Mary J. Blige [ tickets ] leads the pack in Grammy nominations with eight nods, followed by The Red Hot Chili Peppers [ tickets ] with six, and James Blunt [ tickets ], the Dixie Chicks [ tickets ], John Mayer, Danger Mouse, Prince and Will.I.Am with five each.

Beyonce, Gnarls Barkley, Israel Houghton, T.I. and Justin Timberlake follow close behind with four nods apiece.

The nominations for the 49th Annual Grammy Awards [ tickets ] were announced this morning (12/7) at The Music Box @ Fonda in Los Angeles with the help of several star nominees, including Blige, Blunt and Timberlake.

Those competing for Album of the Year are the Dixie Chicks [ tickets ] ("Taking the Long Way"), Gnarls Barkley ("St. Elsewhere"), Mayer ("Continuum"), The Red Hot Chili Peppers [ tickets ] ("Stadium Arcadium") and Timberlake ("FutureSex/LoveSounds").

Blige's stack of nominations include Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Be Without You," and Best R&B Album for "Breakthrough." Her duets with Jamie Foxx ("Love Changes") and U2 ("One") are vying for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, respectively.

Joining Blige in the Record of the Year category are Blunt ("You're Beautiful"), Dixie Chicks ("Not Ready to Make Nice"), Gnarls Barkley ("Crazy") and Corinne Bailey Rae ("Put Your Records On").

Blunt and Rae are also up for Best New Artist along with R&B singer Chris Brown, and British singer/songwriter Imogen Heap.

Besides Album of the Year, The Red Hot Chili Peppers are vying for Best Rock Song, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group and Best Short Form Music Video for "Dani California," and Best Rock Album for "Stadium Arcadium."

The awards will be handed out Feb. 11 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and will once again air live on CBS-TV.

A list of nominations is available here.