BEYONCÉ, DRAKE, KANYE WEST LEAD ROAD TO GOLD
‘ Lemonade’ is looking pretty sweet, and Adele, Bieber, Rihanna and Simpson are in the mix
Lemonade is the drink of choice for Recording Academy voters.
Beyoncé’s genre- smashing behemoth leads the 2017 Grammy Awards nominations with nine nods, including album of the year. She is joined in the category by Adele’s 25, Drake’s Views, Justin Bieber’s Purpose and Sturgill Simpson’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth.
In addition to record- and songofthe- year nominations for defiant lead single Formation, Beyoncé is recognized across a variety of song categories. Hold Up is competing for pop solo performance,
Don’t Hurt Yourself ( featuring Jack White) is up for rock performance, and Freedom ( with Kendrick Lamar) is contending for rap/ sung performance. Lemonade, which Beyoncé unveiled as a one- hour HBO special in the spring, also is nominated for music film and urban contemporary album, and Formation’s visual is up for music video.
With her 2017 nominations, Beyoncé continues her run as the most- nominated female artist in Grammys history, with 62 nominations and 20 wins. If she wins eight of the nine categories in which
she’s nominated, she’ll pass Alison Krauss ( with 27 Grammys) as the winningest woman in the history of the awards.
Lemonade’s multigenre nominations are a broader indication that “artists today have greater creative freedom,” says Recording Academy presidentNeil Portnow. “They are willing to take chances and are feeling very empowered — and frankly, courageous — to follow their own muse, wherever that takes them.” Beyoncé, in particular, “is the poster child for that kind of diversification and for stepping out and doing whatever she feels comfortable to do. It’s great to see that fans are open- minded and want to embrace all of that.”
Drake, Kanye West and Rihanna tied for second- most nominations with eight, including many shared honors. Rihanna’s Work featuring Drake is up for record of the year and pop duo/ group performance, and Drake’s Pop Style with West and Jay Z is competing for rap performance. Rihanna also is nominated for album of the year as a featured artist on Drake’s Views, although her own Anti missed the top category.
With eight nominations this year and 68 total, West is the second- most- nominated male artist in Grammys history, surpassed only by Quincy Jones who has 79. Although the lightning- rod rapper’s
The Life of Pablo was passed over in top categories including album of the year, its controversial Famous and gospel- infused Ultralight Beam each was recognized for rap song and rap/ sung performance.
Chance the Rapper, nominated both as a songwriter and featured artist on Ultralight
Beam, benefited from the Recording Academy’s new amendment that allows streaming- only releases to be eligible for nominations. He received seven total, including rap album ( Coloring Book) and new artist. Chance is joined in the latter category by country singers Maren Morris and Kelsea Ballerini, dance duo The Chainsmokers and hip- hop upstart Anderson . Paak. Rounding out the top honors, Adele ( with five nominations) is vying for record and song of the year for comeback single Hello, while Danish pop group Lukas Graham’s 7 Years also earned nominations in both categories. Twenty One Pilots’ Stressed Out will contend for record of the year, and Justin Bieber ( Love Yourself) and Mike Posner ( I Took a Pill in Ibiza) both are up for song of the year. The Grammys are voted on by about 13,000 academy members made up of artists, songwriters, producers and engineers. More than 21,700 recordings were submitted for Grammys consideration this year. For 2017 awards, music must have been released between Oct. 1, 2015, and Sept. 30, 2016, to be eligible. The 59th annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast live from Los Angeles’ Staples Center on Feb. 12 ( CBS, 8 ET/ PT).