Grammy Awards 2010 Nominations Preview

Who will nab the bids when the nominees for the 52nd Grammy Awards are announced on Dec. 2?

Its been a banner year for music, so there's no clear frontrunner, but there will be plenty of familiar faces in the running for multiple awards. So far, the drama swirling around this year's nominations encompasses not only who will be recognized, but who isn't eligible and whether or not the Grammy committee will change the rules to accommodate one particularly "famous' singer and songwriter for the coveted Best New Artist category.

Billboard runs down some of the leading contenders - and a few long shots - for the 52nd Grammy Awards nominations. Check back on Dec. 3rd and see who made the list - and who didn't.

Lady Gaga has had year for the history books, becoming the first artist in the 17-year history of Billboard's Pop Songs chart to notch four No. 1s from a debut album, being honored as Billboard's Rising Star and selling more than 1.5 million copies of her album "The Fame." Gaga seems like a shoe-in for multiple Grammy nominations, including Record, Album and Song of the year. She's also part the the biggest controversy leading up to the nominations announcement: due to the fact that her single "Just Dance" was nominated in the Best Dance Recording category last year, she is currently ineligible for best New Artist consideration. But that may change when the Grammy's awards and nominations committee meets. "We change the rules frequently," Grammy president Neil Portow said this week. "We recognize that situation is not perfect, and we are looking at ways to figure it out."

Whitney Houston, like a true DIVA, returned to the Billboard 200 in grand style. "I Look To You" was Houston's fourth No. 1 album on the chart and first since the Houston-fueled "The Bodyguard" soundtrack spent 20 weeks at No. 1 in 1993. On the album's title track, her first single in more than seven years, the lead single from her first album in seven years, Houston is both vulnerable and in control. The singer re-enters the spotlight with a stoic ballad about rising again after a fall from grace, with all the literal resonance that brings. Her comeback began at a pre-Grammy party before the 2009 awards, and she'll return for a victory turn in 2010.

Taylor Swift is racking up the accolades these days, with multiple wins for her record-setting "Fearless" album including honors at the American Music Awards, the Country Music Awards, the MTV Video Music Awards and the CMT Awards, among others. She was nominated for Best New Artist in 2009 but did not take home the prize. Now the question isn't if, but how many Grammy Awards she'll walk with next year.

Black Eyed Peas spent 14 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with "I Gotta Feeling," matching Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" for longest No. 1 stay this decade. The Peas held the No. 1 position for 26 straight weeks, with "Boom Boom Pow" preceding "Feeling" with a 12-week run, making them the second act in the 51-year history of the Hot 100 to remain at No. 1 for a half a calendar year or more. Look for that unprecedented chart success to be mirrored by an impressive number of Grammy Award nominations.

Keri Hilson worked for years as a songwriter behind the scenes, but in March she released her hit-filled debut album "In a Perfect World...," reaching No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 3 on the Hot 100 with the single "Knock You Down" featuring Kanye West and Ne-Yo.

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