A Recap: 2014 Grammy Nominated Artists
Jay Z easily led Grammy Award nominations announced Friday with nine, but rappers Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Kendrick Lamar were among a group of new stars who took many of the major nominations.
Macklemore and Lewis’ gay marriage anthem “Same Love” was among song of the year nominees and the Seattle rap crew joined Los Angeles rapper Lamar with seven nominations apiece, including best album and best new artist of the year. Pharrell Williams had four major nominations among his seven and Justin Timberlake also had seven.
Macklemore and Lewis dominated a nominations TV special from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles that also included performances by nominees Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Lorde and Robin Thicke.
Macklemore and Lewis opened the show with a colorful, high-energy version of their hit “Thrift Shop,” featuring Wanz, and immediately picked up a song of the year nomination for “Same Love,” featuring Mary Lambert.
Recording Academy favorites Timberlake and Jay Z teamed up for two nominations apiece, but they only had one major nomination between them this year and that came for Jay Z’s participation on Lamar’s album of the year nominee “good kid, m.A.A.d city” instead of his own “Magna Carta … Holy Grail.”
Williams, who seemed to be everywhere in 2013, is up for producer of the year and faces himself in three categories, including record of the year for “Get Lucky” with Daft Punk and “Blurred Lines” with Robin Thicke, and album of the year entries “Random Access Memories” by Daft Punk and Lamar’s “good kid.”
Drake and sound engineer Bob Ludwig are up for five awards apiece at the Jan. 26 Grammy ceremony in Los Angeles.
Joining Lamar, Macklemore and Lewis, and Daft Punk in the album of the year category were Sara Bareilles’ “The Blessed Unrest” — perhaps the biggest surprise among major category nominees — and Taylor Swift’s “Red.”
Swift is among five acts with four nominations apiece along with Daft Punk, Bruno Mars, Lorde and Kacey Musgraves. British musicians James Blake and Ed Sheeran round out the best new artist category with Musgraves, Lamar and Macklemore and Lewis.
Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive,” Lorde’s “Royals” and Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven” join “Get Lucky” and “Blurred Lines” for record of the year. The Lorde and Mars entries also are up for song of the year with Pink’s “Just Give Me a Reason,” Katy Perry’s “Roar” and “Same Love.”
Timberlake picked up a handful of nominations in pop categories, including pop vocal album of the year for “The 20/20 Experience.” Other nominees in that category include Lana Del Rey’s “Paradise,” Lorde’s “Pure Heroine,” Mars’ “Unorthodox Jukebox” and Thicke’s “Blurred Lines.”
“The Heist,” “good kid” and “Magna Carta” are also on the best rap album list with Drake’s “Nothing Was the Same” and Kanye West’s “Yeezus.” West also got a nomination for best rap song for “New Slaves.”
The major nominations were an acknowledgement of 2013’s top hit-makers. “Get Lucky,” “Blurred Lines” and “Royals” took turns ruling the pop radio airwaves this year. Macklemore and Lewis had two hits — “Same Love” and “Thrift Shop” — that led to nominations.