LOS ANGELES: R&B singer Beyonce led the field of Grammy contenders with 10

nominations on December 2 closely followed by teen country sensation Taylor Swift with eight, and both will compete for coveted album of the year. Hip-hop band Black Eyed Peas, R&B singer Maxwell — making a return to the music business after an eight-year absence — and rapper Kanye West each earned six nods. In a list that reflected youth and a drop-off of veteran super groups like U2, glam singer Lady Gaga and rapper Jay-Z each earned five Grammy nods apiece.

Swift, 19, whose Fearless album is the biggest seller in the US in 2009, will compete with Beyonce for album of the year along with the Black Eyed Peas, Dave Matthews Band and Lady Gaga, who has gone from obscurity to worldwide fame this year with her debut album The Fame. “Taylor is a phenomenon in entertainment,” Neil Portnow, president of the Recording Academy told reporters. Swift has never won a Grammy, while Beyonce is a 10-time winner in her solo career and her earlier turn in the trio Destiny’s Child. Her latest solo album I Am Sasha Fierce produced the hit singles Halo and Single Ladies.