Jazmine Sullivan

Credit: Sara De Boer/Retna; Fame

Why Jazmine Sullivan Is Excited About Her 5 Grammy Nods

Originally posted 12/04/2008 04:15PM

When five-time Grammy nominee Jazmine Sullivan hits the awards show for the first time this year, she plans to make a beeline for one band only: Coldplay.

"I am so excited to meet them!" Sullivan tells PEOPLE. "I actually want to do a song with Chris Martin, so maybe somebody will introduce me to him, or I can slip him an album and he can listen!"

The R&B songstress, who earned the highly-coveted best new artist nod, still can't believe her good fortune. "When they called the Jonas Brothers, I started getting nervous. I was like, 'Man ... they're huge!' I didn't even know they were new artists!"

But with mom right by her side – "I must have grabbed her arm so hard she probably still has red marks!" – she learned she had actually received not just one, but five nominations. "It was surreal," says the Philly-native, who texted mentor Missy Elliott as soon as she heard. "I've been working for this my whole life and to see it finally pay off is just wonderful."

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