Jay-Z bags 8 nominations at 2018 Grammys

Jay-Z is currently in the lead at the 2018 Grammy Awards, bagging eight nominations this year alone. The top four categories are heavily dominated by rap and R&B artists, giving the often overlooked genres a strong chance to win big. On Tuesday, The Recording Academy announced that Jay-Z is nominated for eight honours, including album, song, and record of the year. Bruno Mars has been nominated in the three top titles, while Kendrick Lamar has earned seven nominations, and Childish Gambino are also up for major awards. Neil Portnow, the academy’s president and CEO, said in an interview with Time magazine: “We have a current membership that is savvy and certainly timely, is current, and reflective of what music is about today and in the future. And clearly the diversification work that we’ve done for our membership is evident in all of the nominations this year.” “I think it’s a testimony to our hard work and intention of having a very vibrant, current, relevant, diverse voting membership,” he added. The Grammys will take place in New York, US on January 28, 2018, where either Jay-Z or Lamar could make history with either of their nominated albums or their songs. Either winning would result to the first in the rap genre to win the Song of the Year award. No rock or country music were nominated in the top four categories. The rap- and R&B-heavy nominations, which include numerous black and Latino artists, come after the Grammys was heavily criticized earlier this year when some felt Beyonce’s multi-genre “Lemonade” album should have won Album of the Year over Adele’s “25.” While receiving the prize onstage, Adele also expressed that Beyonce should have received the award.

The complete list of nominees is:

Album of the year: “Awaken, My Love!,” Childish Gambino; “4:44,” Jay-Z; “DAMN.,” Kendrick Lamar; “Melodrama,” Lorde; “24K Magic,” Bruno Mars.Record of the year: “Redbone,” Childish Gambino; “Despacito,” Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber; “The Story of O.J.,” Jay-Z; “HUMBLE.,” Kendrick Lamar; “24K Magic,” Bruno Mars.Song of the year (songwriter’s award): “Despacito,” Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, Justin Bieber, Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd, Erika Ender and Marty James Garton; “4:44,” Jay-Z and No I.D.; “Issues,” Julia Michaels, Benny Blanco, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen and Justin Drew Tranter; “1-800-273-8255,” Logic, Alessia Cara, Khalid and Arjun Ivatury; “That’s What I Like,” Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence, Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus and Jonathan Yip.Best new artist: Alessia Cara; Khalid; Lil Uzi Vert; Julia Michaels; SZA.Best pop solo performance: “Love So Soft,” Kelly Clarkson; “Praying,” Kesha; “Million Reasons,” Lady Gaga; “What About Us,” Pink; “Shape of You,” Ed Sheeran.Best pop duo/group performance: “Something Just Like This,” The Chainsmokers and Coldplay; “Despacito,” Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber; “Thunder,” Imagine Dragons; “Feel It Still,” Portugal. The Man; “Stay,” Zedd and Alessia Cara.Best traditional pop vocal album: “Nobody But Me (Deluxe Version),” Michael Buble; “Triplicate,” Bob Dylan; “In Full Swing,” Seth MacFarlane; “Wonderland,” Sarah McLachlan; “Tony Bennett Celebrates 90,” various artists.Best pop vocal album: “Kaleidoscope EP,” Coldplay; “Lust for Life,” Lana Del Rey; “Evolve,” Imagine Dragons; “Rainbow,” Kesha; “Joanne,” Lady Gaga; “Divide,” Ed Sheeran.Best dance/electronic album: “Migration,” Bonobo; “3-D The Catalogue,” Kraftwerk; “Mura Masa,” Mura Masa; “A Moment Apart,” Odesza; “What Now,” Sylvan Esso.Best rock album: “Emperor of Sand,” Mastodon; “Hardwired…To Self-Destruct,” Metallica; “The Stories We Tell Ourselves,” Nothing More; “Villains,” Queens of the Stone Age; “A Deeper Understanding,” The War On Drugs.Best alternative music album: “Everything Now,” Arcade Fire; “Humanz,” Gorillaz; “American Dream,” LCD Soundsystem; “Pure Comedy,” Father John Misty; “Sleep Well Beast,” The National.Best urban contemporary album: “Free 6LACK,” 6LACK; “Awaken, My Love!,” Childish Gambino; “American Teen,” Khalid; “Ctrl,” SZA; “Starboy,” The Weeknd.Best R&B album: “Freudian,” Daniel Caesar; “Let Love Rule,” Ledisi; “24K Magic,” Bruno Mars; “Gumbo,” PJ Morton; “Feel the Real,” Musiq Soulchild.Best rap album: “4:44,” Jay-Z; “DAMN.,” Kendrick Lamar; “Culture,” Migos; “Laila’s Wisdom,” Rapsody; “Flower Boy,” Tyler, the Creator.Best country album: “Cosmic Hallelujah,” Kenny Chesney; “Heart Break,” Lady Antebellum; “The Breaker,” Little Big Town; “Life Changes,” Thomas Rhett; “From A Room: Volume 1,” Chris Stapleton.Best jazz vocal album: “The Journey,” The Baylor Project; “A Social Call,” Jazzmeia Horn; “Bad Ass And Blind,” Raul Midon; “Porter Plays Porter,” Randy Porter Trio With Nancy King; “Dreams And Daggers,” Cecile McLorin Salvant.Best jazz instrumental album: “Uptown, Downtown,” Bill Charlap Trio; “Rebirth,” Billy Childs; “Project Freedom,” Joey DeFrancesco & The People; “Open Book,” Fred Hersch; “The Dreamer Is The Dream,” Chris Potter.Best compilation 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.”Producer of the year, non-classical: Calvin Harris; Greg Kurstin; Blake Mills; No I.D.; The Stereotypes.Best music video: “Up All Night,” Beck; “Makeba,” Jain; “The Story of O.J.,” Jay-Z; “Humble,” Kendrick Lamar; “1-800-273-8255,” Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid.