In the U.S., the Grammy Awards are scheduled for February 8th. Rapper Lil Wayne and the British band Coldplay lead the list of nominations, announced Wednesday night in Los Angeles.

Lil Wayne - the most prolific, ubiquitous and successful rapper on today's music scene - was the most nominated artist. The Recording Academy put his name forward for eight Grammy awards including album of the year for 'Tha Carter III.'

Rap artist Lil Wayne performs at the Second Annual BET Awards in Atlanta, Georgia, October 13, 2007. [Tami Chappell/Reuters]

Close behind was Coldplay, with seven citations. The group's 'Viva La Vida,' was one of the year's best-selling CDs. "Viva La Vida" is also in contention for Album of the Year. with Radiohead's groundbreaking 'In Rainbows.' Also in the running are singer-songwriter Ne-Yo's 'Year of the Gentleman'; and Robert Plant's collaboration with Alison Krauss, 'Raising Sand.'