Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar lead the way in Grammy nominations

Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar are the top contenders for the 60th annual Grammy Awards, leading a crop of nominations that is heavy on hip-hop and R&B but has left some mainstream pop stars, including Ed Sheeran, shut out of major prizes.

Jay-Z got eight nods for his album "4:44," which mixed dark personal confessions with meditations about race; Lamar had seven for "DAMN.," a critical favorite and a smash on streaming services that also addressed racial politics and self-reflection. Bruno Mars had six nominations, and Childish Gambino, Khalid, SZA and No I.D. (Jay-Z's producer) each had five.

With all major awards shows under scrutiny for how they incorporate diversity, the Grammy nominations are striking, as minority artists dominate the ballot in nearly all of the most prestigious categories, including record, song and album of the year.

[Portugal. The Man, with roots in Wasilla, nominated for Grammy Award]

Contenders for record of the year include Jay-Z for "The Story of O.J."; Lamar for "HUMBLE."; Mars for "24K Magic"; Childish Gambino for "Redbone"; and the Latin pop phenomenon "Despacito," by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee with Justin Bieber.

For album of the year, Jay-Z and Lamar face Mars' "24K Magic," Childish Gambino's "Awaken, My Love!" and Lorde's "Melodrama." Nods for song of the year went to the writers of "Despacito," Jay-Z's "4:44," Mars' "That's What I Like," Logic's "1-800-273-8255" and Julia Michaels' "Issues."

Notably absent is Sheeran, whose tropical-tinged song "Shape of You" has been one of this year's biggest hits. In 2016, Sheeran took home song of the year for "Thinking Out Loud," but this time his two nods are outside the top fields: "Shape of You" for pop solo performance; and "÷" for pop vocal album.

The best new artist category includes the rapper Lil Uzi Vert, the singers Khalid and Alessia Cara, and two young women, SZA and Michaels, who have developed successful songwriting credentials in addition to their own work as performers. Cara and Khalid are also the featured singers on Logic's "1-800-273-8255," whose title is the phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

The 60th annual awards will be broadcast from Madison Square Garden on Jan. 28, the first time the Grammys will have been held in New York in 15 years.

The nominations this year all but guarantee that a nonwhite performer will win at least one of the major awards, which would reflect the current pop market but has been far from a given at the Grammys. At the 2017 awards, for example, the awards were criticized when Adele beat Beyoncé for all three top trophies.

Neil Portnow, chief executive of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, the organization behind the Grammys, called the mix of nominees "a really terrific reflection of the voting membership of the academy." Those voting members, who number around 13,000, are "professionals who listen objectively to music and make a judgment," he added.

The Grammys' mixed record of recognizing black artists has also drawn complaints from major artists, including Frank Ocean, who refused to submit his albums "Blonde" and "Endless" for the 2017 awards, calling the boycott his "Colin Kaepernick moment." This year, the rap star Drake did not submit "More Life," a collection of songs he called a playlist. Drake has given no explanation for his decision.

In addition to Sheeran, some pop superstars — and longtime Grammy favorites — have a minimal presence, in genre categories down the list of this year's 84 awards. Lady Gaga has two nods: "Million Reasons," for pop solo performance; and "Joanne," for pop vocal album. Harry Styles, the former One Direction heartthrob, was shut out altogether.

Taylor Swift also has two, as a songwriter: "Better Man," which she wrote for the group Little Big Town, is up for best country song; and "I Don't Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)," for best song written for visual media. (Swift's "Look What You Made Me Do," a recent No. 1 hit, is nowhere to be found.)

The contestants for best country album are Kenny Chesney's "Cosmic Hallelujah," Lady Antebellum's "Heart Break," Little Big Town's "The Breaker," Thomas Rhett's "Life Changes" and Chris Stapleton's "From A Room: Volume 1." Miranda Lambert, whose "The Weight of These Wings" was considered a possible contender for album of the year, instead got nods only for country solo performance and country song (both for "Tin Man").

The latest nominations bring Jay-Z's career total to 74; he has won 21 times. Yet several of the most decorated artists this year are receiving their first nods, including SZA, Cara and Khalid, a 19-year-old soul singer whose debut album, "American Teen," went to No. 3. Childish Gambino, a stage name of the actor Donald Glover ("Atlanta") has been nominated twice before but never won.

Some of the most contentious categories this year include pop solo performance, which in addition to Lady Gaga's "Million Reasons" and Sheeran's "Shape of You" includes Kelly Clarkson's "Love So Soft," Kesha's "Praying" and Pink's "What About Us." Jay-Z and Lamar dominate each of the four rap categories, but for best rap album they face Migos ("Culture"); Tyler, the Creator ("Flower Boy"); and Rapsody ("Laila's Wisdom").

For producer of the year, No I.D. is up against Calvin Harris, Blake Mills, the Stereotypes and Greg Kurstin, who won at the 59th annual ceremony this year.

As always at the Grammys, there are some head-scratchers. Leonard Cohen is up for best rock performance for "You Want It Darker," facing Chris Cornell and the Foo Fighters. For best traditional pop album, Seth MacFarlane is up against Bob Dylan and Tony Bennett, just as he was in 2016, when Bennett won.

The spoken word category includes Bruce Springsteen, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Carrie Fisher, the songwriter Shelly Peiken and Bernie Sanders and Mark Ruffalo.

Recordings released from Oct. 1, 2016, to Sept. 30, 2017, were eligible for nominations, and the recording academy said that it received more than 22,000 submissions.

2018 GRAMMY NOMINATIONS

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

Album of the Year

"Awaken, My Love!" — Childish Gambino

"4:44" — Jay-Z

"DAMN." — Kendrick Lamar

"Melodrama" — Lorde

"24K Magic" — Bruno Mars

Song of the Year

"Despacito" — Ramón Ayala, Justin Bieber, Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd, Erika Ender, Luis Fonsi and Marty James Garton (Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber)

"4:44" — Shawn Carter and Dion Wilson (Jay-Z)

"Issues" — Benny Blanco, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Julia Michaels and Justin Drew Tranter (Julia Michaels)

"1-800-273-8255" — Alessia Caracciolo, Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, Arjun Ivatury and Khalid Robinson (Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid)

"That's What I Like" — Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus and Jonathan Yip (Bruno Mars)

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 Pop Vocal Album

"Kaleidoscope EP" — Coldplay

"Lust for Life" — Lana Del Rey

"Evolve" — Imagine Dragons

"Rainbow" — Kesha

"Joanne" — Lady Gaga

"÷" — 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 Performance

"You Want It Darker" — Leonard Cohen

"The Promise" — Chris Cornell

"Run" — Foo Fighters

"No Good" — Kaleo

"Go to War" — Nothing More

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 Rap Performance

"Bounce Back" — Big Sean

"Bodak Yellow" — Cardi B

"4:44" — Jay-Z

"HUMBLE." — Kendrick Lamar

"Bad and Boujee" — Migos featuring Lil Uzi Vert

Best Rap Album

"4:44" — Jay-Z

"DAMN." — Kendrick Lamar

"Culture" — Migos

"Laila's Wisdom" — Rapsody

"Flower Boy" — Tyler, the Creator

Best Country Solo Performance

"Body Like a Back Road" — Sam Hunt

"Losing You" — Alison Krauss

"Tin Man" — Miranda Lambert

"I Could Use a Love Song" — Maren Morris

"Either Way" — Chris Stapleton

Best Country Song

"Better Man" — Taylor Swift (Little Big Town)

"Body Like a Back Road" — Zach Crowell, Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne (Sam Hunt)

"Broken Halos" — Mike Henderson and Chris Stapleton (Chris Stapleton)

"Drinkin' Problem" — Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne and Mark Wystrach (Midland)

"Tin Man" — Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert and Jon Randall (Miranda Lambert)

Best Jazz Vocal Album

"The Journey" — The Baylor Project

"A Social Call" — Jazzmeia Horn

"Bad Ass and Blind" — Raul Midón

"Porter Plays Porter" — Randy Porter Trio with Nancy King

"Dreams and Daggers" — Cécile McLorin Salvant

Best Jazz Instrumental Album

"Uptown, Downtown" — Bill Charlap Trio

"Rebirth" — Billy Childs

"Project Freedom" — Joey DeFrancesco and the People

"Open Book" — Fred Hersch

"The Dreamer Is the Dream" — Chris Potter

Best Latin Pop Album

"Lo Único Constante" — Alex Cuba

"Mis Planes Son Amarte" — Juanes

"Amar y Vivir en Vivo Desde la Ciudad de México, 2017" — La Santa Cecilia

"Musas (Un Homenaje al Folclore Latinoamericano en Manos de los Macorinos)" — Natalia Lafourcade

"El Dorado" — Shakira

Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album

"Ayo" — Bomba Estéreo

"Pa' Fuera" — C4 Trío and Desorden Público

"Salvavidas de Hielo" — Jorge Drexler

"El Paradise" — Los Amigos Invisibles

"Residente" — Residente

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical

Calvin Harris

Greg Kurstin

Blake Mills

No I.D.

The Stereotypes