The Grammy Awards nominations spark a buzz on social media every year, sparking commentary on who did and didn’t get a nod. This year, much of the criticism on social media was the lack of nominations for One Direction, Justin Bieber and Adele. However, the Grammy circuit ran from Oct. 1, 2014 to Sept. 30, 2015, which automatically disqualified these albums and more from nomination. On the bright side, it gives everyone time to prepare for an absolute landslide win by Adele next year.
This season, 28-year-old rapper Kendrick Lamar has dominated Grammy nominations with 11 total nods, including Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Rap Performance. Lamar’s album, “To Pimp a Butterfly,” reached No. 1 on Billboard 200 and stayed on charts for 37 weeks. Outside of solo work, Lamar also has nominations for being featured on Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood,” and Flying Lotus’ “Never Catch Me.”
Swift is tied for second most nominations with The Weeknd, each snagging seven nominations in all. Both artists got a nomination for Best Album, Swift for “1989,” and The Weeknd for “Beauty Behind the Madness.” They’re also going head-to-head for Best Pop Solo Performance and Record of the Year.
Ed Sheeran, Mark Ronson, and D’Angelo and The Vanguard also received nominations for Record of the Year. Ronson earned five nominations total, three for his single, “Uptown Funk” featuring Bruno Mars. Sheeran earned three nods in all, all for his single “Thinking out Loud.”
Other notable noms include Drake’s “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late,” Nicki Minaj’s “The Pinkprint,” and Dr. Dre’s “Compton,” for Best Rap Album. Meghan Trainor received a nomination for Best New Artist, and Kelly Clarkson and Ellie Goulding are up against Swift, Sheeran, and The Weeknd for Best Pop Solo Performance.
LL Cool J will return to host the 58th Annual Grammy Awards at 8 p.m. EST on Feb. 15. The show will air live on CBS from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
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Most Anticipated Albums of 2016
Due to late releases, many albums have been taken out of the running for this upcoming Grammys. The selection committee already has a lot of albums to choose among just from this November, and 2016 will be seeing even more huge album releases.
- David Bowie – “Blackstar”
- Kanye West – “Swish”
- Zayn Malik – Title TBA
- Katy Perry – Title TBA
- Panic! at the Disco – “Death of a Bachelor”
- The 1975 – “I Like it When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It”
- Sia – “This is Acting”
- Blink-182 – Title TBA
- Radiohead – Title TBA
- Ariana Grande – “Moonlight”
Frank Ocean’s album remains highly anticipated, as well. However, Ocean announced it was in the works in 2013, and the release date has been pushed back several times since then. It could be released in 2016 or in 2030, to the dismay of many his fans. Ocean and his management remain tight-lipped about it, making fans eager, but impatient. His album might very well hit audience’s ears in 2016.
