; and John Mayer, Radiohead, the team-up Alison Krauss/Robert Plant, and newcomer Jazmine Sullivan are up for five Grammys each.

In the Best New Artist category, it’s a diverse selection that includes R&B singer Sullivan, teen-scream pop-power poppers The Jonas Brothers, Brit Adele, retro soul-pop Duffy from Wales, and country group Lady Antebellum.

The nominees were announced Wednesday night during a prime TV special from the Nokia Theater at LA Live in Los Angeles, featuring performances by Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, plus other music stars.

Opening the show, Carey went for a holiday number — a version of Darlene Love’s Phil Spector-produced “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” and Dion, wearing somber black, was lower-key with Janis Ian’s “At 17.” The covers of Grammy-winning songs continued with Foo Fighters rocking up Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” and Christina Aguilera continuing to show her diversity with “I Loves You Porgy” from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. The Grammy Museum will open at L.A. Live complex this weekend.

Top Grammy Nominees:

Album of the Year
Coldplay, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Lil’ Wayne, Tha Carter III
Ne-Yo, Year of the Gentleman
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Raising Sand
Radiohead, In Rainbows

Record of the Year
Adele, “Chasing Pavements”
Coldplay, “Viva la Vida”
Leona Lewis, “Bleeding Love”
M.I.A., “Paper Planes”
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, “Please Read the Letter”

Song of the Year
Estelle (featuring Kanye West), “American Boy”
Adele, “Chasing Pavements”
Jason Mraz, “I’m Yours”
Sara Bareilles, “Love Song”
Coldplay, “Viva la Vida”

Best New Artist
Adele
Duffy
Jonas Brothers
Lady Antebellum
Jazmine Sullivan

For a complete list of Grammy nominees and past winners, click here.