Adele and Bruno Mars are both rolling in major Grammy nominations, with each lined up to compete for album, record and song of the year at the Feb. 12 bash. Both crooners earned six nominations, which were announced Wednesday (Nov. 30) during a primetime concert special featuring a pair of performances by Lady Gaga.
Kanye West actually leads the pack with seven total nominations, namely for the song "All of the Lights," but his album "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" was omitted from best album contention and "Lights" was left off the coveted Record of the Year list.
Foo Fighters also racked up six nominations, most notably for Album of the Year for "Wasting Light." Also up for top album honors, aside from Adele's "21" and Mars' "Doo-Wops & Hooligans," is Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" and Rihanna's "Loud."
Bon Iver, the indie-folk troubadour who lent his vocals to much of West's "Twisted Fantasy," was an early surprise in the hour-long show with his nomination for Record of the Year for "Holocene." The track was nominated moments later for Song of the Year, with Iver also finding himself up for Best New Artist against fellow West collaborator Nicki Minaj, Skrillex, J. Cole and The Band Perry.
Though rock represented well in the nominations, the night's performances were heavy on hip-hop and country, with the genres colliding when Jason Aldean and Ludacris took the stage. The duo performed "Dirt Road Anthem" complete with trademark cowboy hat and black sunglasses, respectively.
This year's concert was also an international affair, cutting to London's O2 Arena for Rihanna's performance of "We Found Love" -- a rave-inspired track that draws on production from the UK's own Calvin Harris. Whatever her location, the Barbados-born singer showed her true colors with a red, white and blue striped outfit.
The Band Perry offered a performance for a different sort of dance floor, with the nominated country trio playing "Independence" and a cover of Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" back in the Nokia Theatre. Then it was back to rap: hip-hop legend Grandmaster Flash led an all-star performance of the iconic track "The Message," which featured verses from Common, Lupe Fiasco, LL Cool J, Melle Mel and Scorpio. It felt like the only MC missing among the all-male ensemble was Nicki Minaj, who was spotted dancing in the audience.
Later, Usher, Valerie Simpson and Mike Stoller performed a heartfelt tribute to late songwriters Nick Ashford and Jerry Leiber, the songwriters responsible for hits including "You're All I Need To Get By" and "Stand by Me," respectively. Usher offered a soulful take on both, duetting with Simpson on the former and getting piano backing from the two songwriters on the second song.
The night of collaborations concluded with Lady Gaga (showcasing her country chops) and Sugarland taking on Mother Monster's "You and I." Gaga, in a black dress and pounding her piano, looked restrained by her standards until she turned to the cameras, revealing exaggerated black eye makeup as well suited to a Batman villain or "Black Swan" as the Nokia Theatre. Gaga earned a mere three nominations on Wednesday night, but by the time the song faded out, there was no doubting who was queen of the stage.
The 54th Grammys will be held Feb. 12 in Los Angeles on CBS. The academy has trimmed down the amount of categories from 109 to 78 this year. On the chopping block, Zydeco and Cajun music, to name a few. Gender-specific awards in vocal categories were also done away with in favor of single competitions for pop, R&B and country.
MAJOR NOMINEES LIST
Album Of The Year:
"21" -- Adele
"Wasting Light" -- Foo Fighters
"Born This Way" -- Lady Gaga
"Doo-Wops & Hooligans" -- Bruno Mars
"Loud" -- Rihanna
Record Of The Year:
"Rolling In The Deep" -- Adele
"Holocene" -- Bon Iver
"Grenade" -- Bruno Mars
"The Cave" -- Mumford & Sons
"Firework" -- Katy Perry
Song Of The Year:
"All Of The Lights" -- Jeff Bhasker, Malik Jones, Warren Trotter & Kanye West, songwriters
(Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie)
"The Cave" -- Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, Marcus Mumford & Country Winston, songwriters (Mumford & Sons)
"Grenade" -- Brody Brown, Claude Kelly, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Bruno Mars & Andrew Wyatt,
songwriters (Bruno Mars)
"Holocene" -- Justin Vernon, songwriter (Bon Iver)
"Rolling In The Deep" -- Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth, songwriters (Adele)
Kanye West actually leads the pack with seven total nominations, namely for the song "All of the Lights," but his album "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" was omitted from best album contention and "Lights" was left off the coveted Record of the Year list.
Foo Fighters also racked up six nominations, most notably for Album of the Year for "Wasting Light." Also up for top album honors, aside from Adele's "21" and Mars' "Doo-Wops & Hooligans," is Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" and Rihanna's "Loud."
Bon Iver, the indie-folk troubadour who lent his vocals to much of West's "Twisted Fantasy," was an early surprise in the hour-long show with his nomination for Record of the Year for "Holocene." The track was nominated moments later for Song of the Year, with Iver also finding himself up for Best New Artist against fellow West collaborator Nicki Minaj, Skrillex, J. Cole and The Band Perry.
Though rock represented well in the nominations, the night's performances were heavy on hip-hop and country, with the genres colliding when Jason Aldean and Ludacris took the stage. The duo performed "Dirt Road Anthem" complete with trademark cowboy hat and black sunglasses, respectively.
This year's concert was also an international affair, cutting to London's O2 Arena for Rihanna's performance of "We Found Love" -- a rave-inspired track that draws on production from the UK's own Calvin Harris. Whatever her location, the Barbados-born singer showed her true colors with a red, white and blue striped outfit.
The Band Perry offered a performance for a different sort of dance floor, with the nominated country trio playing "Independence" and a cover of Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" back in the Nokia Theatre. Then it was back to rap: hip-hop legend Grandmaster Flash led an all-star performance of the iconic track "The Message," which featured verses from Common, Lupe Fiasco, LL Cool J, Melle Mel and Scorpio. It felt like the only MC missing among the all-male ensemble was Nicki Minaj, who was spotted dancing in the audience.
Later, Usher, Valerie Simpson and Mike Stoller performed a heartfelt tribute to late songwriters Nick Ashford and Jerry Leiber, the songwriters responsible for hits including "You're All I Need To Get By" and "Stand by Me," respectively. Usher offered a soulful take on both, duetting with Simpson on the former and getting piano backing from the two songwriters on the second song.
The night of collaborations concluded with Lady Gaga (showcasing her country chops) and Sugarland taking on Mother Monster's "You and I." Gaga, in a black dress and pounding her piano, looked restrained by her standards until she turned to the cameras, revealing exaggerated black eye makeup as well suited to a Batman villain or "Black Swan" as the Nokia Theatre. Gaga earned a mere three nominations on Wednesday night, but by the time the song faded out, there was no doubting who was queen of the stage.
The 54th Grammys will be held Feb. 12 in Los Angeles on CBS. The academy has trimmed down the amount of categories from 109 to 78 this year. On the chopping block, Zydeco and Cajun music, to name a few. Gender-specific awards in vocal categories were also done away with in favor of single competitions for pop, R&B and country.
MAJOR NOMINEES LIST
Album Of The Year:
"21" -- Adele
"Wasting Light" -- Foo Fighters
"Born This Way" -- Lady Gaga
"Doo-Wops & Hooligans" -- Bruno Mars
"Loud" -- Rihanna
Record Of The Year:
"Rolling In The Deep" -- Adele
"Holocene" -- Bon Iver
"Grenade" -- Bruno Mars
"The Cave" -- Mumford & Sons
"Firework" -- Katy Perry
Song Of The Year:
"All Of The Lights" -- Jeff Bhasker, Malik Jones, Warren Trotter & Kanye West, songwriters
(Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie)
"The Cave" -- Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, Marcus Mumford & Country Winston, songwriters (Mumford & Sons)
"Grenade" -- Brody Brown, Claude Kelly, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Bruno Mars & Andrew Wyatt,
songwriters (Bruno Mars)
"Holocene" -- Justin Vernon, songwriter (Bon Iver)
"Rolling In The Deep" -- Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth, songwriters (Adele)
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