New acts rule in Grammy award nominations

NEW YORK — The Grammys are screaming “Cuz I Love You” to Lizzo: The breakthrough singerrapper scored a whopping eight nominations, including bids for the top four awards, making her the show’s topnominated act.

Lizzo picked up nominations for album of the year with her majorlabel debut, “Cuz I Love You”; song and record of the year with her anthemic No. 1 hit “Truth Hurts” and best new artist.

Like Lizzo, other new artists dominated with Grammy nominations on Wednesday: Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X earned six nominations apiece.

Eilish also scored nominations in the top four categories, making the 17yearold the youngest artist in the history of the Grammys to achieve the feat. Lil Nas X, 20, is up for three of the top four awards, including album and record of the year for “Old Town Road,” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus.

Lizzo’s “Cuz I Love You,” Eilish’s “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” and Lil Nas X’s “7” — an 8song EP — will compete for album of the year along with Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next,” Bon Iver’s “I,I,” Vampire Weekend’s “Father of the Bride,” H.E.R.’s “I Used to Know Her” and Lana Del Rey’s “Norman (Expletive) Rockwell!”

Nominees for record of the year include songs that hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this year, including “Old Town Road,” “Truth Hurts,”

Eilish’s “Bad Guy,” Grande’s “7 Rings” and Post Malone and Swae Lee’s “Sunflower.” H.E.R.’s “Hard Place,” Bon Iver’s “Hey, Ma” and Khalid’s “Talk,” which peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100, round out the eight nominees.

While Taylor Swift was shut out of album of the year with “Lover,” the album’s title track earned a nomination for song of the year, a songwriter’s award. It will compete with “Truth Hurts,” “Bad Guy,” “Hard Place,” Lady Gaga’s “Always Remember Us This Way” from “A Star Is Born,” Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved,” Lana Del Rey’s “Norman (Expletive) Rockwell” and Tanya Tucker’s “Bring My Flowers Now,” cowritten by Brandi Carlile.

Swift earned three nominations, while Beyonce — who was shut out of the top three categories — scored four. While her groundbreaking “Homecoming” documentary earned a nomination for best music film, its album version didn’t pick up any nominations. Instead her “The Lion King: The Gift” project — which features songs inspired by “The Lion King,” for which she voiced the character Nala — is up for best pop vocal album, competing with projects from Ed Sheeran, Swift, Eilish and Grande. Beyonce’s “Spirit,” from “The Lion King” which is being pushed for Oscar consideration, is up for best pop solo performance along with Swift’s “You Need to Calm Down,” “Truth Hurts,” “Bad Guy” and “7 Rings.”

Jason Kempin / TNS Rapper Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” has engendered countless debates over what country music is. He performs onstage during the CMA Music Festival on June 8 in Nashville, Tenn.