Behind Beyonce, Billie Eilish, Charli XCX, Kendrick Lamar and Post Malone tied with seven nominations each. Pop phenomenon Taylor Swift and newcomers Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter scored six each.
Beyonce’s nominations brought her career total to 99, more than any other artist. She had been tied for the lead with her husband, rapper Jay-Z, who has 88.
Women dominated the album of the year category, the top Grammy honour.
Despite her lifetime lead in nominations, and an unrivaled 32 wins, Beyonce has never taken home the album trophy. Jay-Z called out that fact at the last Grammys ceremony, arguing that voters had failed to give proper recognition to Black artists.
Swift has won the top prize four times and is in the running again with her breakup album “The Tortured Poets Department”.
At the awards ceremony on Feb. 2, Beyonce and Swift records will compete with Carpenter’s “Short n’ Sweet”, “Brat” from Charli XCX, Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard and Soft”, and Roan’s “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess”.
The nominated male artists were Andre 3000 with “New Blue Sun” and jazz artist Jacob Collier for “Djesse Vol. 4”.
Winners will be chosen by the roughly 13,000 singers, songwriters, producers, engineers and others who make up the Recording Academy. The organisation has taken steps to diversify its ranks, and said 38% were people of color, a 65% increase since 2019.
“Cowboy Carter” was viewed by experts and fans as a reclamation and homage to an overlooked legacy of Black Americans within country music and culture. It became the first album by a Black woman to land at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart when it was released last spring.
The Beyonce album was snubbed, however, by voters for the Country Music Awards in September.
Beyonce’s other Grammy nods included record and song of the year for single “Texas Hold ‘Em”. She also was nominated in pop, rap and Americana categories, showcasing the variety of genres on “Cowboy Carter.”
Could it finally be Beyonce’s time to land the top prize?
“I think she’s got a great shot,” said Jason Lipshutz, executive editor of music at Billboard.
It is unclear, however, how voters will view her foray into new musical territory, he said.
“You could tell me that this kind of reaching across the aisle, appealing to country listeners, does power Beyonce to her very first album of the year win,” Lipshutz said.
“You could also tell me that it kind of vexes people and voters a little bit, and kind of perplexes them to the degree that it falls short again,” he added.
New artist showdown
In the best new artist field, “Espresso” singer Carpenter will face fellow pop singer Roan, pop-rock singer Benson Boone, hip-hop/country artist Shaboozey, multi-genre musician Teddy Swims and others.
Carpenter and Roan are likely to pick up trophies on Grammys night, Lipshutz said.
“Chappell is the more kind of eccentric and outlandish artist and people love it and really, really respect it,” he said.
Carpenter “is the hitmaker,” he added. “She has scored three of the biggest songs of this year with ‘Espresso’ and ‘Taste’ and ‘Please, Please, Please.”.
The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, pioneers of rock ‘n’ roll in the 1960s, also landed on this year’s nominations list.
“Now and Then”, a Beatles song produced with artificial intelligence to bring the voice of John Lennon to life, was nominated for song of the year.
The Stones were recognised with a nomination for rock album of the year for “Hackney Diamonds,” their first album of original music in 18 years.
See the list of nominees:
Record Of The Year
- Now and Then — The Beatles
- TEXAS HOLD ‘EM — Beyoncé
- Espresso — Sabrina Carpenter
- 360 — Charli XCX
- BIRDS OF A FEATHER — Billie Eilish
- Not Like Us — Kendrick Lamar
- Good Luck, Babe! — Chappell Roan
- Fortnight — Taylor Swift feat. Post Malone
Album Of The Year
- New Blue Sun — André 3000
- Cowboy Carter — Beyoncé
- Short ‘n’ Sweet — Sabrina Carpenter
- BRAT — Charli XCX
- Djesse Vol. 4 — Jacob Collier
- HIT ME HARD AND SOFT — Billie Eilish
- The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess — Chappell Roan
- The Tortured Poets Department — Taylor Swift
Song Of The Year
- A Bay Song (Tipsy) — Sean Cook, Jerrel Jones, Joe Kent, Nevin Sastry, Chibueze Collins Obinna & Mark Williams (Shaboozey)
- Birds of a Feather — Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell (Billie Eilish)
- Die With a Smile — Dernst Emile II, James Fauntleroy, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars & Andrew Watt (Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars)
- Fortnight — Jack Antonoff, Austin Post & Taylor Swift (Taylor Swift and Post Malone)
- Good Luck, Babe! — Daniel Nigro, Kayleigh Rose Amstutz & Justin Tranter (Chappell Roan)
- Not Like Us — Kendrick Lamar (Kendrick Lamar)
- Please Please Please — Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff & Sabrina Carpenter (Sabrina Carpenter)
- TEXAS HOLD ‘EM — Brian Bates, Beyoncé, Elizabeth Lowell Boland, Megan Bülow, Nate Ferraro & Raphael Saadiq (Beyoncé)
Best New Artist
- Benson Boone
- Sabrina Carpenter
- Doechii
- Khruangbin
- Raye
- Chappell Roan
- Shaboozey
- Teddy Swims
Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical
- Alissia
- Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II
- Ian Fitchuk
- Mustard
- Daniel Nigro
Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical
- Jessi Alexander
- Amy Allen
- Edgar Barrera
- Jessie Jo Dillon
- RAYE
Best Pop Vocal Album
- Short n’ Sweet — Sabrina Carpenter
- HIT ME HARD AND SOFT — Billie Eilish
- eternal sunshine — Ariana Grande
- The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess — Chappell Roan
- THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT — Taylor Swift
Best Dance Pop Recording
- Make You Mine — Madison Beer
- Von dutch — Charli XCX
- L’AMOUR DE MA VIE [OVER NOW EXTENDED EDIT] — Billie Eilish
- yes, and? — Ariana Grande
- Got Me Started — Troye Sivan
Best Rock Song
- Beautiful People (Stay High) — Dan Auerbach, Patrick Carney, Beck Hansen & Daniel Nakamura, songwriters (The Black Keys)
- Broken Man — Annie Clark, songwriter (St. Vincent)
- Dark Matter — Jeff Ament, Matt Cameron, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, Eddie Vedder & Andrew Watt, songwriters (Pearl Jam)
- Dilemma — Billie Joe Armstrong, Tré Cool & Mike Dirnt, songwriters (Green Day)
- Gift Horse — Jon Beavis, Mark Bowen, Adam Devonshire, Lee Kiernan & Joe Talbot, songwriters (IDLES)
Best Alternative Music Album
- Wild God — Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
- Charm — Clairo
- The Collective — Kim Gordon
- What Now — Brittany Howard
- All Born Screaming — St. Vincent
Best R&B Song
- After Hours — Diovanna Frazier, Alex Goldblatt, Kehlani Parrish, Khris Riddick-Tynes & Daniel Upchurch, songwriters (Kehlani)
- Burning — Ronald Banful & Temilade Openiyi, songwriters (Tems)
- Here We Go (Uh Oh) — Sara Diamond, Sydney Floyd, Marisela Jackson, Courtney Jones, Carl McCormick & Kelvin Wooten, songwriters (Coco Jones)
- Ruined Me — Jeff Gitelman, Priscilla Renea & Kevin Theodore, songwriters (Muni Long)
- Saturn — Rob Bisel, Carter Lang, Solána Rowe, Jared Solomon & Scott Zhang, songwriters (SZA)
Best Progressive R&B Album
- So Glad to Know You — Avery*Sunshine
- En Route — Durand Bernarr
- Bando Stone And The New World — Childish Gambino
- CRASH — Kehlani
- Why Lawd? — NxWorries (Anderson .Paak & Knxwledge)
Best Rap Performance
- Enough (Miami) — Cardi B
- When The Sun Shines Again — Common & Pete Rock Featuring Posdnuos
- NISSAN ALTIMA — Doechii
- Houdini — Eminem
- Like That — Future, Metro Boomin & Kendrick Lamar
- Yeah Glo! — GloRilla
- Not Like Us — Kendrick Lamar
Best Alternative Jazz Album
- Night Reign — Arooj Aftab
- New Blue Sun — André 3000
- Code Derivation — Robert Glasper
- Foreverland — Keyon Harrold
- No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin — Meshell Ndegeocello
Best Country Album
- COWBOY CARTER — Beyoncé
- F-1 Trillion — Post Malone
- Deeper Well — Kacey Musgraves
- Higher — Chris Stapleton
- Whirlwind — Lainey Wilson
Best Americana Album
- The Other Side — T Bone Burnett
- $10 Cowboy — Charley Crockett
- Trail Of Flowers — Sierra Ferrell
- Polaroid Lovers — Sarah Jarosz
- No One Gets Out Alive — Maggie Rose
- Tigers Blood — Waxahatchee
Best Latin Pop Album
- Funk Generation — Anitta
- El Viaje — Luis Fonsi
- GARCÍA — Kany García
- Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran — Shakira
- ORQUÍDEAS — Kali Uchis
Best African Music Performance
- Tomorrow — Yemi Alade
- MMS — Asake & Wizkid
- Sensational — Chris Brown Featuring Davido & Lojay
- Higher — Burna Boy
- Love Me JeJe — Tems
Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media (Includes Film And Television)
- American Fiction — Laura Karpman, composer
- Challengers — Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, composers
- The Color Purple — Kris Bowers, composer
- Dune: Part Two — Hans Zimmer, composer
- Shōgun — Nick Chuba, Atticus Ross & Leopold Ross, composers
Best Opera Recording
- Adams: Girls of the Golden West — John Adams, conductor; Paul Appleby, Julia Bullock, Hye Jung Lee, Daniela Mack, Elliot Madore, Ryan McKinny & Davóne Tines; Dmitriy Lipay, producer (Los Angeles Philharmonic; Los Angeles Master Chorale)
- Catán: Florencia en el Amazonas — Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Mario Chang, Michael Chioldi, Greer Grimsley, Nancy Fabiola Herrera, Mattia Olivieri, Ailyn Pérez & Gabriella Reyes; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
- Moravec: The Shining — Gerard Schwarz, conductor; Tristan Hallett, Kelly Kaduce & Edward Parks; Blanton Alspaugh, producer (Kansas City Symphony; Lyric Opera of Kansas City Chorus)
- Puts: The Hours — Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming & Kelli O’Hara; David Frost, producer (Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
- Saariaho: Adriana Mater — Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor; Fleur Barron, Axelle Fanyo, Nicholas Phan & Christopher Purves; Jason O’Connell, producer (San Francisco Symphony; San Francisco Symphony Chorus; Timo Kurkikangas)
