Kanye West tops the numbers for most Grammy nominations this year with a whopping seven. It comes as a surprise to many that he passed both Adele and Lady Gaga in numbers, but a hip-hop star leading the way is not new… Don’t forget that last year’s leader of the pack was Eminem. Kanyeis up in only one major category, though (Song of the Year), where he is joined with Adele, Bruno Mars, Mumford & Sons,and Bon Iver.
The six nomination crew includes Adele, Bruno Mars, and Foo Fighters, while Lil Wayne and Skrillexcome close with five. Lady Gaga comes in with just three noms, but one of them includes Album of the Year for Born This Way, where she’s up against Adele (21), Foo Fighters (Wasting Light), Bruno Mars (Doo-Wops & Hooligans), and Rihanna (Loud).
With so many different artists and so much variation in taste, there is always bound to be a perceived snub of some sort. We’re seeing just a little bit of Katy Perry (despite cranking out 5 Number One singles from her Teenage Dream album), Drake, and Foster the People. No Britney in the Dance Recording category (which she once won for “Toxic”), despite having one of the year’s biggest radio hits with “Until the World Ends” and three Top Ten hits off one album for the first time in her career history. No Beyoncé for R&B album, despite a high rating for her album 4. Gaga pulled out original hits left and right and only has three nominations. Some even think Kanye should have been up for even more categories, having both his solo album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy as well as the mega collaboration with Jay-Z, Watch the Throne, to choose from.
Another interesting category this year is Best New Artist — This one is bound to be competitive, with an extremely eclectic mix; throw in the adored Nicki Minaj as a candidate and it gets even more exciting. This category’s noms also include some country with The Band Perry, dub step electro withSkrillex, indie folk with Bon Iver, and R&B/rap with J. Cole. Quite a talented and diverse group! Can’t wait to see what happens next.
The 54th annual Grammy Awards air February 12, 2012, on CBS.