2014 Grammy Awards Nominations: Justin Timberlake, Daft Punk, Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift, Robin Thicke & Lorde Rise, but Jay Z Rules

Jay Z just can't help but leave a trail of success in his wake.

The multihyphenate mogul leads all nominees for the 56th Annual Grammy Awards with eight, nods coming for Magna Carta...Holy Grail, his collaboration with Justin Timberlake, his work on Kendrick Lamar's breakthrough album and more.

Of course, the competition is hot on that trail, starting with Lamar, whose Good Kid, M.A.A.D City will vie in the prestigious Album of the Year category against Taylor Swift 's Red, Daft Punk's Random Access Memories, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' The Heist and, in what was perhaps a surprise choice for those who expected Timberlake or Kanye West to be here, Sara Bareilles' The Blessed Unrest.

Complete list of nominees for the 56th Annual Grammy Awards

Not that anyone should feel to sorry for either J.T., who has seven nominations, or Perry, who's nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for Roar. (And don't feel bad for Miley Cyrus—Bangerz will be eligible for the 2015 Grammys.)

Kanye, who has won 21 Grammys over the years, could add another two, including Best Rap Album—but Yeezus faces stiff competition from pal Jay Z's Magna Carta...Holy Grail, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' The Heist, Lamar's Good Kid...M.A.A.D City and Drake's Nothing Was the Same.

PHOTOS: Best & worst performances at the 2013 Grammys

Fabulously outspoken newcomer Lorde did not score a Best New Artist nomination (the surprises just keep on coming), but the 17-year-old from New Zealand does have a winning four nominations, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for "Royals" and Best Pop Vocal Album for her studio debut, Pure Heroine.

We'll see if the queen bee can reign, however, in the jam-packed-with-hits Record of the Year category, which also boasts Robin Thicke, Pharrell and T.I.'s "Blurred Lines," Bruno Mars' "Locked Out of Heaven," Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" and Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive,' each of them arguably the jam of 2013.

Perry, who cowrote "Roar," will see what happens for Song of the Year, which is awarded to songwriters: Along with Lorde, Macklemore and Lewis are in there for "Same Love," Pink and Nate Ruess helped pen "Just Give Me a Reason" and Mars worked on "Locked Out of Heaven."

Joining Timberlake in the lucky seven club are Lamar, Pharrell Williams, Macklemore and Lewis, while Drake and engineer Bob Ludwig, who made "Get Lucky" sound the way it does, each notched five.

Interestingly, neither of Swift's mega-hits from Red, "I Knew You Were Trouble" or "We Are Never, Ever Getting Back Together," were nominated individually—instead, she was recognized for Best Country Duo/Group Performance with Keith Urban and Tim McGraw for "Highway Don't Care" and Best Country Song for "Begin Again."

PHOTOS: Best songs of 2013

Red is also up for Best Country Album (Who else kinda keeps forgetting that Taylor's designated genre is country?) along with LPs from truer country artists Blake Shelton, McGraw, Jason Aldean and Kacey Musgraves.

Musgraves, meanwhile, squares off for Best New Artist against Kendrick Lamar, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, James Blake and Swift's pal Ed Sheeran.

In what has become a new CBS tradition, a handful of nominations, including the biggies of Album, Record and Song of the Year, were announced tonight during the Grammy Nominations Concert Live!—Countdown to Music's Biggest Night.

Robin Thicke, Lorde, Keith Urban, Kelly Rowland, T.I., LL Cool J, Melissa Etheridge and Enrique Iglesias were among the artists at the Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live for the concert. Swift performed from Australia, where she's currently on tour, via satellite.

The 56th Annual Grammy Awards will take place Jan. 26 at Los Angeles' Staples Center and be broadcast live on CBS. RIP Paul Walker.

Paul Walker Secretly Paid For Engagement Ring That Iraq Veteran Couldn’t Afford

Paul Walker is being remembered as one of Hollywood’s true “good guys,” and in the days after his tragic death it’s becoming clear that it’s more than just kind words and empty praise.

A picture is emerging of a star who quietly devoted himself to a number of causes, creating charitable organizations and supporting fundraisers while never drawing attention to himself.

But one story from a Santa Barbara jeweler tops them all. A sales associate named Irene King shared a story of her encounter with Paul Walker from several years ago, one that took place when he came in to her store around the holiday season.

King said a co-worker nudged her and point Paul out when he entered the store.

“Oh, OK, yeah,” King recounted to CBS Los Angeles. “I said, ‘Yeah, he’s a nice-looking man.’ ”

As Walker checked out the jewelry, a soldier who had just returned from his first tour of duty in Iraq was also there looking at engagement rings with his fiancee.

“She saw something that she really, really liked, but he said, ‘Honey, I can’t afford that,’” King recalled.

What the woman looked at was a $10,000 engagement set, King noted.

Paul Walker also heard the couple, and quietly got the attention of a store manager.

“He called the manager and he said, ‘Umm, the ring that those people are looking at – put it on my tab,’” King remembered. “Soon after that, he just left.”

When the couple asked who had picked up the tab, the store told them it was an anonymous gift. Walker never stepped forward to take credit and didn’t need to be thanked for his act, but King said she wanted people to know what he was truly like.

Those who have been touched by Walker’s charity work likely already knew how big the Fast and the Furious star’s heart was. Paul Walker was a dedicated supporter to a host of causes, including the Billfish Foundation, and even started his own organization to respond to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

And somewhere, there’s a married couple that has Paul Walker to thank for their dream engagement rings.