Recent Posts
Beyoncé has become the most nominated female artist in Grammy Awards history after leading the pack with nine nominations for music’s biggest night, taking her career total to a record breaking 62.
Meanwhile four of the five most nominated artists for February’s ceremony – Beyoncé, Rihanna, Kayne West and Chance the Rapper – are black while the fifth, Drake, is of mixed race. That signifies the the Recording Academy has embraced diversity far better than the Motion Picture Academy, which has been hit with an #OscarsSoWhite protest over the last two years due the lack of nominations for people of color. The hashtag #GrammysSoBlack emerged on Twitter within minutes of Tuesday morning’s nominations announcement.
The most nominated white artist, Adele, is up for five Grammys and is shaping up as the biggest threat to Beyoncé in the main categories, like Album of the Year – which sees “25” taking on “Lemonade” – and Record of the Year, which pitches “Hello” against “Formation.”
READ MORE: Adele and Beyoncé’s Inspirational Relationship as Superstar Besties
That battle of the superstars is just one of the intriguing prospects for the 59th Grammy Awards, which will be held in Los Angeles in February and hosted by James Corden.
READ MORE: James Corden ‘Carpool Karaokes’ His Way to Grammy Host (VIDEO)
If Beyoncé wins eight of the nine categories for which she is nominated she will have a total of 28 Grammys and thereby overtake country singer Alison Krauss as the most-awarded female artist in the history of the ceremony.
Rihanna, Drake and Kanye West scored eight nominations each and Chance the Rapper has seven, including best new artist. His competition includes dance music DJs The Chainsmokers and country singer Kelsea Ballerini, both acts that took to Twitter to express their delight at being nominated.
Oh my god. MOM IM GOING TO THE GRAMMYS. https://t.co/43U8em9Zwx
— Kelsea Ballerini (@KelseaBallerini) December 6, 2016
Dunkin’ Donuts and bought everyone in line coffee https://t.co/gufpkPz5NS
— THE CHAINSMOKERS (@TheChainsmokers) December 6, 2016
The head of the Grammys said the nominations reflect an exciting time in music. “Just as we see emerging musicians experimenting, we’re also seeing established artists resisting what’s expected of them and, instead, embracing the creative freedom they’ve been afforded through their success, blurring the lines between music’s mainstream and artistic edge,” said Neil Portnow, President and CEO of The Recording Academy, in a statement.
READ MORE: Beyoncé ‘Came to Sleigh’ This Holiday Season (PHOTOS)
In the Album of the Year category, Beyoncé and Adele face competition from Justin Bieber, Drake and Sturgill Simpson and in Record of the Year their rivals are Twenty One Pilots, Lukas Graham and Rihanna featuring Drake.
Comedy star Amy Schumer is up for a couple of Grammys. She was nominated for Best Spoken Word Album for the reading of her audio book “The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo” and Best Comedy Album for her standup show “Live At The Apollo.”
The Grammy Awards will air live on CBS on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 8 p.m.
