Nominations for the 56th Grammy Awards were announced tonight during a televised live concert at the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, featuring performances by Miguel, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Taylor Swift, Earth, Wind and Fire (why not?) and-- though notably not Drake -- many more, and with LL Cool J back again to host. Overall, it seems to be a boom year for hip hop. Jay Z leads the pack with a whopping nine nominations, including on for Album of the Year for Magna Carta Holy Grail; but Justin Timberlake, Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are close at his tail with seven nods a piece, and Drake earned an honorable five. Daft Punk, Miguel and Lorde are also top nominees. Some nice surprises: Disclosure's Settle earned a nod for Best Dance/Electronic Album, Wiz Khalifa and the Weeknd's "Remember You" was nominated for Best Rap/Song Collaboration, and James Blake will contend with Lamar, Kacey Musgraves, Mackelmore and Ed Sheeran for Best New Artist. And Kanye got two noms -- "New Slaves" for Best Rap Song and Yeezus for best rap album -- so even if he doesn't care about the Grammys, he can keep his statistics up. Mark your calendars for Sunday, January 26th, when the 56th Annual Grammy Awards air live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Song of the Year:
Pink! Feat. Nate Ruess – “Just Give Me A Reason”
Bruno Mars – “Locked Out Of Heaven”
Katy Perry – “Roar”
Lorde – “Royals”
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis Feat. Mary Lambert – “Same Love”
Best Pop/Duo Group Performance:
Daft Punk Feat. Pharrell – “Get Lucky”
Pink! Feat. Nate Ruess – “Just Give Me A Reason”
Rihanna Feat. Mikky Ekko – “Stay”
Robin Thicke Feat. Pharrell and T.I. – “Blurred Lines”
Justin Timberlake Feat. JAY Z – “Suit & Tie”
Album of the Year:
Kendrick Lamar – good Kid, m.A.A.d. City
Daft Punk – Random Access Memories
Sara Bareilles – The Blessed Unrest
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis – The Heist
Taylor Swift – Red
Best Country Album:
Jason Aldean – Night Train
Tim McGraw – Two Lanes of Freedom
Kacey Musgraves – Same Trailer Different Park
Blake Shelton – Based on a True Story
Taylor Swift – Red
Best New Artist:
James Blake
Ed Sheeran
Kendrick Lamar
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Kacey Musgraves
Record of the Year:
Imagine Dragons – “Radioactive”
Daft Punk Feat. Pharrell – “Get Lucky”
Lorde – “Royals”
Bruno Mars – “Locked Out Of Heaven”
Robin Thicke Feat. T.I. and Pharrell – “Blurred Lines”
Best Rap Album:
Drake – Nothing Was the Same
JAY Z – Magna Carta…Holy Grail
Kendrick Lamar – good kid, m.A.A.d city
Kanye West – Yeezus
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – The Heist
Best Pop Solo Performance:
“Brave” — Sara Bareilles
“Royals” — Lorde
“When I Was Your Man” — Bruno Mars
“Roar” — Katy Perry
“Mirrors” — Justin Timberlake
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:
“Get Lucky” — Daft Punk & Pharrell Williams
“Just Give Me A Reason” — Pink Featuring Nate Ruess
“Stay” — Rihanna Featuring Mikky Ekko
“Blurred Lines” — Robin Thicke Featuring T.I. & Pharrell Williams
“Suit & Tie” — Justin Timberlake & Jay Z
Best Pop Vocal Album:
“Paradise” — Lana Del Rey
“Pure Heroine” — Lorde
“Unorthodox Jukebox” — Bruno Mars
“Blurred Lines” — Robin Thicke
“The 20/20 Experience – The Complete Experience” — Justin Timberlake
Best Dance/Electronica Album:
Random Access Memories — Daft Punk
Settle — Disclosure
18 Months — Calvin Harris
Atmosphere — Kaskade
A Color Map Of The Sun — Pretty Lights
Best Dance Recording:
“Need U (100%)” — Duke Dumont Featuring A*M*E & MNEK
“Sweet Nothing” — Calvin Harris Featuring Florence Welch
“Atmosphere” — Kaskade
“This Is What It Feels Like” — Armin Van Buuren Featuring Trevor Guthrie
“Clarity” — Zedd Featuring Foxes
Best R&B Performance:
“Love And War” — Tamar Braxton
“Best Of Me” — Anthony Hamilton
“Nakamarra” — Hiatus Kaiyote Featuring Q-Tip
“How Many Drinks?” — Miguel Featuring Kendrick Lamar
“Something” — Snarky Puppy With Lalah Hathaway
Best Urban Contemporary Album:
“Love And War” — Tamar Braxton
“Side Effects Of You” — Fantasia
“One: In The Chamber” — Salaam Remi
“Unapologetic” — Rihanna
“New York: A Love Story” — Mack Wilds
Best R&B Album:
R&B Divas — Faith Evans
Girl On Fire — Alicia Keys
Love In The Future — John Legend
Better — Chrisette Michele
Three Kings — TGT
Best Traditional R&B Performance:
“Please Come Home — Gary Clark Jr.
“Get It Right” — Fantasia
“Quiet Fire” — Maysa
“Hey Laura” — Gregory Porter
“Yesterday” — Ryan Shaw
Best R&B Song (A Songwriters Award):
“Best Of Me” — Anthony Hamilton & Jairus Mozee, songwriters (Anthony Hamilton)
“Love And War” — Tamar Braxton, Darhyl Camper, Jr., LaShawn Daniels & Makeba Riddick, songwriters (Tamar Braxton)
“Only One” — PJ Morton, songwriter (PJ Morton Featuring Stevie Wonder)
“Pusher Love Girl” — James Fauntleroy, Jerome Harmon, Timothy Mosley & Justin Timberlake, songwriters (Justin Timberlake)
“Without Me” — Fantasia Barrino, Missy Elliott, Al Sherrod Lambert, Harmony Samuels & Kyle Stewart, songwriters (Fantasia Featuring Kelly Rowland & Missy Elliot)
Best Rap Performance:
“Started From The Bottom” — Drake
“Berzerk” — Eminem
“Tom Ford” — Jay Z
“Swimming Pools (Drank)” — Kendrick Lamar
“Thrift Shop” — Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Featuring Wanz
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration:
“Power Trip” — J.Cole Featuring Miguel
“Part II (On The Run)” — Jay Z Featuring Beyoncé
“Holy Grail” — Jay Z Featuring Justin Timberlake
“Now Or Never” — Kendrick Lamar Featuring Mary J. Blige
“Remember You” — Wiz Khalifa Featuring The Weeknd
Best Rap Song:
“F***in’ Problems” — Tauheed Epps, Aubrey Graham, Kendrick Lamar, Rakim Mayers & Noah Shebib, songwriters (ASAP Rocky Featuring Drake, 2 Chainz & Kendrick Lamar)
“Holy Grail” — Shawn Carter, Terius Nash, J. Harmon, Timothy Mosley, Justin Timberlake & Ernest Wilson, songwriters (Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl & Krist Novoselic, songwriters) (Jay Z Featuring Justin Timberlake)
“New Slaves” — Christopher Breaux, Ben Bronfman, Mike Dean, Louis Johnson, Malik Jones, Elon Rutberg, Sakiya Sandifer, Che Smith, Kanye West & Cydell Young, songwriters (Anna Adamis & Gabor Presser, songwriters) (Kanye West)
“Started From The Bottom” — W. Coleman, Aubrey Graham & Noah Shebib, songwriters (Bruno Sanfilippo, songwriter) (Drake)
“Thrift Shop” — Ben Haggerty & Ryan Lewis, songwriters (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Featuring Wanz)
Best Reggae Album:
“One Love, One Life” — Beres Hammond
“Ziggy Marley In Concert” — Ziggy Marley
“The Messiah” — Sizzla
“Reggae Connection” — Sly & Robbie And The Jam Masters
“Reincarnated” — Snoop Lion
