Although she decided to take a short break from music, Alicia Keys leads the way in the 2008 American Music Awards (AMAs) with five nods. The nominalizations were announced Tuesday Oct. 14 and the R&B singer is also in the cards to win the AMAs biggest distinction - Artist of the Year.

Alicia Keys was also among the nominees for Favorite Female Artist in pop/rock and soul/R&B, and Favorite Album in both the pop/rock and soul/R&B. She is the only female competing in the Artist of the Year category along with Coldplay, the Eagles and Lil Wayne.

The AMAs ceremony is scheduled to take place Sunday, Nov. 23 (8:00 - 11:00pm ET/PT). The ceremony will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and will take place at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.

R&B star Chris Brown is also among the most likely to win a trophy. Brown earned three nominations including one for the Favorite Male Artist category where he will clash with Usher and Kid Rock.

Lil Wayne is also in the cards. After a hard year’s work, the singer will compete with Alicia Keys in the Artist of the Year section. With his successful album “Tha Carter III” Lil Wayne won a nomination for Album of the Year and for Favorite Male Artist.

Other worth-mentioning nominees were Kanye West with two nods (Favorite Male Artist in hip-hop and Favorite Rap Album), Jay-Z with one nod in the Favorite Rap Album category for his album entitled “American Gangster.” Mariah Carey and Usher both earned nominations for Favorite Male/Female Artist of the Year in the pop/rock category.

The list of other artist who might win an AMA this year includes J. Holiday, the Wu-Tang Clan, G-Unit and Rihanna.