60th Grammy Awards News: Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Bruno Mars Get the Most Nods

By Vianne Ilagan, Christian Post Contributor Wednesday, November 29, 2017

The 60th annual Grammy Awards is just around the corner, and the nominees for each category have just been revealed. Among this year's top picks are Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino, and Bruno Mars.

This year's Grammy nominations left some of the most fan-favorite mainstream pop stars shut out of major prizes, including Ed Sheeran. As the award-giving body prioritizes diversity, the nominations are somewhat refreshing, as minority artists remarkably dominate the ballots in almost all of the categories.

Getting the most nods for Artist of the Year were Jay-Z who got eight, Lamar with seven nominations, Bruno Mars with six, and Childish Gambino, Khalid, SZA, and No. I.D. with five each.

Record of the Year contenders include "The Story of O.J." by Jay-Z, "HUMBLE" by Lamar, "24K Magic" by Mars, "Redbone" by Gambino, and "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee with Justin Bieber.

Also competing for the Album of the Year award are Mars' "24K Magic," Childish Gambino's "Awaken, My Love!," and Lorde's "Melodrama." Meanwhile, getting the most nominations for the Song of the Year are "Despacito," "4:44," "That's What I Like," "1-800-273-8255," and "Issues."

Although Sheeran's "Shape of You" has been one of the most popular hits this year, he only got two nods in the Best Pop Solo Performance and Pop Vocal Album categories, shutting him out of major awards this year. Last year, he bagged the Song of the Year award for "Thinking Out Loud."

For the Best New Artist category, the frontrunners are singers Khalid and Alessia Cara, rapper Lil Uzi Vert, and young artists SZA and Ms. Michaels. According to Neil Portnow, the CEO of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, this year's nominees reflect the voting membership of the academy. She said the 13,000 voting members are "professionals who listen objectively to music and make a judgment."

The 60^{th Grammy Awards will be held on Jan. 28 at Madison Square Garden in New York.}

View the full list of nominees here.