JAY-Z and Kendrick Lamar Lead Grammy Nominees for 2018

Every year, the Grammys cause controversy, often due to the catergorization of certain artists, people refusing to submit their work (this year it's Drake), and an overarching sense that the Recording Academy is more than a little prejudiced (see: Adele winning awards that even she thought Beyoncé should have won.) This year, however, the nominations seem to at least reflect popular opinion slightly more than usual.

JAY-Z and Kendrick Lamar lead the way with eight and seven nominations each, including nods for both in the Album of the Year category (rounded out by Lorde, Childish Gambino, and Bruno Mars). Musicians like SZA, Khalid, and Lil Uzi Vert also got a slice of the pie in the Best New Artist category.

Cardi B continues to be the breakout success story of the year, garnering a Best Rap Performance nomination for "Bodak Yellow," which is also nominated for Best Rap Song, while one-time Grammy heavyweight Ed Sheeran gets only two nods for 2018. It's an interesting year, and though the Grammys could never properly reflect the state of the music industry (for starters, critically acclaimed artists like Future and St. Vincent were snubbed), this batch of nominations at least feels like a small improvement when it comes to recognizing what people have listened to. As always, however, it remains to be seen whether the winners will ultimately be in line with that on January 28. See the nominations below:

Record of the Year:
“Redbone” — Childish Gambino
“Despacito” — Luis Fonsi & 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 & Marty James Garton, songwriters (Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber)
“4:44” — Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters (Jay-Z)
“Issues” — Benny Blanco, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Julia Michaels & Justin Drew Tranter, songwriters (Julia Michaels)
“1-800-273-8255” — Alessia Caracciolo, Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, Arjun Ivatury & Khalid Robinson, songwriters (Logic Featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid)
“That’s What I Like” — Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip, songwriters (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” — P!nk
“Shape Of You” — Ed Sheeran

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:
“Something Just Like This” — The Chainsmokers & Coldplay
“Despacito” — Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber
“Thunder” — Imagine Dragons
“Feel It Still” — Portugal. The Man
“Stay” — Zedd & Alessia Cara

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album:
Nobody But Me (Deluxe Version) — Michael Bublé
Triplicate — Bob Dylan
In Full Swing — Seth MacFarlane
Wonderland — Sarah McLachlan
Tony Bennett Celebrates 90 — (Various Artists) Dae Bennett, Producer

Best Pop Vocal Album:
Kaleidoscope EP — Coldplay
Lust For Life — Lana Del Rey
Evolve — Imagine Dragons
Rainbow — Kesha
Joanne — Lady Gaga
÷ (Divide) — Ed Sheeran

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 Metal Performance:
“Invisible Enemy” — August Burns Red
“Black Hoodie” — Body Count
“Forever” — Code Orange
“Sultan’s Curse” — Mastodon
“Clockworks” — Meshuggah

Best Rock Song:
“Atlas, Rise!” — James Hetfield & Lars Ulrich, songwriters (Metallica)
“Blood In The Cut” — JT Daly & Kristine Flaherty, songwriters (K.Flay)
“Go To War” — Ben Anderson, Jonny Hawkins, Will Hoffman, Daniel Oliver, David Pramik & Mark Vollelunga, songwriters (Nothing More)
“Run” — Foo Fighters, songwriters (Foo Fighters)
“The Stage” — Zachary Baker, Brian Haner, Matthew Sanders, Jonathan Seward & Brooks Wackerman, songwriters (Avenged Sevenfold)

Best Rock Album:
Emperor Of Sand — Mastodon
Hardwired…To Self-Destruct — Metallica
The Stories We Tell Ourselves — Nothing More
Villains — Queens Of The Stone Age
A Deeper Understanding — The War On Drugs

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 R&B Performance:
“Get You” — Daniel Caesar Featuring Kali Uchis
“Distraction” — Kehlani
“High” — Ledisi
“That’s What I Like” — Bruno Mars
“The Weekend” — SZA

Best Traditional R&B Performance:
“Laugh And Move On” — The Baylor Project
“Redbone” — Childish Gambino
“What I’m Feelin'” — Anthony Hamilton Featuring The Hamiltones
“All The Way” — Ledisi
“Still” — Mali Music

Best R&B Song:
“First Began” — PJ Morton, songwriter (PJ Morton)
“Location” — Alfredo Gonzalez, Olatunji Ige, Samuel David Jiminez, Christopher McClenney, Khalid Robinson & Joshua Scruggs, songwriters (Khalid)
“Redbone” — Donald Glover & Ludwig Goransson, songwriters (Childish Gambino) “Supermodel” — Tyran Donaldson, Terrence Henderson, Greg Landfair Jr., Solana Rowe & Pharrell Williams, songwriters (SZA)
“That’s What I Like” — Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip, songwriters (Bruno Mars)

Best Urban Contemporary Album:
Free 6LACK — 6LACK
Awaken, My Love! — Childish Gambino
American Teen — Khalid
Ctrl — SZA
Starboy — The Weeknd

Best R&B Album
Freudian — Daniel Caesar
Let Love Rule — Ledisi
24K Magic — Bruno Mars
Gumbo — PJ Morton
Feel The Real — Musiq Soulchild

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/Sung Performance:
“PRBLMS” — 6LACK
“Crew” — Goldlink Featuring Brent Faiyaz & Shy Glizzy
“Family Feud” — JAY-Z Featuring Beyoncé
“LOYALTY.” — Kendrick Lamar Featuring Rihanna
“Love Galore” — SZA Featuring Travis Scott

Best Rap Song:
“Bodak Yellow” — Dieuson Octave, Klenord Raphael, Shaftizm, Jordan Thorpe, Washpoppin & J White, songwriters (Cardi B)
“Chase Me” — Judah Bauer, Brian Burton, Hector Delgado, Jaime Meline, Antwan Patton, Michael Render, Russell Simins & Jon Spencer, songwriters (Danger Mouse Featuring Run The Jewels & Big Boi)
“HUMBLE.” — Duckworth, Asheton Hogan & M. Williams II, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar) “Sassy” — Gabouer & M. Evans, songwriters (Rapsody)
“The Story Of O.J.” — Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters (JAY-Z)

Best Rap Album:
4:44 — Jay-Z
DAMN. — Kendrick Lamar
Culture — Migos
Laila’s Wisdom — Rapsody
Flower Boy — Tyler, The Creator

Best Dance Recording:
“Bambro Koyo Ganda” — Bonobo Featuring Innov Gnawa
“Cola” — Camelphat & Elderbrook
“Andromeda” — Gorillaz Featuring DRAM
“Tonite” — LCD Soundsystem
“Line Of Sight” — Odesza Featuring WYNNE & Mansionair

Best Dance/Electronic Album:
Migration — Bonobo
3-D The Catalogue — Kraftwerk
Mura Masa — Mura Masa
A Moment Apart — Odesza
What Now — Sylvan Esso

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 Duo/Group Performance:
“It Ain’t My Fault” — Brothers Osborne
“My Old Man” — Zac Brown Band
“You Look Good” — Lady Antebellum
“Better Man” — Little Big Town
“Drinkin’ Problem” — Midland

Best Country Song:
“Better Man” — Taylor Swift, songwriter (Little Big Town)
“Body Like A Back Road” — Zach Crowell, Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally & Josh Osborne, songwriters (Sam Hunt)
“Broken Halos” — Mike Henderson & Chris Stapleton, songwriters (Chris Stapleton)
“Drinkin’ Problem” — Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne & Mark Wystrach, songwriters (Midland)
“Tin Man” — Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert & Jon Randall, songwriters (Miranda Lambert)

Best Country Album:
Cosmic Hallelujah — Kenny Chesney
Heart Break — Lady Antebellum
The Breaker — Little Big Town
Life Changes — Thomas Rhett
From A Room: Volume 1 — Chris Stapleton

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