LOS ANGELES – Usher, the R&B casanova whose album “Confessions” steamed up the charts with songs about sex, affairs and breakups, received a leading four nominations Tuesday for the American Music Awards.
Many categories included last year’s winners – Toby Keith, Tim McGraw and Linkin Park – and previous nominees Beyonce, Avril Lavigne, Norah Jones and R. Kelly.
Meanwhile, rapper-producer Kanye West, whose album “The College Dropout” combines gospel, rap and braggadocio, had three nominations, the second most after Usher.
Usher was nominated as favorite male artist in both the pop-rock and soul-R&B categories, and “Confessions” also has best album bids in both groups.
Selected nominees for the 2004 American Music Awards:
Pop-Rock
Male Artist: Josh Groban, Lenny Kravitz, Michael McDonald, Usher.
Female Artist: Sheryl Crow, Avril Lavigne, Jessica Simpson.
Band, Duo or Group: Evanescence, Nickelback, OutKast.
Album: “Feels Like Home,” Norah Jones; “In This Skin,” Jessica Simpson; “Confessions,” Usher.
Soul-R&B
Male Artist: R. Kelly, Prince, Ruben Studdard, Usher.
Female Artist: Beyonce, Janet Jackson, Alicia Keys.
Album: “The Diary of Alicia Keys,” Alicia Keys; “Musicology,” Prince; “Confessions,” Usher.
Country
Male Artist: Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Tim McGraw.
Female Artist: Martina McBride, Reba McEntire, Gretchen Wilson.
Rap/Hip-Hop
Album: “The Black Album,” Jay-Z; “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below,” OutKast; “The College Dropout,” Kanye West.
Adult Contemporary
Artist: Harry Connick Jr., Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones.
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