MUMBAI: SRC/Universal Motown star Akon has been nominated for four Grammys 2008, including possible honors for Best Contemporary R&B Album for his multi-platinum-five million selling album Konvicted, Best Rap Song for his hit, I Wanna Love You, from the acclaimed CD, Best R&B Performance With Vocals with T-Pain for his hit song, Bartender, and Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals with pop diva Gwen Stefani on her song developed and co-written by Akon, The Sweet Escape.
 
Akon himself was on hand at the Music Box in Los Angeles to help announce this year’s nominees for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, to be held at the Staple Center in Los Angeles on 10 February. 
 
Akon said, “It’s truly one of the highlights of my career to receive today’s Grammy nominations. It was an honor to be part of the announcement ceremony, and I look forward to Grammy night and celebrating with those who have made music such an inspirational force in all our lives.”
 
The four Grammy nods follow his first American Music Award victory last month for Best Male Soul/R&B artist, where he beat out celebrated hitmakers Ne-Yo and T-Pain. The Senegalese star’s first-ever Grammy nomination came last year for his rousing collaboration with Eminem, the record-breaking, Smack That, from Konvicted. Akon also recently pulled down three big wins at the World Music Awards when he was awarded a trio of prestigious trophies including Best Selling R&B star in the world, topping superstar artists such as Beyonce, Timbaland, Rihanna and others.
 
Akon’s 5 million selling album Konvicted continues to set new records across the globe, yielding the number one hits I Wanna Love You, and Don’t Matter, and the numbe two Grammy-nominated Smack That featuring Eminem. Akon also became the only artist in music history to simultaneously lockdown the number one and number two positions on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart twice. Akon became the top selling mastertone artist of all time this summer, achieving a phenomenal 11 million in total mastertone sales, the most of any other artist since the inception of mastertones.
 
Akon’s mastertone hits include songs from his 1.4 million selling 2005 debut album Trouble. His top-selling ringtone offerings from Konvicted (Smack That (certified by RIAA triple platinum), Don’t Matter (double platinum), and I Wanna Love You (double platinum)), make him the only artist with three tracks from the same album to ever achieve multi-platinum ringtone status.
 
The star’s Smack That was the top selling mastertone of 2006 (Nielsen Mobile), reaching number two on the Billboard Hot Digital Songs Chart, and making Akon the biggest ringtone seller ever via the nation’s largest mobile carrier, AT&T.
 
One of the star attractions of this summer’s sold-out, record breaking Sweet Escape Tour with Gwen Stefani, the singer appeared at the star-studded New York rollout of the celebrated Live Earth Show. Akon has also delivered some of the biggest collaborative hits in recent memory, including songs with Gwen Stefani, T.I., 50 Cent, Bone, Thugs-n-Harmony, Chamillionaire, and others.