Names and faces
The year’s brightest newcomer, Sam Smith; the most-nominated woman in Grammy history, Beyonce; and mega-Pharrell led the Grammy Award nominations, with six nominations apiece. Smith’s In the Lonely Hour, Beyonce’s surprise self-titled release and Pharrell’s GIRL will compete for the coveted album of the year, along with Beck’s Morning Phase and Ed Sheeran’s X, the most streamed album on Spotify this year. The Recording Academy announced its nominees for the 57th annual show throughout the day Friday. Pharrell earned three nominations for the top prize alone, with his production work on Beyonce and Sheeran’s albums, which means he has a chance to walk away with at most four awards when the Grammys are presented Feb. 8. Smith is up for honors such as best new artist and song and record of the year for his hit “Stay With Me.” He performed at the Staples Center in Los Angeles after the nominations, calling it “unbelievable.” “To see my name next to Beyonce’s is just very weird for me,” Smith said. For song and record of the year, Smith’s “Stay With Me” will battle Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off,” Sia’s “Chandelier” and Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass,” the viral hit that launched the songwriter’s own singing career.
A woman who said Friday that Bill Cosby had drugged her and sexually assaulted her in 1979 also accused another famous man of attempted sexual assault: sportscaster Marv Albert, who pleaded guilty to assault and battery after her surprise testimony against him in 1997. P.J. Masten, 64, of Lyndhurst, N.J., said in an interview with CNN that she woke up naked and bruised in a bed with Cosby in Chicago after he gave her an alcoholic drink and that she believes she was raped. She also discussed her allegations against Cosby in an interview with The Associated Press. Masten said she knew Cosby from working at Playboy clubs. She said she was instructed at the time not to report the assault, but she decided last week to step forward with her allegations after other women sued Cosby. At least 20 women have accused Cosby of sexual assault. Cosby has never been charged in any of the allegations. Masten was a surprise witness against Albert in his 1997 trial, testifying that he bit her and tried to force her to perform oral sex in a Dallas hotel room in 1994. Albert maintained that the accusations from Mastenwere a “complete fabrication.”