A year after Beyoncé topped the 2017 Grammy Awards nominations, her hubby is following suit.
JAY-Z leads this year's pack with eight nods, including album of the year for 4:44, his critically acclaimed meditation on success, marriage and being black in America. He is joined in the Recording Academy's top category by Childish Gambino (Awaken! My Love), Kendrick Lamar (DAMN.), Lorde (Melodrama) and Bruno Mars (24K Magic).
It's the first album-of-the-year nod for JAY-Z (real name: Shawn Carter) as a lead artist, after being nominated as featured on Lamar's good kid, m.A.A.d city, Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III and Beyoncé's self-titled effort. With 21 wins and 74 nominations, the 47-year-old rap titan now ties Stevie Wonder and Georg Solti as the third most-nominated artist in Grammys history, behind Quincy Jones (79) and Paul McCartney (74).
JAY-Z's dominance is reflective of a more diverse slate across major categories, with hip-hop and R&B artists eclipsing pop, rock and country. In record of the year, his The Story of O.J. is nominated alongside Gambino's Redbone, Lamar's HUMBLE., Mars' 24K Magic and Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's Despacito featuring Justin Bieber. The latter is also nominated for song of the year with JAY-Z's 4:44, Mars' That's What I Like, Julia Michaels' Issues and Logic's 1-800-273-8255 featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid.
Michaels, Cara and Khalid all scored nominations in the best new artist category, which is rounded out by R&B chanteuse SZA and rapper Lil Uzi Vert, both of whom scored streaming summer hits in The Weekend and XO Tour Llif3, respectively.
This year's nominees represent "a great statement about diversity: not only in terms of the artists, but the membership that makes those choices," says Recording Academy president Neil Portnow. "It also shows that hip hop and urban music is so prevalent. It pervades society to an extent where it really is reflective of the times, and that's how we would wish to be presenting our nominations in any given year. In some respects, it may be historic and that's something we're very proud of."
Lamar, with seven nominations, and Mars, with six, also made strong showings in below-the-line categories. DAMN., Lamar's third album-of-the-year contender after good kid and To Pimp a Butterfly, is in the running for best rap album, while its explosive lead single, HUMBLE., is up for best rap song, performance and music video. Mars, fresh off a 2016 win for record of the year (Mark Ronson's Uptown Funk) is vying for R&B album against Gambino, another major player with five nods.
Grammy nominations are voted on by 13,000 industry professionals, with more than 22,000 entries submitted to the Recording Academy annually. In order to be eligible this year, recordings must have been released between Oct. 1, 2016, and Sept. 30.
The 60th annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast live on CBS on Jan. 28 (7:30 ET / 4:30 PT) from New York's Madison Square Garden. The ceremony, which has been held at Los Angeles' Staples Center in recent years, returns to the East Coast for the first time since 2003.
Nominees in key categories for the 60th annual Grammy Awards, airing live on CBS on Jan. 28 (7:30 ET/4:30 PT):
Album of the year
Childish Gambino, Awaken, My Love
Jay-Z, 4:44
Kendrick Lamar, Damn
Lorde, Melodrama
Bruno Mars, 24K Magic
Record of the year (goes to artist, engineers, mixers)
Childish Gambino, Redbone
Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber, Despacito
Jay-Z, The Story of O.J.
Kendrick Lamar, Humble
Bruno Mars, 24K Magic
Song of the year (goes to writers)
Despacito
Performed by: Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber
Written by: Ramón Ayala, Justin Bieber, Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd, Erika Ender, Luis Fonsi & Marty James Garton
4:44
Performed by: Jay-Z
Written by: Shawn Carter and Dion Wilson
Issues
Performed by: Julia Michaels
Written by: Benny Blanco, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Tor Erik, Hermansen, Julia Michaels & Justin Drew Tranter
1-800-273-8255
Performed by: Logic feat. Alessia Cara & Khalid
Written by: Alessia Caracciolo, Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, Arjun Ivatury and Khalid Robinson
Best new artist
Alessia Cara
Khalid
Lil Uzi Vert
Julia Michaels
SZA
Pop categories
Pop solo performance
Kelly Clarkson, Love So Soft
Kesha, Praying
Lady Gaga, Million Reasons
Pink, What About Us
Ed Sheeran, Shape of You
Pop duo/group performance
The Chainsmokers and Coldplay, Something Just Like This
Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber, Despacito
Imagine Dragons, Thunder
Portugal, The Man, Feel It Still
Zedd & Alessia Cara, Stay
Pop vocal album
Coldplay, Kaleidoscope EP
Lana Del Rey, Lust for Life
Imagine Dragons, Evolve
Kesha, Rainbow
Lady Gaga, Joanne
Ed Sheeran, ÷ (Divide)
Country categories
Country solo performance
Sam Hunt, Body Like a Back Road
Alison Krauss, Losing You
Miranda Lambert, Tin Man
Maren Morris, I Could Use a Love Song
Chris Stapleton, Either Way
Country duo/group performance
Brothers Osborne, It Ain't My Fault
Zac Brown Band, My Old Man
Lady Antebellum, You Look Good
Little Big Town, Better Man
Midland, Drinkin' Problem
Country album
Kenny Chesney, Cosmic Hallelujah
Lady Antebellum, Heart Break
Little Big Town, The Breaker
Thomas Rhett, Life Changes
Chris Stapleton, From a Room, Volume 1
Country song (goes to songwriters)
Better Man
Performed by: Little Big Town
Written by: Taylor Swift
Body Like a Back Road
Performed by: Sam Hunt
Written by: Zach Crowell, Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne
Broken Halos
Performed by: Chris Stapleton
Written by: Mike Henderson and Chris Stapleton
Drinkin' Problem
Performed by: Midland
Written by: Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne and Mark Wystrach
Tin Man
Performed by: Miranda Lambert
Written by: Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert and Jon Randall
Rock categories
Rock album
Mastadon, Emperor of Sand
Metallica, Hardwired ... to Self-Destruct
Nothing More, The Stories We Tell Ourselves
Queens of the Stone Age, Villains
The War on Drugs, A Deeper Understanding
Alternative music album
Arcade Fire, Everything Now
Gorillaz, Humanz
LCD Soundsystem, American Dream
Father John Misty, Pure Comedy
The National, Sleep Well Beast
Rock performance (single or track)
Leonard Cohen, You Want It Darker
Chris Cornell, The Promise
Foo Fighters, Run
Kaleo, No Good
Nothing More, Go to War
Metal performance
August Burns Red, Invisible Enemy
Body Count, Black Hoodie
Code Orange, Forever
Mastadon, Sultan's Curse
Meshuggah, Clockworks
Rock song (goes to songwriters)
Atlas, Rise!
Performed by: Metallica
Written by: James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich
Blood in the Cut
Performed by K. Flay
Written by: JT Daly and Kristine Flaherty
Go to War
Performed by: Nothing More
Written by: Ben Anderson, Jonny Hawkins, Will Hoffman, Daniel Oliver, David Pramik and Mark Vollelunga
Run
Performed and written by: Foo Fighters
The Stage
Performed by: Avenge Sevenfold
Written by: Zachary Baker, Brian Haner, Matthew Sanders, Jonathan Seward and Brooks Wackerman
Rap categories
Rap performance (single or track)
Big Sean, Bounce Back
Cardi B, Bodak Yellow
Jay-Z, 4:44
Kendrick Lamar, Humble
Migos feat. Lil Uzi Vert, Bad and Boujee
Rap album
Jay-Z, 4:44
Kendrick Lamar, Damn
Migos, Culture
Rapsody, Laila's Wisdom
Tyler the Creator, Flower Boy
Rap/sung collaboration
6Lack, Prblms
Goldlink feat. Brent Faiyaz & Shy Glizzy, Crew
Jay-Z feat. Beyoncé, Family Feud
Kendrick Lamar feat. Rihanna, Loyalty
SZA feat. Travis Scott, Love Galore
Rap song (goes to songwriters)
Bodak Yellow
Performed by: Cardi B
Written by: Dieuson Octave, Klenord Raphael, Shaftizm, Jordan Thorpe, Washpoppin and J White
Chase Me
Performed by: Danger Mouse feat. Run The Jewels and Big Boi
Written by: Judah Bauer, Brian Burton, Hector Delgado, Jaime Meline, Antwan Patton, Michael Render, Russell Simins and Jon Spencer
Humble
Performed by Kendrick Lamar
Written by: K. Duckworth, Asheton Hogan and M. Williams II
Sassy
Performed by: Rapsody
Written by: E. Gabouer and M. Evans
The Story of O.J.
Performed by: Jay-Z
Written by: Shawn Carter and Dion Wilson
R&B categories
R&B album
Daniel Caesar, Freudian
Ledisi, Let Love Rule
Bruno Mars, 24K Magic
PJ Morton, Gumbo
Musiq Soulchild, Feel the Real
Urban contemporary album
6lack, Free 6Lack
Childish Gambino, Awaken, My Love!
Khalid, American Teen
SZA, Ctrl
The Weeknd, Starboy
R&B performance
Daniel Caesar feat. Kali Uchis, Get You
Kehlani, Distraction
Ledisi, High
Bruno Mars, That's What I Like
SZA, The Weekend
Traditional R&B performance
The Baylor Project, Laugh and Move On
Childish Gambino, Redbone
Anthony Hamilton feat. the Hamiltones, What I'm Feelin'
Ledisi, All the Way
Mali Music, Still
R&B song (goes to songwriters)
First Began
Performed and written by: PJ Morton
Location
Performed by: Khalid
Written by: Alfredo Gonzalez, Olatunji Ige, Samuel David Jiminez, Christopher McClenney, Khalid Robinson and Joshua Scruggs
Redbone
Performed by: Childish Gambino
Written by: Donald Glover and Ludwig Goransson
Supermodel
Performed by: SZA
Written by: Tyran Donaldson, Terrence Henderson, Greg Landfair Jr., Solana Rowe and Pharrell Williams
That's What I Like
Performed by: Bruno Mars
Written by: Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus and Jonathan Yip
American roots music categories
American roots performance
Alabama Shakes, Killer Diller Blues
Blind Boys of Alabama, Let My Mother Live
Glen Campbell, Arkansas Farmboy
Leonard Cohen, Steer Your Way
Alison Krauss, I Never Cared for You
American roots song
Cumberland Gap
Performed by: David Rawlings
Written by: David Rawlings & Gillian Welch
I Wish You Well
Performed by: The Mavericks
Written by: Raul Malo and Alan Miller
If We Were Vampires
Performed by: Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit
Written by: Jason Isbell
It Ain't Over Yet
Performed by: Rodney Crowell feat. Rosanne Cash & John Paul White
Written by: Rodney Crowell
My Only True Friend
Performed by: Gregg Allman
Written by: Gregg Allman and Scott Sharrard
Other categories
Song written for visual media
City of Stars (La La Land)
Written by: Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
How Far I'll Go (Moana)
Written by: Lin-Manuel Miranda
I Don't Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)
Written by: Jack Antonoff, Sam Dew and Taylor Swift
Never Give Up (Lion)
Written by: Sia Furler, Greg Kurstin
Stand Up for Something (Marshall)
Written by: Common and Diane Warren
Soundtrack for visual media
Baby Driver
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Awesome Mix Vol. 2
Hidden Figures: The Album
La La Land
Moana: The Songs
Comedy album
Dave Chappelle, The Age of Spin & Deep in the Heart of Texas
Jim Gaffigan, Cinco
Jerry Seinfeld, Jerry Before Seinfeld
Srah Silverman, A Speck of Dust
Kevin Hart, What Now?
Musical theater album
Come From Away
Dear Evan Hansen
Hello, Dolly!
Spoken word album
Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run
Shelly Peiken, Confessions of a Songwriter
Bernie Sanders and Mark Ruffalo, Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In
Carrie Fisher, The Princess Diarist