UPDATE 12/16/15: The Recording Academy just announced that LL Cool J will host the GRAMMY Awards for the fifth consecutive year. Recording Academy President Neil Portnow says LL Cool J's personality and energy "set the perfect tone for the show" according to Billboard. Of course, the rapper and actor also has a heightened profile since hosting his hit show Lip Sync Battle. The awards will take place on Feb. 15 from L.A.'s Staples Center and air on CBS.
See original story from 12/7/15 below.
With the 58th annual GRAMMY Awards airing in a little over two months, we get the full list of nominees for this year's event this morning. A few of the nominations were first announced live during the CBS morning show, while the full list of categories and nominees was rolled out on the official GRAMMY website.
Both the Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar are up for the "Album of the Year" nomination, but will face tough competition from Taylor Swift and the Alabama Shakes in the category. Kendrick also received a nomination for "Song of the Year" with "Alright," where he will go up against Swift's "Blank Space," Little Big Town's "Girl Crush," Wiz Khalifa's "See You Again," and Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud." The "Record of the year" category is also stacked, with D'Angelo, Mark Ronson, Sheeran, Swift, and the Weeknd all nominated.
As expected, the rap categories this year are stacked, with nominations for J. Cole, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Kendrick, Dr. Dre, Fetty Wap, and more throughout the nominations. The "Rap Album of the Year" battle will go down between Cole's 2014 Forest Hills Drive, Dre's Compton, Drake's If You're Reading This It's Too Late, Kendrick's To Pimp a Butterfly, and Nicki Minaj's the Pinkprint. Overall, Kendrick leads all nominations this year with 11. Check out the full list of nominations below.
Song Of The Year
Kendrick Lamar, "Alright"
Taylor Swift, "Blank Space"
Little Big Town, "Girl Crush"
Wiz Khalifa f. Charlie Puth, "See You again"
Ed Sheeran, "Thinking Out Loud"
Album Of The Year
Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color
Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp A Butterfly
Chris Stapleton, Traveller
Taylor Swift, 1989
The Weeknd, Beauty Behind the Madness
Best New Artist
Courtney Barnett
James Bay
Tori Kelly
Meghan Trainor
Sam Hunt
Record Of The Year
D'Angelo and The Vanguard, "Really Love"
Mark Ronson f. Bruno Mars, "Uptown Funk"
Ed Sheeran, "Thinking Out Loud"
Taylor Swift, "Blank Space"
The Weeknd, "Can't Feel My Face"
Rap Album of the Year
“2014 Forest Hills Drive,” J. Cole
“Compton,” Dr. Dre
“If You're Reading This Its Too Late,” Drake
“To Pimp a Butterfly,” Kendrick Lamar
“The Pinkprint,” Nicki Minaj
Best Rap Performance
J. Cole, "Apparently"
Drake, "Back To Back
Fetty Wap, "Trap Queen"
Kendrick Lamar, "Alright"
Nicki Minaj featuring Lil Wayne and Drake, "Truffle Butter"
Kanye West, "All Day"
Best Rap Song
Kanye West, "All Day"
Kendrick Lamar, "Alright"
Common and John Legend, "Glory"
Drake, "Energy"
Fetty Wap, "Trap Queen"
Best Rap Performance
J. Cole, "Apparently"
Drake, "Back to Back"
Fetty Wap, "Trap Queen"
Kendrick Lamar, "Alright"
Nicki Minaj, "Truffle Butter"
Kanye West, "All Day"
Rap/Sung Collaboration
Big Sean featuring Kanye West and John Legend, “One Man Can Change the World,”
Common and John Legend, “Glory,”
Jidenna, “Classic Man,”
Kendrick Lamar, “These Walls,”
Nicki Minaj, “Only”
Pop Duo/Group Performance
“Ship to Wreck,” Florence + the Machine
“Sugar,” Maroon 5
“Uptown Funk,” Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
“Bad Blood,” Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar
“See You Again,” Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth
Traditional Pop Vocal Album
“The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern,” Tony Bennett and Bill Charlap
“Shadows in the Night,” Bob Dylan
“Stages,” Josh Groban
“No One Ever Tells You,” Seth MacFarlane
“My Dream Duets,” Barry Manilow (and Various Artists)
Pop Vocal Album
” Piece by Piece,” Kelly Clarkson
“How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful,” Florence + the Machine
” Uptown Special,” Mark Ronson
“1989,” Taylor Swift
“Before This World,” James Taylor
Dance Recording
“We’re All We Need,” Above & Beyond featuring Zoe Johnston
“Go,” the Chemical Brothers
“Never Catch Me,” Flying Lotus featuring Kendrick Lamar
“Runaway (U & I),” Galantis
“Where Are U Now,” Skrillex and Diplo with Justin Bieber
Dance/Electronic Album
“Our Love,” Caribou
“Born in the Echoes,” the Chemical Brothers
“Caracal,” Disclosure
“In Colour,” Jamie XX
“Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack U,” Skrillex and Diplo
R&B Performance
“If I Don’t Have You,” Tamar Braxton
“Rise Up,” Andra Day
“Breathing Underwater,” Hiatus Kaiyote
“Planes,” Jeremih featuring J. Cole
“Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey),” the Weeknd
Traditional R&B Performance
“He Is,” Faith Evans
“Little Ghetto Boy,” Lalah Hathaway
“Let It Burn,” Jazmine Sullivan
“Shame,” Tyrese
“My Favorite Part of You,” Charlie Wilson
R&B Song
“Coffee,” Brook Davis and Miguel Pimentel, songwriters (Miguel)
“Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey),” Ahmad Balshe, Stephan Moccio, Jason Quenneville and Abel Tesfaye, songwriters (the Weeknd)
“Let It Burn,” Kenny B. Edmonds, Jazmine Sullivan and Dwane M. Weir II, songwriters (Jazmine Sullivan)
“Really Love,” D’Angelo and Kendra Foster, songwriters (D’Angelo and the Vanguard)
“Shame,” Warryn Campbell, Tyrese Gibson and DJ Rogers Jr., songwriters (Tyrese)
Urban Contemporary Album
“Ego Death,” the Internet
“You Should Be Here,” Kehlani
“Blood,” Lianne La Havas
“Wildheart,” Miguel
“Beauty Behind the Madness,” the Weeknd
R&B Album
“Coming Home,” Leon Bridges
“Black Messiah,” D’Angelo and the Vanguard
“Cheers to the Fall,” Andra Day
“Reality Show,” Jazmine Sullivan
“Forever Charlie,” Charlie Wilson
