GRAMMY.com

The GRAMMY Awards honor recordings in 108 categories across 31 fields, from rap to classical. To help readers get a better sense of the nominees and the wealth of recordings they’ve created over the past year, GRAMMY.com has prepared these field Roundups, which give quick details on the nominees in an easy-to-read format.

Artists associated with Nashville appear throughout this year's GRAMMY nominations: Freshly minted country-pop idol Carrie Underwood is nominated for Best New Artist in the General Field, while her breakthrough hit "Jesus Take The Wheel" has received a Song Of The Year nomination for its writers Brett James, Hillary Lindsey and Gordie Sampson. The Dixie Chicks dominate the General Field with Album, Song and Record Of The Year nods. Nashville names also appear in the jazz, gospel, folk, pop, rock, video, motion picture soundtrack, engineering, and even polka categories this year. No wonder they call it Music City, USA.

But of course Nashville is the home of country music, and this year's country nominations showcase both commercial giants and bright newcomers. In the BEST FEMALE COUNTRY VOCAL PERFORMANCE category, we have reality TV to thank for two new faces. Miranda Lambert placed third in the USA Network's first season of "Nashville Star"; since then, she's been singled out for the feisty, rock-tinged title track of her debut, "Kerosene." Country-pop phenomenon Carrie Underwood launched to prominence as the winner of Fox TV's "American Idol"; she is nominated for her passionate performance of the roadside salvation ballad, "Jesus, Take The Wheel." Genre-hopping LeAnn Rimes turned in a peppy, contemporary country performance with "Something's Gotta Give," an ode to the single woman's plight. Martina McBride earns her 11th GRAMMY nomination with the tender ballad "I Still Miss Someone," which features the harmony vocals of Dolly Parton. It's not often that Gretchen Wilson shows her tender side, and "I Don't Feel Like Loving You Today" was noteworthy for Wilson's tear-in-your-beer performance.

In the BEST MALE COUNTRY VOCAL PERFORMANCE category, Dierks Bentley is nominated for his autobiographical ode to road life, "Every Mile A Memory." George Strait's "The Seashores Of Old Mexico" tackles life on the run from the law, and was written by Merle Haggard. Vince Gill's aching "The Reason Why," featuring the vocals of Alison Krauss, asks the eternal question of why love dies. With a more hopeful outlook on love, Keith Urban wrote "Once In A Lifetime" for his new bride, actress Nicole Kidman. Similarly, Josh Turner's mile-deep baritone resonates with the hope of new love on "Would You Go With Me."

With five GRAMMY nominations, the Dixie Chicks are back with a bang. The Chicks are nominated in the BEST COUNTRY PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCAL category for "Not Ready To Make Nice," which relives the trio's 2003 political controversy and declares they have no regrets. Offering a similar message, but performed in a haunting, acoustic-folk style, is "Heaven's My Home" by Canadian quintet the Duhks. Pride in their rural roots seeps through the harmony-rich "Boondocks," by Little Big Town. "What Hurts The Most" was recorded by everyone from UK pop singer Jo O'Meara to country's Mark Wills, but Rascal Flatts' performance scored them a GRAMMY nomination. Michelle Branch won a pop genre GRAMMY in 2002 for her pairing with Carlos Santana; her current collaboration with Jessica Harp as the Wreckers has yielded a nomination for the country-rock influenced "Leave The Pieces," their debut single.

The BEST COUNTRY COLLABORATION WITH VOCALS category is noteworthy for the stylistic range the nominees represent. Rocker Bon Jovi summons his inner twang for "Who Says You Can't Go Home," a duet with Sugarland vocalist Jennifer Nettles, from Bon Jovi's Have A Nice Day release. Soul great Solomon Burke's Nashville features a supporting cast of Music City legends; the poignant track "Tomorrow Is Forever" features Dolly Parton. Kenny Rogers and Don Henley have nine GRAMMY Awards between them; their duet, "Calling Me," appeared on Rogers' Water & Bridges release. Bluegrass legends Rhonda Vincent and Bobby Osborne create pure, mountain harmonies on "Midnight Angel," a track from Vincent's All American Bluegrass Girl release. Newlyweds Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks duet on "Love Will Always Win," a track which originally didn't appear when Yearwood's Jasper County album first released in 2005. It was added as a bonus track for the 2006 re-release.

The BEST COUNTRY INSTRUMENTAL PERFORMANCE category features some new faces from the world of bluegrass. Fiddle innovator Casey Driessen collaborated with a host of Nashville names before releasing his solo debut, 3D, where his nominated performance "Jerusalem Ridge" can be found. Australian guitar wizard Tommy Emmanuel showcases his unique finger picking style on the fast-as-lightening "Gameshow Rag/Cannonball Rag," from The Mystery. Guitarist Bryan Sutton pairs with his heroes and mentors on Not Too Far From The Tree, a collection of guitar duets; the nominated "Whiskey Before Breakfast" features Doc Watson. Whether he's playing solo or with Nickel Creek, mandolin wizard Chris Thile is known for pushing bluegrass into uncharted waters. He's nominated for the sunny "The Eleventh Reel," which he also wrote, from his solo How To Grow A Woman From The Ground release. Fiddler Jim VanCleve receives his first GRAMMY nomination for "Nature Of The Beast," the opening track off his solo debut, No Apologies.

Some of Nashville's best-known tunesmiths are nominated in the BEST COUNTRY SONG category. Singer Dierks Bentley and longtime collaborator Brett Beavers partnered with songwriting legend Steve Bogard for Bentley's No. 1 hit, "Every Mile A Memory." Two of Nashville's most prolific tunesmiths, Matraca Berg and Jim Collins, co-wrote Gretchen Wilson's "I Don't Feel Like Loving You Today," a bittersweet look at a relationship's bumpy patches. Brett James, Hillary Lindsey and Gordie Sampson are nominated for their smash hit for Carrie Underwood, "Jesus, Take The Wheel," also nominated for Song Of The Year. Songwriting team Melanie and Robert Lee Castleman are nominated for "Like Red On A Rose," sung by Alan Jackson; the two are favorites of Alison Krauss, who produced Jackson's album. Songwriters Jeffrey Steele and Steve Robson have penned more than one hit for Rascal Flatts; "What Hurts The Most" was inspired by the death of Steele's father, who was an aspiring songwriter.

Leading off the BEST COUNTRY ALBUM nominees are the Dixie Chicks, nominated for Taking The Long Way, a collection heralded for its honesty and vulnerability. Produced by Alison Krauss, Alan Jackson's Like Red On A Rose is a collection of love songs showcasing a more nuanced country sound from an artist best known for his rich Georgia twang. It's hard for independent artists to get noticed in Nashville, but lush, four-part harmonies and an acoustic-folk sound helped distinguish Little Big Town's The Road To Here. On You Don't Know Me: The Songs Of Cindy Walker, six-time GRAMMY winner Willie Nelson is nominated for his tribute to Western swing standard-bearer Cindy Walker. Josh Turner gave his evocative baritone a workout on Your Man, a collection of tender ballads, bluegrass-inflected uptempos, and roots-gospel.

The BEST BLUEGRASS ALBUM nominees feature some names familiar to country audiences. The Grascals receive their second GRAMMY nomination for Long List Of Heartaches, an album featuring such special guests as country's George Jones and Steve Wariner. GRAMMY winner Jim Lauderdale notches his third career GRAMMY nomination for Bluegrass. Ricky Skaggs And Kentucky Thunder's Instrumentals release offers Celtic, jazz, as well as traditional bluegrass sounds. Marty Stuart And His Fabulous Superlatives are nominated for the "happy accident" Live At The Ryman, a July 2003 concert recorded for posterity's sake but never intended for commercial release. Rhonda Vincent is nominated for All American Bluegrass Girl, a collection as deeply rooted in all American themes as it is in its bluegrass musicality.