Taylor SwiftTaylor Swift is second only to Beyoncé in 2010 Grammy nominations, as the country superstar has scored eight nods going into the Jan. 31 awards show. "I started freaking out and jumping up and down," Taylor tells the Associated Press of hearing about all of her nominations Wednesday night. "I honestly never would have predicted this. I'm ecstatic, blown away and so thankful." Taylor's eight nominations include three all-genre categories: Record, Song and Album of the Year.

Keith Urban follows Taylor in the country categories with four Grammy nods, including Best Country Album. "I wrote and recorded 'Defying Gravity' to touch upon the power of the human spirit," Keith says of his nominated CD. "I had no idea that it would've connected in the way that it did. We saw it night after night on the Escape Together Tour and to now end the year with these nominations is pure magic."

Kenny Chesney and Mac McAnally are up for Best Country Collaboration for their duet, 'Down the Road.' "Some things are just magic," Kenny says of the song. "I knew the first time I heard Mac sing this on his 'Simple Life' record ... It gets inside and lets you understood everything about life you don't even realize. So it makes sense the Grammy people -- who are from all musical genres -- would recognize this song and the heart Mac brings. I'm honored to share this with my friend."

Lady Antebellum snagged two nominations: Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals and Best Country Song for 'I Run to You.' "The nominees are all so talented ... the most fun part for us is just being able to go and see some of these artists who we are all huge fans of," says Lady A's Hillary Scott. "The collaborations and over-the-top production are always so creative and unpredictable ... We have an enormous amount of gratitude to the music community for even inviting us to the party!" The talented trio heard of their Grammy nods just as news also broke that their new single 'Need You Now' cracked the Top 10 of Billboard's all genre Hot 100 chart -- making them the first country act to do so since the Dixie Chicks in 2007.

Nashville-based rockers Kings of Leon are celebrating their four Grammy nominations, as well as those of their neighbors! "We're Nashville boys, so we'll pull for our locals Taylor Swift and Sugarland," said Kings drummer Nathan Followill. "(They're) the country people that we bump into at Wholefoods every weekend!"

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