Jay-Z leads with ‘8 nominations’ – Swift reigns
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NEW YORK, Nov 28, (Agencies): Jay-Z is the leader of the 2018 Grammy Award nominations in a year where the top four categories are heavily dominated by rap and R&B artists, giving the often overlooked genres a strong chance of winning big.
The Recording Academy announced Tuesday that Jay-Z is nominated for eight honors, including album, song, and record of the year. Bruno Mars is also nominated for the big three, while Kendrick Lamar — who earned seven nominations — and Childish Gambino are also up for major awards.
Jay-Z’s personal and revealing album, “4:44,” is nominated for album of the year alongside Mars’ 90s-inspired R&B adventure “24K Magic,” Lamar’s hard-hitting rap masterpiece “DAMN.,” Gambino’s funk-soul project “Awaken My Love!” and Lorde’s critically acclaimed pop album, “Melodrama.”
Record of the year nominees include Jay-Z’s “The Story of O.J.,” a song about blackness and managing money that also references O.J. Simpson; Mars’ Top 5 hit, “24K Magic”; Lamar’s No. 1 smash, “Humble”; Gambino’s “Redbone,” which peaked at No. 12 on the Hot 100; and the year’s biggest hit, “Despacito,” by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber.
“Despacito” is also nominated for song of the year — a songwriter’s award — along with Mars’ No. 1 hit, “That’s What I Like”; the title track from Jay-Z’s “4:44”; rapper Logic’s suicide prevention anthem, “1-800-273-8255”; and “Issues” by Julia Michaels, the singer who has written hits for Bieber, Selena Gomez and other pop stars.
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Michaels is also nominated for best new artist, where R&B and rap rule again: Her competition includes singers SZA, Khalid and Alessia Cara, as well as rapper Lil Uzi Vert.
No rock or country acts were nominated in the top four categories. The rap- and R&B-heavy nominations, which include numerous black and Latino artists, come after the Grammys were criticized earlier this year when some felt Beyonce’s multi-genre “Lemonade” album should have won album of the year over Adele’s “25.” Adele also expressed that Beyonce should have received the prize.
Below is a list of nominees in key categories.
n Album of the year: “24K Magic” — Bruno Mars; “4:44” — Jay-Z; “Awaken, My Love!” — Childish Gambino; “Damn” — Kendrick Lamar; “Melodrama” — Lorde.
n Record of the year: “24K Magic” — Bruno Mars; “Despacito” — Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber; “Humble” — Kendrick Lamar; “Redbone” — Childish Gambino; “The Story of O. J.” — Jay-Z.
n Song of the year (Songwriters Award): “1-800-273-8255” — Alessia Caracciolo, Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, Arjun Ivatury & Khalid Robinson, songwriters; “4:44” — Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters; “Despacito” — Ramn Ayala, Justin Bieber, Jason, songwriters; “Poo Bear” — Boyd, Erika Ender, Luis Fonsi & Marty James Garton, songwriters; “Issues” — Benny Blanco, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Julia Michaels & Justin Drew Tranter, songwriters; “That’s What I Like” — Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip, songwriters.
* Best new artist: Alessia Cara; Julia Michaels; Khalid; Lil Uzi Vert; SZA.
* Best pop Vocal Album: “Divide” — Ed Sheeran; “Evolve” — Imagine Dragons; “Joanne” — Lady Gaga; “Kaleidoscope EP” — Coldplay; “Lust For Life” — Lana Del Rey; “Rainbow” — Kesha.
* Best R&B Album: “24K Magic” — Bruno Mars; “Feel The Real” — Musiq Soulchild; “Freudian” — Daniel Caesar; “Gumbo” — P. J. Morton; “Let Love Rule” — Ledisi.
* Best Rock Album: “A Deeper Understanding” — The War on Drugs; “Emperor of Sand” — Mastodon; “Hardwired … To Self-Destruct” — Metallica; “The Stories We Tell Ourselves” — Nothing More; “Villains” — Queens of the Stone Age.
* Best Country Album: “Cosmic Hallelujah” — Kenny Chesney; “From A Room: Volume 1” — Chris Stapleton; “Heart Break” — Lady Antebellum; “Life Changes” — Thomas Rhett; “The Breaker” — Little Big Town.
* Best Alternative Music Album: “American Dream” — LCD Soundsystem; “Everything Now” — Arcade Fire; “Humanz” — Gorillaz; “Pure Comedy” — Father John Misty; “Sleep Well Beast” — The National.
Also:
LOS ANGELES: Taylor Swift ruled at the top of the US Billboard 200 album chart on Monday as her latest release “Reputation” easily beat off new entries from country music stars Tim McGraw and Garth Brooks.
“Reputation,” which entered the Billboard 200 chart at No. 1 last week with 1.2 million album units, sold another 256,000 units across album and song sales and streaming, according to figures from Nielsen Music. It is the year’s biggest album debut.
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