Kendrick
Lamar is the king of the Grammys: The rapper is the leading nominee for the
2016 awards with 11, including album of the year for “To Pimp a
Butterfly” and song of the year for “Alright.”
Lamar, who won two Grammys earlier this year, is followed by
Taylor Swift and the Weeknd, who each earned seven nominations, including album
of the year. “Butterfly,” ”1989″ and “Beauty Behind the
Madness” will battle country singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton’s
“Traveller” and rock group Alabama Shakes’ “Sound &
Color” for the top prize.
“Alright” and Swift’s “Blank Space” are
nominated for song of the year, a songwriter’s awards. Other nominees include
Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s tribute to actor Paul Walker, “See You
Again,” Ed Sheeran’s slow burner “Thinking out Loud” and Little
Big Town’s semi-controversial hit, “Girl Crush,” written by Lori
McKenna, Hillary Lindsey and Liz Rose.
“Thinking
out Loud” and “Blank Space,” which reached No. 1 on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart, are also nominated for record of the year, pitting the
songs against No.1 hits that include Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ “Uptown
Funk” and the Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face,” as well as a wild
card: “Really Love” from R&B singer D’Angelo and the Vanguard.
“There’s a broad spectrum and certainly it shows there’s
been quite a bit of wonderful and excellent recordings in the last year,”
Recording Academy CEO Neil Portow said in an interview with The Associated
Press.
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Lamar’s
other nominations include best rap album for “Butterfly,” rap
performance for “Alright,” pop duo/group performance for “Bad
Blood” with Swift and dance recording “Never Catch Me” with
Flying Lotus. He’s nominated twice for both best rap song with
“Alright” and for co-writing Kanye West’s “All Day,” as well
as best music video for “Alright” and “Bad Blood.”
“It’s a testimony to his artistry,” Portnow said of
Lamar. “He’s someone that’s very serious about his art and about his
craft, and has been working it for quite some time. And this is one of those
instances where the work pays off.”
Swift, who won album of the year with “Fearless” in
2010 and earned a nomination in the top category with “Red,” is also
up for best pop vocal album for her top-selling “1989” and pop solo
performance for “Blank Space.” The Weeknd’s nominations include best
pop solo performance for “Can’t Feel My Face” and urban contemporary
album for “Beauty.” His hit from the “Fifty Shades of Grey”
soundtrack – “Earned It” – garnered nominations for best R&B
performance, R&B song and song written for visual media.
The film’s soundtrack, which also featured the Ellie Goulding
hit “Love Me Like You Do,” is up for best compilation soundtrack for
visual media along with “Empire: Season 1,” which debuted at No. 1 on
the Billboard charts earlier this year.
More than 21,000 submissions were entered for the 83 Grammy
categories, with the first round of votes due by Nov. 4 – the day the Country
Music Association Awards aired and Stapleton cleaned house and turned in a
memorable performance alongside Justin Timberlake. In addition to album of the
year, Stapleton’s “Traveller” is nominated for best country album,
country song and country solo performance.
Garth Brooks, who marked a comeback after 13 years last year,
was surprisingly shut out of the country categories. Despite success with
tours, albums and singles, Luke Bryan was also snubbed and has yet to earn a
Grammy nomination.
This year’s best country album contenders include Little Big
Town’s “Pain Killer,” Kacey Musgraves’ “Pageant Material,”
Ashley Monroe’s “The Blade” and “Montevallo” by
singer-songwriter Sam Hunt, who is also nominated for best new artist. Other
nominees include “All About That Bass” performer Meghan Trainor,
big-voiced singer Tori Kelly, James Bay and Australian singer-songwriter
Courtney Barnett and rock musician James Bay, who is also nominated for best
rock album and rock song.
Rapper Drake scored five nominations, including best rap album
for “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late,” pitting him against
Lamar, Dr. Dre’s “Compton,” Nicki Minaj’s “The Pinkprint”
and J. Cole’s “2014 Forest Hills Drive.”
Alabama Shakes, fronted by singer Brittany Howard, debuted at
No. 1 on the Billboard charts with “Sound & Color” earlier this
year, and the album was met with critical acclaim – much like the band’s 2012
debut, “Boys & Girls.” Their four nominations include best
alternative music album as well as best rock performance and song for
“Don’t Wanna Fight.”
Pharrell and West are also nominated for four awards, including
album of the year for producing songs on Lamar’s album. West’s nominations
include best rap song and rap performance for “All Day,” which
featured Paul McCartney and earned the icon two rap nominations.
Justin Bieber – who marked a comeback this year with the hits
“Sorry” and “What Do You Mean” – is nominated for best
dance recording for his other hit, “Where Are U Now” with Skrillex
and Diplo. Both Bieber and Adele’s new albums will qualify for Grammy
nominations next year since they were released after Sept. 30 – the final day
for eligibility this year.
Other notable nominees include married duo Joey + Rory for best
country duo/group performance (they recently announced Joey is ending her cancer
treatment after a recurrence of tumors); actress Amy Poehler with her first
Grammy nomination for best spoken world album for “Yes Please”; and
actor Seth MacFarlane for best traditional pop vocal album, competing with
albums from Bob Dylan, Tony Bennett, Barry Manilow and Josh Groban.
The 58th Grammys will air live on February 15, 2016, from the
Staples Center in Los Angeles. Voting for the second round, completed by mail
and starting next week, ends on January 15, 2016.
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