Metro Weekly

Beyonce leads Grammy pack with 9 nominations

Other artists with multiple nominations include Rihanna, Drake, Kanye West and Adele

Beyonce in concert in Brussels - Photo: Franklin Heijnen, via Wikimedia.
Beyonce in concert in Brussels – Photo: Franklin Heijnen, via Wikimedia.

It’s the year of Queen Bey, as far as the Grammy Awards are concerned.

Beyoncé walked away with nine nominations on Tuesday, including Album of the Year and Best Urban Contemporary Album, and as a producer and director for the Best Music Film for “Lemonade.” Her hit “Formation” earned her nods for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Music Video. She’s also been nominated for Best Rock Performance for “Don’t Hurt Yourself” featuring Jack White, Best Rap/Sung Performance for her collaboration with Kendrick Lamar on “Freedom” and Best Pop Solo Performance for “Hold Up.”

Drake, Rihanna and Kanye West all earned eight nominations a piece, with Chance the Rapper picking up seven, including a Best Rap Album nod for “Coloring Book.”

Adele has earned five nominations for her album “25.” She’s competing against Justin Bieber (“Purpose”) and fan favorites Ariana Grande (“Dangerous Woman”), Sia (“This is Acting), and Demi Lovato, who earned her first Grammy nomination for “Confident.”

 

Sia is also nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Cheap Thrills” and Grande is up for Best Pop Solo Performance for “Dangerous Woman.”

 

Some notable LGBT nominees include David Bowie, who picked up five nominations posthumously for “Blackstar,” including Best Alternative Music Album, Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song; and Brandy Clark, who is up fro Best Country Solo Performance for “Love Can Go to Hell” and Best Country Album for “Big Day in a Small Town.”

Comedienne Amy Schumer, who was nominated for Best Spoken Word Album for “The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo” and Best Comedy Album for “Live at the Apollo.” Notably, three of the five nominees for Best Comedy Album are women, with Tig Notaro and Margaret Cho getting nods for “Boyish Girl Interrupted” and “American Myth,” respectively. Only three women in history have ever won Best Comedy Album: Whoopi Goldberg, Lily Tomlin and Kathy Griffin.  Could there be a fourth in 2017?

The nominees for Record of the Year are Adele for “Hello,” Beyoncé for “Formation,” Lukas Graham for “7 Years,” Rihanna for “Work,” and Twenty-One Pilots for “Stressed Out.”

The Album of the Year nominees are: Beyoncé for “Lemonade,” Adele for “25,” Justin Bieber for “Purpose,” Drake for “Views” and Sturgill Simpson for “Sailor’s Guide to Earth.”

Song of the Year nominees are: “Formation” (Beyoncé), “Hello” (Adele), “I Took A Pill in Ibiza” (Mike Posner), “Love Yourself” (Justin Bieber) and “7 Years” (Lukas Graham).

Chance the Rapper, despite releasing his first work in 2012, is up for Best New Artist, alongside Kelsea Ballerini, The Chainsmokers, Maren Morris, and Anderson Paak.

In addition to “Formation,” other nominees in the Best Music Video category are “River” by Leon Bridges, “Up and Up” by Coldplay, “Gosh” by Jamie xx, and “Upside Down and Inside Out” by OK Go.

The Grammy Awards will air live on CBS on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. James Corden, host of CBS’ The Late Late Show with James Corden will emcee the event.

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