GRAMMY.com

The GRAMMY Awards honor recordings in 108 categories across 32 fields, from rap to classical. To help readers get a better sense of the breadth of the nominees and the wealth of recordings they've created over the last year, GRAMMY.com has prepared these field Roundups, which give quick details on the nominees in an easy-to-read format.

Mariah Carey, who made last year's most dramatic comeback, is a finalist for RECORD OF THE YEAR for the third time in her career. "We Belong Together," the first single from her album The Emancipation Of Mimi, follows "Vision Of Love," her 1990 breakthrough smash, and "One Sweet Day," her 1995 collaboration with Boyz II Men. Green Day is nominated for Record Of The Year for the second year in a row. The band is in the running with their rock ballad "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams." Last year, they made the finals with the snarling "American Idiot." Both tracks are from their album of the same name, which was voted Best Rock Album last year. The other three finalists are in this top category for the first time. Rap superstar Kanye West is nominated with "Gold Digger," the first single from his smash sophomore album, Late Registration. Gwen Stefani, who led No Doubt to international success, is represented with "Hollaback Girl," the first single from her solo debut album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. The final candidate is "Feel Good Inc." by the animated group Gorillaz featuring hip-hop veterans De La Soul. De La Soul broke through in 1989, making them the longest-established act of this year's Record Of The Year contenders. "Feel Good Inc." is also nominated for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals. The accompanying video is nominated for Best Short Form Music Video.

Paul McCartney receives his 10th ALBUM OF THE YEAR nomination with Chaos And Creation In The Backyard, his 20th studio album since leaving the Beatles. The Fab Four received five consecutive nominations in this category from 1965 through 1969, and McCartney and Wings were nominated in 1974 with Band On The Run. McCartney made it back to the finals on his own with Tug Of War in 1982 and Flaming Pie in 1997. U2 receives their fourth nomination in this category. The Irish band is represented with How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, their tenth regular studio collection. U2 won in this category in 1987 with The Joshua Tree and was nominated with Achtung Baby in 1992 and All That You Can't Leave Behind in 2001. "Vertigo," the lead single from the current album, won two GRAMMYs last year. Mariah Carey receives her third nomination in this category with The Emancipation Of Mimi, her eighth studio set. Carey made the finals with her eponymous debut album in 1990 and again with Daydream in 1995. Kanye West is in the finals for the second year in a row, with his sophomore album, Late Registration. The rap star was nominated last year with his debut release, The College Dropout. In addition to co-producing his own album, West is among the producers of Carey's album. This is the second straight year that West has had a co-production credit on a second Album Of The Year finalist. Last year, he also worked on Alicia Keys' The Diary Of Alicia Keys. The fifth finalist is Gwen Stefani, with her solo debut collection Love. Angel. Music. Baby. Stefani had three smash albums with No Doubt, though none were nominated for this top award.

"We Belong Together," which Mariah Carey co-wrote with Johnta Austin, Jermaine Dupri and Manuel Seal, is this year's only SONG OF THE YEAR finalist that is also in the running for Record Of The Year. It's Carey's second Song Of The Year nomination, following "Vision Of Love" in 1990, which she co-wrote with Ben Margulies. U2 is nominated in this category for the third time with "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own." The band was nominated with "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" in 1987 and "Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of" in 2001. Bruce Springsteen is nominated for the third time with "Devils & Dust." The rock icon won in 1994 with the AIDS-themed "Streets Of Philadelphia" and was nominated in 2002 with the 9/11-inspired "The Rising." John Stephens, better known as John Legend, is nominated along with collaborator William Adams (Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas) for writing Legend's "Ordinary People." Bobby Boyd, Jeff Hanna and Marcus Hummon round out the category with "Bless The Broken Road," a country hit for Rascal Flatts.

R&B breakout stars John Legend and Ciara have the highest GRAMMY profiles of any of this year’s BEST NEW ARTIST finalists. Legend has eight nominations, which puts him in a tie with superstar Mariah Carey and sophomore sensation Kanye West for the most by any artist. Legend's nominations include Song Of The Year for "Ordinary People" and Best R&B Album for Get Lifted. He is also cited for vocal collaborations with both Lauryn Hill and Kanye West. Ciara Harris, who uses just her first name, is vying in four categories, including Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "1, 2 Step," featuring Missy Elliott. The track is from Ciara's contemporary R&B album, Goodies. The three other nominees — all groups — are rock quartet Fall Out Boy, who broke through with the album From Under The Cork Tree; English pop trio Keane, who emerged with Hopes And Fears; and the female-led country trio SugarLand, who hit with Twice The Speed Of Life.