and the nominees are...

the musical "dreamgirls" led academy awards contenders tuesday with
eight nominations, but surprisingly was shut out in the best picture
category after being considered a potential front-runner.

the sweeping ensemble drama "babel" was close behind with
seven, including best picture and acting honors for two newcomers to u.s. audiences, adriana barraza and rinko kikuchi.

other best-picture nominees were martin scorsese's bloody crime
saga "the departed," clint eastwood's world war II spectacle "letters from iwo jima," the road-trip comedy "little miss sunshine" and the
monarchy-in-crisis chronicle "the queen."

going into nominations day, the best-picture competition looked
unusually wide open, with no consensus on a favorite. with
"Dreamgirls," a golden globe winner out of the race, the best picture
competition is even more up for grabs.

but front-runners in all four acting categories nabbed
nominations and seem poised to come home with oscars on feb. 25: helen mirren for best actress as british monarch elizabeth II in "the queen"; forest whitaker for best actor as ugandan dictator idi amin in "the last king of scotland"; and eddie murphy and former "american idol"
finalist jennifer hudson as soulful singers in "dreamgirls."

all four preceded the oscar nominations with wins at the golden globes.

more details about nomination story here

who got nominated? read nominees list here

am listening to: i am changing - jennifer hudson