HOLLYWOOD—It was expected that country darling turned popstress Taylor Swift would dominate the 2016 Grammy Nominations and the revelation on Monday, December 7, but she faces some stiff competition from rapper Kendrick Lamar. Lamar leads all contenders with a total of 11 nominations, while Swift and The Weeknd each earned seven nominations apiece.
Nominees for Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Best New Artist were announced by Grammy-winner Alicia Keys. Vying for the prize of Album of the Year include Taylor Swift “1989,” Alabama Shakes “Sound and Color,” Kendrick Lamar “To Pimp a Butterfly,” Chris Stapleton “Traveler” and The Weeknd “Beauty Behind the Madness.”
In the competitive race for Record of the Year the nominees are D’Angelo and the Vanguard “Really Love, Taylor Swift “Blank Space,” The Weeknd “Can’t Feel My Face,” Ed Sheeran “Thinking Out Loud” and Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars “Uptown Funk.” In the somewhat similar race for Song of the Year the contenders include Wiz Kahlifa feat. Charlie Puth “See You Again,” Ed Sheeran “Thinking Out Loud,” Little Big Town “Girl Crush,” Taylor Swift “Blank Space” and Kendrick Lamar “Alright.”
When it comes to those vying for the prize of Best New Artist the nominees are Courtney Barnett, Sam Hunt, James Bay, Meghan Trainor and Tori Kelly. Must say I love Trainor, but Kelly has a voice that is unlike ANYTHING I’ve heard in years.
“The diversity in the creative community is what makes music a universal language, and it’s gratifying to see the vibrancy of today’s artistic landscape reflected in this year’s nominations — a testament to The Academy’s voting members,” said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of the Recording Academy. “Artists are pushing boundaries in exciting ways, making it an exceptionally strong year for music.
Below is a list of nominees for some of the big categories for the ceremony:
Best Pop Solo Performance
-Kelly Clarkson “Heartbeat Song”
-Ellie Goulding “Love Me Like You Do”
-Ed Sheeran “Thinking Out Loud”
-Taylor Swift “Blank Space”
-The Weeknd “Can’t Feel My Space”
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
-Florence + The Machine “Ship To Wreck”
-Maroon 5 “Sugar”
-Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars “Uptown Funk”
-Taylor Swift feat. Kendrick Lamar “Bad Blood”
-Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth “See You Again”
Best Pop Vocal Album
-Kelly Clarkson “Piece by Piece”
-Florence + The Machine “How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful”
-Mark Ronson “Uptown Special”
-Taylor Swift “1989”
-James Taylor “Before This World”
Best Rock Performance
-Alabama Shakes “Don’t Wanna Fight”
-Florence + The Machine “What Kind of Man”
-Foo Fighters “Something From Nothing”
-Elle Kings “Ex’s & Oh’s”
-Wolf Alice “Moaning Lisa Smile”
Best Rock Album
-James Bay “Chaos and The Chain”
-Death Cab for Cutie “Kintsugi”
-Highly Suspect “Mister Asylum”
-Muse “Drones”
-Slipknot “The Gray Chapter”
Best R&B Performance
-Tamar Braxton “If I Don’t Have You”
-Andra Day “Rise Up”
-Hiatus Kaiyote “Breathing Underwater”
-Jeremih feat. J. Cole “Planes”
-The Weeknd “Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)”
Best R&B Album
-Leon Bridges “Coming Home”
-D’Angelo and the Vanguard “Black Messiah”
-Andra Day “Cheers to the Fall”
-Jazmine Sullivan “Reality Show”
-Charlie Wilson “Forever Charlie”
Best Rap Performance
-J. Cole “Apparently”
-Drake “Back to Back”
-Fetty Wap “Trap Queen”
-Kendrick Lamar “Alright”
-Nicki Minaj feat. Drake & Lil Wayne “Truffle Butter”
-Kanye West feat. Theophilus London, Allan Kingdom & Paul McCartney “All Day”
Best Rap Album
-J. Cole “2014 Forest Hills Drive”
-Dr. Dre “Compton”
-Drake “If You’re Reading This Its Too Late”
-Kendrick Lamar “To Pimp A Butterfly”
-Nicki Minaj “The Pinkprint”
Best Country Solo Performance
-Cam “Burning House”
-Chris Stapleton “Traveller”
-Carrie Underwood “Little Toy Guns”
-Keith Urban “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16”
-Lee Ann Womack “Chances Are”
Best Country Album
-Sam Hunt “Montevallo”
-Little Big Town “Pain Killer”
-Ashley Monroe “The Blade”
-Kacey Musgraves “Pageant Material”
-Chris Stapleton “Traveller”
To view an entire list of all nominees for the 58th Annual Grammy Awards visit www.grammy.com/nominees.
The 58th Grammy Awards will be from the Staples Center on Monday, February 15, 2016. Musical acts and presenters for the ceremony have not yet been announced. The ceremony will be televised live on CBS from 8:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
