Beyoncé passes Jay-Z in all-time Grammy nominations
Beyoncé has made history by becoming the most-nominated artist of all time at the Grammy Awards, overtaking her husband Jay-Z.
The couple had been tied on 88 nominations each – but Beyoncé has now pulled ahead thanks to recognition for her latest album, Cowboy Carter.
She leads this year’s Grammys race with 11 nominations, including best album, best country album, and song of the year for Texas Hold ‘Em.
The other leading nominees, with seven each, are Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone and Charli XCX.
The Beatles also picked up a nomination for record of the year for Now And Then, an unfinished John Lennon track that was completed last year with the help of AI.
The recognition comes 60 years after the Fab Four were nominated for best new artist, which they went on to win.
Beyoncé is already the Recording Academy’s most-honoured artist, with 32 wins as a solo artist and a further three as part of Destiny’s Child.
However, she has never won the coveted album of the year trophy, despite four nominations in the category.
Earlier this year, Jay-Z appeared to scold Grammy voters for Beyonce’s lack of recognition in the top category as he accepted a lifetime achievement prize.
“I don’t want to embarrass this young lady,” he told the audience. “But she has more Grammys than everyone and never won album of the year.
“So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work. Think about that. The most Grammys; never won album of the year. That doesn’t work.”
Beyonce’s 11 nominations are the most ever received by a female artist in a single year.
This year, the star’s main competition will come from Taylor Swift, who has won album of the year four times so far, more than anyone else.
Her latest release, The Tortured Poets Department, is a protracted and messy break-up album recorded in the middle of an exhausting world tour.
After spending 15 weeks at number one in the US earlier this year, it earns Swift her seventh nomination for album of the year.
Other contenders for the main prize include Charli XCX, for her volatile pop masterclass Brat; and Grammys darling Billie Eilish for her sophisticated and experimental third album, Hit Me Hard And Soft.
More surprising was the inclusion of former Outkast rapper André 3000, whose instrumental flute album New Blue Sun edged out presumed nominees like Ariana Grande and Post Malone.
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Breakout pop stars Sabrina Carpenter and Chapell Roan have snagged nominations in all of the “big four” categories – album, song and record of the year, and best new artist.
Carpenter is recognised for her flirtatious summer anthem Espresso in the record of the year category – which recognises the overall production of a song, from vocal performance to instrumentation.
And she has been shortlisted for the country-adjacent ballad Please Please Please in the song of the year category, which is awarded for the craft of songwriting.
Roan entered her breakout single Good Luck, Babe! in both categories, after a meteoric rise to fame over the past 12 months.
The Missouri-born singer is the favourite to win best new artist, thanks to her dazzling and flamboyant debut, The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess – which is also up for album of the year.
Elsewhere, British star Raye picked up citations for songwriter of the year and best new artist.
The Rolling Stones were also nominated for best rock album for Hackney Diamonds, their first album of original material since 2016.
And Lamar proved once again that he had prevailed in his long-running feud with Drake.
The Compton rapper’s diss track Not Like Us picked up five nominations, including best rap song and song of the year.
Meanwhile former US President Jimmy Carter became the oldest-ever Grammy nominee.
At the age of 100, he is shortlisted for the best audio book, thanks to Last Sundays In Plains, a collection of the prayers and parables he delivered during a decades-long tenure as a Sunday School teacher at his home church.
While the main categories were dominated by cutting-edge female pop acts, there were some notable absences from the list.
Katy Perry, whose latest album 143 flopped, failed to pick up any nominations. Dua Lipa, who actually opened the 2024 Grammy ceremony, was likewise snubbed for her Radical Optimism album.
Dolly Parton’s first ever rock album, Rock Star, also missed out, while Megan Thee Stallion, who won best new artist in 2021, was unable to persuade voters to champion her third album, Megan.
Country star Zach Bryan, who won a Grammy earlier this year, was also missing after choosing not to submit his work because “he does not feel comfortable with awards shows making music competitive”.
And there was no recognition for K-Pop, despite the genre dominating gobal charts last year.
‘No bias’
A total of 20,309 eligible entries were submitted for the Grammys’ 94 categories this year, and voters will start sifting through the shortlists before casting their ballots in January.
This year, the Recording Academy, which organises the awards, added 2,000 new members – bringing the total number of voters to 13,000.
Almost two-thirds of the panel are newcomers since 2018, as part of a drive to improve the diversity and relevance of the Academy, which has faced accusations of being out of touch, especially when it comes to music of black origin.
Grammys CEO Harvey Mason Jr warned voters in July that there is “no place in our organisation for… bias, grudge-holding, or careless voting”.
The results of their votes will be revealed at a star-studded ceremony in Los Angeles on 2 February 2025.
