Rap music dominated the nominations for the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, announced Friday night live in Los Angeles and telecast on CBS. Only six categories were announced during the hour-long nominations special, but overall, Jay Z tops this year's nominations with nine. Rappers Kendrick Lamarand Macklemore & Ryan Lewis have seven each. Justin Timberlake also scored seven nominations each, as did Pharrell [fuh-RELL] Williams, who was featured on two of the year's biggest hits: Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" and Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines." Rapper Drake scored five nods.
More importantly, instead of being relegated to its own category, rap music showed up in two of the so-called Big Four categories, which include Album, Song and Record of the Year, as well as Best New Artist. Kendrick Lamar's album good kid, m.A.A.d city is up for Album of the Year, while he himself scored a nod for Best New Artist.
There were a few big shockers in the announcements during the telecast: one was the fact that Sara Bareilles' latest album The Blessed Unrest scored an Album of the Year nod. While the disc was well-received, and produced the hit single "Brave," nobody predicted it would appear in this category. Even more surprising was the fact that Justin Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience, the best-selling album of 2013, didn't receive an Album of the Year nod.
Another shocker was Lorde's absence from the Best New Artist category: she had been considered a shoo-in, and her hit "Royals" was nominated for Record and Song of the Year. Instead, British musicianJames Blake, who isn't well known in the U.S, was nominated. Another Brit, Ed Sheeran, who received his first Grammy nod last year for Song of the Year, also got a Best New Artist nod.
Speaking of Brits, Grammy darling Adele, who's been out of the spotlight for a while, managed to snag one nomination: for "Skyfall," her James Bond theme. It was in the category of Best Song Written for Visual Media. Coldplay was also nominated in that category for "Atlas," their song from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and so were Colbie Caillat and Gavin DeGraw for their duet, "We Both Know," from the movie Safe Haven.
The Grammy Nominations Live! CBS telecast began with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis walking into L.A.'s Staples Center and up onto the stage, along with their buddy Wanz, to perform their hit "Thrift Shop." The stage was decorated with racks of thrift shop clothing, as dancers gyrated wildly, and Macklemore threw items of clothing into the audience.
Taylor Swift was shown singing "I Knew You Were Trouble" from Australia, and before she went on, she turned to the camera and said, "Thank you for the nominations." However, at that point, she hadn't received any, though later on in the show, her album Red received nods for Album of the Year and Best Country Album. Did she have advance knowledge, or did she just assume? We may never know. Shetweeted later, "LOVE YOU GUYS WE GOT AN ALBUM OF THE YEAR NOMINATION AND I AM TOO EXCITED TO USE PUNCTUATION."
Viewers also saw R&B star Miguel duetting with Keith Urban on Bill Withers' classic "Ain't No Sunshine," Katy Perry performing an acoustic version of "Roar" from a club in Toronto, and Lorde singing "Royals." Robin Thicke closed the show by performing his nominated single "Blurred Lines" with rapper T.I. and members of Earth, Wind & Fire. Presenters for the night included Ed Sheeran, Kelly Rowland, Melissa Etheridge, Enrique Iglesias and Arsenio Hall. LL Cool J was the evening's host, and when a major screw-up occurred — Etheridge and actress Pauley Perrette were introduced at the wrong time — he managed to cover quite smoothly.
The Grammy Awards air January 26, 2014, live on CBS
Here's a selection of the nominees:
Album of the Year
The Blessed Unrest, Sara Bareilles
Random Access Memories, Daft Punk
good kid, m.A.A.d city, Kendrick Lamar
The Heist, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Red, Taylor Swift
Record of the Year
"Get Lucky," Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams
"Radioactive," Imagine Dragons
"Royals," Lorde
"Locked Out of Heaven," Bruno Mars
"Blurred Lines," Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell Williams
Song of the Year (Award to Songwriter)
"Just Give Me a Reason," Pink featuring Nate Ruess
"Locked Out of Heaven," Bruno Mars
"Roar," Katy Perry
"Royals," Lorde
"Same Love," Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Best New Artist
James Blake
Kendrick Lamar
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Kacey Musgraves
Ed Sheeran
POP FIELD
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 Ray
Pure Heroine, Lorde
Unorthodox Jukebox, Bruno Mars
Blurred Lines, Robin Thicke
The 20/20 Experience — The Complete Experience, Justin Timberlake
ROCK FIELD
Best Rock Performance
"Always Alright" — Alabama Shakes
"The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" — David Bowie
"Radioactive" — Imagine Dragons
"Kashmir" (Live) — Led Zeppelin
"My God Is The Sun" — Queens Of The Stone Age
"I'm Shakin'" — Jack White
Best Rock Album
13 — Black Sabbath
The Next Day — David Bowie
Mechanical Bull — Kings Of Leon
Celebration Day — Led Zeppelin
…Like Clockwork — Queens Of The Stone Age
Psychedelic Pill — Neil Young With Crazy Horse
Best Rock Song
"Ain't Messin 'Round," Gary Clark Jr.
"Cut Me Some Slack," Dave Grohl, Paul McCartney, Krist Novoselic & Pat Smear
"Doom And Gloom," Rolling Stones
"God Is Dead?," Black Sabbath
"Panic Station," Muse
ALTERNATIVE FIELD
Best Alternative Music Album
The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You — Neko Case
Trouble Will Find Me — The National
Hesitation Marks — Nine Inch Nails
Lonerism — Tame Impala
Modern Vampires Of The City — Vampire Weekend
R&B FIELD
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
RAP FIELD
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 Album
Nothing Was The Same — Drake
Magna Carta…Holy Grail — Jay Z
good kid, m.A.A.d city — Kendrick Lamar
The Heist — Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Yeezus — Kanye West
COUNTRY FIELD
Best Country Solo Performance
"I Drive Your Truck" — Lee Brice
"I Want Crazy" — Hunter Hayes
"Mama's Broken Heart" — Miranda Lambert
"Wagon Wheel" — Darius Rucker
"Mine Would Be You" — Blake Shelton
Best Country Album
Night Train, Jason Aldean
Two Lanes of Freedom, Tim McGraw
Same Trailer Different Park, Kacey Musgraves
Based on a True Story…, Blake Shelton
Red, Taylor Swift
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
"From This Valley," The Civil Wars
"Don't Rush," Kelly Clarkson Featuring Vince Gill
"Your Side Of The Bed," Little Big Town
"Highway Don't Care Tim McGraw," Taylor Swift & Keith Urban
"You Can't Make Old Friends," Kenny Rogers With Dolly Parton
Best Country Song
"Begin Again," Taylor Swift
"I Drive Your Truck," Lee Brice
"Mama's Broken Heart," Miranda Lambert
"Merry Go 'Round," Kacey Musgraves
"Mine Would Be You," Blake Shelton
DANCE FIELD
Best Dance Recording
"Need U (100%)," Duke Dumont Featuring A*M*E & MNEK
"Sweet Nothing," Calvin Harris Featuring Florence Welch
"Kaskade," Finn Bjarnson & Ryan Raddon
"This Is What It Feels Like," Armin Van Buuren Featuring Trevor Guthrie
"Clarity," Zedd Featuring Foxes
