Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" and Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" are Grammy contenders for song of the year.

Those songs, along with Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me," Maxwell's "Pretty Wings" and the Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody," were the first nominees announced for the 2010 Grammys yesterday, as the Recording Academy unveiled a handful of nominations for its 109 categories during a prime-time CBS special.

Also nominated were the Black Eyed Peas, Bon Jovi, MGMT, Darryl Hall & John Oates and The Fray for best pop performance by a duo or group.

The Grammys will be broadcast live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Jan. 31.

U.N. HONORING WONDER AS PEACE ENVOY

The U.N. chief is naming blind pop star Stevie Wonder a United Nations Messenger of Peace to focus on helping people with disabilities.

U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said his designation as a U.N. peace envoy will be officially announced today by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Okabe said the singer-songwriter, who has won 25 Grammy awards, is being recognized for his philanthropic work with the U.S. President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, the Children's Diabetes Foundation and Junior Blind of America.

Wonder will be the 11th U.N. Messenger of Peace.

BAXTER OF 'FAMILY TIES' COMES OUT

Meredith Baxter, who played mother Elyse Keaton on the 1980s TV series "Family Ties," has revealed that she is a lesbian.

"I am a lesbian, and it was a later-in-life recognition of that fact," the 62-year-old actress said in an interview yesterday on NBC's "Today" show.

Baxter said she has been in a relationship with her girlfriend for four years. Baxter has been married three times, including to David Birney, her co-star on the '70s TV series "Bridget Loves Bernie." She has five children.

PERLMAN PERFORMS AGAINST POLIO

Itzhak Perlman was afflicted with polio when he was 4. Now, 60 years later he's helping to rid the world of the disease.

The celebrated violinist performed last night with the New York Philharmonic in a special concert at Lincoln Center. The sponsor, Rotary International, is in the midst of a campaign to raise $200 million to fight the disease, which can cause paralysis or death. With the development of vaccines, the number of polio cases has gone from 350,000 in 1988 to about 2,000 as of three years ago, according to the World Health Organization.

"There's absolutely no excuse for anybody getting polio at this day and age," Perlman said.