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Beyonce, Chance, Kanye & Rihanna Lead Grammy Nominations

The nominations for the 2017 Grammy Awards are here, and as you might expect following such an incredible year of music, the list is pretty amazing.

The Grammys have been hotly contested for many reasons throughout 2016. Most notably, Chance the Rapper – who is nominated for seven awards – led the fight to change Grammy rules to allow free, streamed releases to be eligible alongside albums released traditionally. The petition set up was a great success, and hip-hop made history forever. The Awards were also the subject of Frank Ocean‘s  wrath, with the elusive artist choosing to not submit neither Blonde or Endless for consideration, despite the fact that he probably would have won several.

20-time Grammy winner Beyoncé has made history by being the very first artist to ever be nominated in the rock, pop, rap and R&B categories. With nine nominations overall, she has been nominated more than any other artist this year. Apart from song and album of the year, she has also been nominated for her Jack White collab Don’t Hurt Yourself, her Kendrick Lamar collab Freedom and Hold Up. Beyoncé is the most nominated woman in Grammy history, with a total of 62.

Hip-hop and R&B are coming in at a heavy second, with Kanye West, Rihanna and Drake all following closely with eight nominations.

Chance the Rapper has walked away from seven nominations, while Anderson Paak has taken home two, for best new artist and best urban contemporary album. BJ The Chicago Kid, D.R.A.M, Maxwell and Solange are among the nominees in urban categories as well. Amazingly, Kanye is up for not one, but two best songs, for Famous and Ultralight Beam. He is joined by Chance, Fat Joe and Remy Ma, and Drake for – you guessed it – Hotline Bling. The nominations for best rap album are… okay. To see ScHoolboy Q nominated is phenomenal, the inclusion of Drake and Kanye were expected, but DJ Khaled? Really?

The alternative category is ridiculous, with every act poised to win. Bon Iver, David Bowie, PJ Harvey, Iggy Pop and Radiohead all released incredible albums in 2016. Bowie has received five posthumous nominations for Blackstar, while Bon Iver and Radiohead are both up for two, including for best rock song with Burn The Witch. The best rock albums category is a little less impressive, with Weezer, Blink 182 and Panic! At The Disco heading it up.

We’re so excited to see two Australian names on the list as well. Your boi Flume has been nominated for two awards, for Never Be Like You ft. Kai and for best dance album with Skin. Meanwhile, Sia has been nominated for three awards – one for This Is Acting, one for the Sean Paul featuring Cheap Thrills, and a third for Try Everything, from the Zootopia soundtrack.

The core categories are as follows:

Album Of The Year:

25 — Adele
Lemonade — Beyoncé
Purpose — Justin Bieber
Views — Drake
A Sailor’s Guide To Earth — Sturgill Simpson

Record Of The Year:

“Hello” — Adele
“Formation” — Beyoncé
“7 Years” — Lukas Graham
“Work” — Rihanna Featuring Drake
“Stressed Out” — Twenty One Pilots

Song Of The Year:

“Formation” — Khalif Brown, Asheton Hogan, Beyoncé Knowles & Michael L. Williams II, songwriters (Beyoncé)
“Hello” — Adele Adkins & Greg Kurstin, songwriters (Adele)
“I Took A Pill In Ibiza” — Mike Posner, songwriter (Mike Posner)
“Love Yourself” — Justin Bieber, Benjamin Levin & Ed Sheeran, songwriters (Justin Bieber)
“7 Years” — Lukas Forchhammer, Stefan Forrest, Morten Pilegaard & Morten Ristorp, songwriters (Lukas Graham)

Best New Artist:

Kelsea Ballerini
The Chainsmokers
Chance The Rapper
Maren Morris
Anderson .Paak

POP FIELD

Best Pop Vocal Album:

25 — Adele
Purpose — Justin Bieber
Dangerous Woman — Ariana Grande
Confident — Demi Lovato
This Is Acting — Sia

Best Pop Solo Performance:

“Hello” — Adele
“Hold Up” — Beyonce
“Love Yourself” — Justin Bieber
“Piece By Piece (Idol Version)” — Kelly Clarkson
“Dangerous Woman” — Ariana Grande

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:

“Closer” — The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey
“7 Years” — Lukas Graham
“Work” — Rihanna Featuring Drake
“Cheap Thrills” — Sia Featuring Sean Paul
“Stressed Out” — Twenty One Pilots

 

DANCE/ELECTRONIC MUSIC FIELD

Best Dance Recording:

“Tearing Me Up” — Bob Moses
“Don’t Let Me Down” — The Chainsmokers Featuring Daya
“Never Be Like You” — Flume Featuring Kai
“Rinse & Repeat” — Riton Featuring Kah-Lo
“Drinkee” — Sofi Tukker

Best Dance/Electronic Album:

Skin — Flume
Electronica 1: The Time Machine — Jean-Michel Jarre
Epoch — Tycho
Barbara Barbara, We Face A Shining Future — Underworld
Louie Vega Starring…XXVIII — Louie Vega

 

ROCK FIELD

Best Rock Performance:

“Joe (Live From Austin City Limits)” — Alabama Shakes
“Don’t Hurt Yourself” — Beyoncé Featuring Jack White
“Blackstar” — David Bowie
“The Sound Of Silence” — Disturbed
“Heathens” — Twenty One Pilots

Best Metal Performance:

“Shock Me” — Baroness
“Slivera” — Gojira
“Rotting in Vain” — Korn
“Dystopia” — Megadeth
“The Price Is Wrong” — Periphery

Best Rock Song:

“Blackstar” — David Bowie, songwriter (David Bowie)
“Burn the Witch”  —Radiohead, songwriters (Radiohead)
“Hardwired” — James Hetfield & Lars Ulrich, songwriters (Metallica
“Heathens” — Tyler Joseph, songwriter (Twenty One Pilots)
“My Name Is Human” — Rich Meyer, Ryan Meyer & Johnny Stevens, songwriters (Highly Suspect)

Best Rock Album:

California — Blink-182
Tell Me I’m Pretty — Cage The Elephant
Magma — Gojira
Death Of A Bachelor — Panic! At The Disco
Weezer — Weezer

ALTERNATIVE FIELD

Best Alternative Music Album:

22, A Million — Bon Iver
Blackstar — David Bowie
The Hope Six Demolition Project — PJ Harvey
Post Pop Depression — Iggy Pop
A Moon Shaped Pool — Radiohead

R&B FIELD

Best R&B Performance:

“Turnin’ Me Up” — BJ The Chicago Kid
“Permission” — Ro James
“I Do” — Musiq Soulchild
“Needed Me” — Rihanna
“Cranes in the Sky” — Solange

Best Traditional R&B Performance:

“The Three Of Me” — William Bell
“Woman’s World” — BJ The Chicago Kid
“Sleeping With The One I Love” — Fantasia
“Angel” — Lalah Hathaway
“Can’t Wait” — Jill Scott

Best R&B Song:

“Come and See Me” — J. Brathwaite, Aubrey Graham & Noah Shebib, songwriters (PartyNextDoor Featuring Drake)
“Exchange” — Michael Hernandez & Bryson Tiller, songwriters (Bryson Tiller)
“Kiss It Better” — Jeff Bhasker, Robyn Fenty, John-Nathan Glass & Natalia Noemi, songwriters (Rihanna)
“Lake By the Ocean” — Hod David & Musze, songwriters (Maxwell)
“Luv” — Magnus August Høiberg, Benjamin Levin & Daystar Peterson, songwriters (Tory Lanez)

Best Urban Contemporary Album:

Lemonade — Beyoncé
Ology — Gallant
We Are King — KING
Malibu — Anderson .Paak
Anti — Rihanna

Best R&B Album:

In My Mind — BJ The Chicago Kid
Lalah Hathaway Live — Lalah Hathaway
Velvet Portraits — Terrace Martin
Healing Season — Mint Condition
Smoove Jones — Mya

RAP FIELD

Best Rap Performance:

“No Problem” — Chance The Rapper Featuring Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz
“Panda” —Desiigner
“Pop Style” — Drake Featuring The Throne
“All The Way Up” — Fat Joe & Remy Ma Featuring French Montana & Infared
“That Part” — ScHoolboy Q Featuring Kanye West

Best Rap/Sung Performance:

“Freedom” — Beyoncé Featuring Kendrick Lamar
“Hotline Bling” — Drake
“Broccoli” — D.R.A.M. Featuring Lil Yachty
“Ultralight Beam” — Kanye West Featuring Chance The Rapper, Kelly Price, Kirk Franklin & The-Dream
“Famous” — Kanye West Featuring Rihanna

Best Rap Song:

“All The Way Up” — Joseph Cartagena, Edward Davadi, Shandel Green, Karim Kharbouch, Andre Christopher Lyon, Reminisce Mackie & Marcello Valenzano, songwriters (Fat Joe & Remy Ma Featuring French Montana & Infared)
“Famous” — Chancelor Bennett, Ross Birchard, Ernest Brown, Andrew Dawson, Kasseem Dean, Mike Dean, Noah Goldstein, Kejuan Muchita, Patrick Reynolds, Kanye West & Cydel Young, songwriters (Kanye West Featuring Rihanna)
“Hotline Bling” — Aubrey Graham & Paul Jefferies, songwriters (Drake)
“No Problem” — Chancelor Bennett, Dwayne Carter & Tauheed Epps, songwriters (Chance The Rapper Featuring Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz)
“Ultralight Beam” — Chancelor Bennett, Kasseem Dean, Mike Dean, Kirk Franklin, Noah Goldstein, Samuel Griesemer, Terius Nash, Jerome Potter, Kelly Price, Nico “Donnie Trumpet” Segal, Derek Watkins, Kanye West & Cydel Young, songwriters (Kanye West Featuring Chance The Rapper, Kelly Price, Kirk Franklin & The-Dream)

Best Rap Album:
Coloring Book — Chance The Rapper
And the Anonymous Nobody — De La Soul
Major Key — DJ Khaled
Views — Drake
Blank Face LP — ScHoolboy Q
The Life of Pablo — Kanye West

 

MUSIC FOR VISUAL MEDIA FIELD

Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media:

Amy — (Various Artists)
Miles Ahead — Miles Davis & Various Artists)
Straight Outta Compton — (Various Artists)
Suicide Squad (Collector’s Edition) — (Various Artists)
Vinyl: The Essentials Season 1 — (Various Artists)

Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media:

Bridge of Spies — Thomas Newman, composer
Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight — Ennio Morricone, composer
The Revenant — Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto, composers
Star Wars: The Force Awakens — John Williams, composer
Stranger Things Volume 1 — Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein, composers
Stranger Things Volume 2 — Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein, composers

Best Song Written For Visual Media:

“Can’t Stop The Feeling!” — Max Martin, Shellback & Justin Timberlake, songwriters (Justin Timberlake, Anna Kendrick, Gwen Stefani, James Corden, Zooey Deschanel, Walt Dohrn, Ron Funches, Caroline Hjelt, Aino Jawo, Christopher Mintz-Plasse & Kunal Nayyar), Track from: Trolls
“Heathens” — Tyler Joseph, songwriter (Twenty One Pilots), Track from: Suicide Squad
“Just Like Fire” — Oscar Holter, Max Martin, P!nk & Shellback, songwriters (P!nk), Track from: Alice Through The Looking Glass
“Purple Lamborghini” — Shamann Cooke, Sonny Moore & William Roberts, songwriters (Skrillex & Rick Ross), Track from: Suicide Squad
“Try Everything” — Mikkel S. Eriksen, Sia Furler & Tor Erik Hermansen, songwriters (Shakira), Track from: Zootopia
“The Veil” — Peter Gabriel, songwriter (Peter Gabriel), Track from: Snowden

 

PACKAGE FIELD

Best Recording Package:

Anti (Deluxe Edition) — Ciarra Pardo & Robyn Fenty, art directors (Rihanna)
Blackstar — Jonathan Barnbrook, art director (David Bowie)
Human Performance — Andrew Savage, art director (Parquet Courts)
Sunset Motel — Sarah Dodds & Shauna Dodds, art directors (Reckless Kelly)
22, A Million — Eric Timothy Carlson, art director (Bon Iver)

Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package:

Edith Piaf 1915-2015 — Gérard Lo Monaco, art director (Edith Piaf)
401 Days — Jonathan Dagan & Mathias Høst Normark, art directors (J.Views)
I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It — Samuel Burgess-Johnson & Matthew Healy, art directors (The 1975)
Paper Wheels (Deluxe Limited Edition) — Matt Taylor, art director (Trey Anastasio)
Tug of War (Deluxe Edition) — Simon Earith & James Musgrave, art directors (Paul McCartney)

PRODUCTION, NON-CLASSICAL FIELD

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical:

Are You Serious — Tchad Blake & David Boucher, engineers; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer (Andrew Bird)
Blackstar — David Bowie, Tom Elmhirst, Kevin Killen & Tony
Dig In Deep — Ryan Freeland, engineer; Kim Rosen, mastering engineer (Bonnie Raitt)
Hit N Run Phase Two — Booker T., Dylan Dresdow, Chris James, Prince & Justin Stanley, engineers; Dylan Dresdow, mastering engineer (Prince)
Undercurrent — Shani Gandhi & Gary Paczosa, engineers; Paul Blakemore, mastering engineer (Sarah Jarosz)

Producer Of The YearNon-Classical:

Benny Blanco
Greg Kurstin
Max Martin
Nineteen85
Ricky Reed

Best Remixed Recording:

“Cali Coast (Psionics Remix)” — Josh Williams, remixer (Soul Pacific)
“Heavy Star Movin’ (staRo Remix)” — staRo, remixer (The Silver Lake Chorus)
“Nineteen Hundred Eighty-Five (Timo Maas & James Teej Remix)” — Timo Maas & James Teej, remixers (Paul McCartney & Wings)
“Only” (Kaskade X Lipless Remix)— Ryan Raddon, remixer (Ry X)
“Tearing Me Up (RAC Remix)” — André Allen Anjos, remixer (Bob Moses)
“Wide Open (Joe Goddard Remix)” — Joe Goddard, remixer (The Chemical Brothers)

SURROUND SOUND FIELD

Best Surround Sound Album:

Dutilleux: Sur La Mêe Accord; Les Citations; Mystère De L’Instant & Timbres, Espace, Mouvement — Alexander Lipay & Dmitriy Lipay, surround mix engineers; Dmitriy Lipay, surround mastering engineer; Dmitriy Lipay, surround producer (Ludovic Morlot & Seattle Symphony)
Johnson: Considering Matthew Shephard — Brad Michel, surround mix engineer; Brad Michel, surround mastering engineer; Robina G. Young, surround producer (Craig Hella Johnson & Conspirare)
Maja S.K. Ratkje: And Sing … — Morten Lindberg, surround mix engineer; Morten Lindberg, surround mastering engineer; Morten Lindberg, surround producer (Maja S.K. Ratkje, Cikada & Oslo Sinfonietta)
Primus & The Chocolate Factory — Les Claypool, surround mix engineer; Stephen Marcussen, surround mastering engineer; Les Claypool, surround producer (Primus)
Reflections — Morten Lindberg, surround mix engineer; Morten Lindberg, surround mastering engineer; Morten Lindberg, surround producer (Øyvind Gimse, Geir Inge Lotsberg & Trondheimsolistene)

 

MUSIC VIDEO/FILM FIELD

Best Music Video:

“Formation” — Beyoncé
“River” — Leon Bridges
“Up & Up” — Coldplay
“Gosh” — Jamie XX
“Upside Down & Inside Out” — OK Go

Best Music Film:

I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead — Steve Aoki
The Beatles: Eight Days A Week The Touring Years — (The Beatles)
Lemonade — Beyoncé
The Music Of Strangers — Yo-Yo Ma & The Silk Road Ensemble
American Saturday Night: Live From The Grand Ole Opry — (Various Artists)

 The full list can be found here.

Image: Billboard