Grammys 2021: Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa lead nominations
Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa lead the nominations for the 2021 Grammy Awards.
Beyoncé leads the field, with nine nominations overall, including four for Black Parade, a protest anthem released at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests this summer.
Swift, with six nods, could win album of the year for a record-breaking third time with her lockdown album Folklore.
Dua Lipa also picked up six nominations for the disco-tinged Future Nostalgia.
But there was disappointment for R&B star The Weeknd, who failed to pick up any nominations, despite having the biggest-selling album of 2020 in the US.
The star, whose single Blinding Lights is also the longest-running top 10 hit in US chart history, had been expected to dominate the main categories.
There was better news for Billie Eilish, who picked up multiple nominations for her single Everything I Wanted, as well as her Bond theme No Time To Die.
The 18-year-old also made history earlier this year by becoming the first female artist to win all four of the Grammys main categories – best new artist, song of the year, record of the year and best album.
These are the first nominations to be announced since the Recording Academy updated its award categories and rules earlier this year.
Amongst the changes, it dropped the term “urban” as a way of describing music of black origin, to ensure the awards were “inclusive and reflect[ed] the current state of the music industry”.
The rules on voting were also tightened up following allegations of irregularities by the Academy’s former president, Deborah Dugan.
The latest winners will be announced at the 63rd Grammy Awards ceremony on 31 January, 2021. Comedian Trevor Noah will host the show, the Recording Academy announced.
“Despite the fact that I am extremely disappointed that the Grammys have refused to have me sing or be nominated for best pop album, I am thrilled to be hosting this auspicious event,” said The Daily Show presenter, who was previously up for best comedy album at the 2020 ceremony.
“I think as a one-time Grammy nominee, I am the best person to provide a shoulder to all the amazing artists who do not win on the night because I too know the pain of not winning the award.
“This is a metaphorical shoulder,” he added. “I’m not trying to catch Corona.”