JAY-Z and Kendrick Lamar lead Grammy nominations, APRA AMCOS ambassador among Aussie connections

There were plenty of surprises and snubswhen the Grammy Awards nominees were announced this morning – and it looks like 2018 is set to be the most diverse year yet.

The shortlist of names across a massive 84 catagories were revealed, withJAY-Z leading the pack with eight nominations (including album of the year, record of the year, song of the year and best rap album), closely followed by fellow rapperKendrick Lamar with seven nods.SZA is the most nominated woman artistin 2018, clocking up five nominations in total.

All eyes will be on the Album of the Year category, which thanks to online voting,marks the first time since 1999 that a white male artist hasn’t been in the running for the award – leaving Ed Sheeran fans seeing red after he was snubbed.

In another show of diversity, Luis Fonsi is up for three Grammy nominations – one more nomination than Taylor Swift could manage this year, however this is due to her album Reputation being released after the Grammys cut-off date (September 30).

Other surprises include Katy Perry being nomination-free for the first time in her career, Keshais in the running for her first ever Grammy with an inclusion Best Pop Solo Performance and members of One Direction continue their Grammys curse, failing to receive nominations as solo artists – an especially big shock for Harry Styles no doubt.

In terms of an Australian connection,APRA AMCOS ambassador Sarah Aarons co-wroteZedd & Alessia Cara’s track ’Stay’, which is up forBest Pop Duo/Group Performance. Sia is also nominated for ’Never Give Up’ in theBest Song Written for Visual Media category, while Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds is listed among the Best Music Film nominees for ’One More Time With Feeling’.

Here’s the full list of nominees:

Album of the Year
Bruno Mars,24K Magic
Childish Gambino,Awaken, My Love!
Jay-Z,4:44
Kendrick Lamar,DAMN.
Lorde,Melodrama

Song of the Year
Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber, “Despacito”
Jay-Z, “4:44”
Julia Michaels, “Issues”
Logic ft. Alessia Cara and Khalid, “1-800-273-8255”
Bruno Mars, “That’s What I Like”

Record of the Year
Childish Gambino, “Redbone”
Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber, “Despacito”
Jay-Z, “The Story of O.J.”
Kendrick Lamar, “HUMBLE.”
Bruno Mars, “24K Magic”

Best New Artist
Alessia Cara
Khalid
Lil Uzi Vert
Julia Michaels
SZA

Best Pop Solo Performance
Kelly Clarkson, “Love So Soft”
Kesha, “Praying”
Lady Gaga, “Million Reasons”
P!nk, “What About Us”
Ed Sheeran, “Shape Of You”

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
The Chainsmokers & Coldplay, “Something Just Like This”
Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber, “Despacito”
Imagine Dragons, “Thunder”
Portugal. The Man, “Feel lt Still”
Zedd & Alessia Cara, “Stay”

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
Michael Bublé,Nobody But Me(Deluxe Version)
Bob Dylan,Triplicate
Seth MacFarlane,In Full Swing
Sarah McLachlan,Wonderland
Various Artists,Tony Bennett Celebrates 90

Best Pop Vocal Album
Coldplay,Kaleidoscope EP
Lana Del Rey,Lust For Life
Imagine Dragons,Evolve
Kesha,Rainbow
Lady Gaga,Joanne
Ed Sheeran,÷ (Divide)

Best Dance Recording
Bonobo Featuring Innov Gnawa, “Bambro Koyo Ganda”
Camelphat & Elderbrook, “Cola”
Gorillaz Featuring DRAM, “Andromeda”
LCD Soundsystem, “Tonite”
Odesza Featuring WYNNE & Mansionair, “Line Of Sight”

Best Dance/Electronic Album
Bonobo,Migration
Kraftwerk,3-D The Catalogue
Mura Masa,Mura Masa
Odesza,A Moment Apart
Sylvan Esso,What Now

Best Rock Performance
Leonard Cohen, “You Want It Darker”
Chris Cornell, “The Promise”
Foo Fighters, “Run”
Kaleo, “No Good”
Nothing More, “Go To War”

Best Metal Performance
August Burns Red, “Invisible Enemy”
Body Count, “Black Hoodie”
Code Orange, “Forever”
Mastodon, “Sultan’s Curse”
Meshuggah, “Clockworks”

Best Rock Song
James Hetfield & Lars Ulrich, songwriters (Metallica), “Atlas, Rise!”
JT Daly & Kristine Flaherty, songwriters (K.Flay), “Blood In The Cut”
Ben Anderson, Jonny Hawkins, Will Hoffman, Daniel Oliver, David Pramik & Mark Vollelunga, songwriters (Nothing More), “Go To War”
Foo Fighters, songwriters (Foo Fighters), “Run”
Zachary Baker, Brian Haner, Matthew Sanders, Jonathan Seward & Brooks Wackerman, songwriters (Avenged Sevenfold), “The Stage”

Best Rock Album
Mastodon,Emperor of Sand
Metallica,Hardwired… To Self-Destruct
Nothing More,The Stories We Tell Ourselves
Queens Of The Stone Age,Villains
The War On Drugs,A Deeper Understanding

Best Alternative Music Album
Arcade Fire,Everything Now
Gorillaz,Humanz
LCD Soundsystem,American Dream
Father John Misty,Pure Comedy
The National,Sleep Well Beast

Best R&B Performance
Daniel Caesar Featuring Kali Uchis, “Get You”
Kehlani, “Distraction”
Ledisi, “High”
Bruno Mars, “That’s What I Like”
SZA, “The Weekend”

Best Traditional R&B Performance
The Baylor Project, “Laugh And Move On”
Childish Gambino, “Redbone”
Anthony Hamilton Featuring The Hamiltones, “What I’m Feelin’”
Ledisi, “All The Way”
Mali Music, “Still”

Best R&B Song
PJ Morton, songwriter (PJ Morton), “First Began”
Alfredo Gonzalez, Olatunji Ige, Samuel David Jiminez, Christopher McClenney, Khalid Robinson & Joshua Scruggs, songwriters (Khalid), “Location
Donald Glover & Ludwig Goransson, songwriters (Childish Gambino), “Redbone”
Tyran Donaldson, Terrence Henderson, Greg Landfair Jr., Solana Rowe & Pharrell Williams, songwriters (SZA), “Supermodel”
Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip, songwriters (Bruno Mars), “That’s What I Like”

Best Urban Contemporary Album
6LACK,Free 6LACK
Childish Gambino,Awaken, My Love!
Khalid,American Teen
SZA,Ctrl
The Weeknd,Starboy

Best R&B Album
Daniel Caesar,Freudian
Ledisi,Let Love Rule
Bruno Mars,24K Magic
PJ Morton,Gumbo
Musiq Soulchild,Feel The Real

Best Rap Performance
Big Sean, “Bounce Back”
Cardi B, “Bodak Yellow”
Jay-Z, “4:44”
Kendrick Lamar, “HUMBLE.”
Migos Featuring Lil Uzi Vert, “Bad And Boujee”

Best Rap/Sung Performance
6LACK, “PRBLMS”
Goldlink Featuring Brent Faiyaz & Shy Glizzy, “Crew”
Jay-Z Featuring Beyoncé, “Family Feud”
Kendrick Lamar Featuring Rihanna, “LOYALTY.”
SZA Featuring Travis Scott, “Love Galore”

Best Rap Song
Dieuson Octave, Klenord Raphael, Shaftizm, Jordan Thorpe, Washpoppin & J White, songwriters (Cardi B), “Bodak Yellow”
Judah Bauer, Brian Burton, Hector Delgado, Jaime Meline, Antwan Patton, Michael Render, Russell Simins & Jon Spencer, songwriters (Danger Mouse Featuring Run The Jewels & Big Boi), “Chase Me”
Duckworth, Asheton Hogan & M. Williams II, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar), “HUMBLE.”
Gabouer & M. Evans, songwriters (Rapsody), “Sassy”
Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters (Jay-Z), “The Story Of O.J.”

Best Rap Album
Jay-Z,4:44
Kendrick Lamar,DAMN.
Migos,Culture
Rapsody,Laila’s Wisdom
Tyler, The Creator,Flower Boy

Best Country Solo Performance
Sam Hunt, “Body Like A Back Road”
Alison Krauss, “Losing You”
Miranda Lambert, “Tin Man”
Maren Morris, “I Could Use A Love Song”
Chris Stapleton, “Either Way”

Best Country Duo/Group Performance:
Brothers Osborne, “It Ain’t My Fault”
Zac Brown Band, “My Old Man”
Lady Antebellum, “You Look Good”
Little Big Town, “Better Man”
Midland, “Drinkin’ Problem”

Best Country Song
Taylor Swift, songwriter (Little Big Town), “Better Man”
Zach Crowell, Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally & Josh Osborne, songwriters (Sam Hunt), “Body Like A Back Road”
Mike Henderson & Chris Stapleton, songwriters (Chris Stapleton), “Broken Halos”
Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne & Mark Wystrach, songwriters (Midland), “Drinkin’ Problem”
Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert & Jon Randall, songwriters (Miranda Lambert), “Tin Man”

Best Country Album
Kenney Chesney,Cosmic Hallelujah
Lady Antebellum,Heart Break
Little Big Town,The Breaker
Thomas Rhett,Life Changes
Chris Stapleton,From A Room: Volume 1

Best Music Video
Beck, “Up All Night”
Jain, “Makeba”
Jay-Z, “The Story Of O.J.”
Kendrick Lamar, “HUMBLE.”

Best Music Film
(Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds) Andrew Dominik, video director; Dulcie Kellett & James Wilson, video producers, “One More Time With Feeling”
(The Grateful Dead) Amir Bar-Lev, video director; Alex Blavatnik, Ken Dornstein, Eric Eisner, Nick Koskoff & Justin Kreutzmann, video producers, “Long Strange Trip”
(Various Artists) Allen Hughes, video director; Sarah Anthony, Fritzi Horstman, Broderick Johnson, Gene Kirkwood, Andrew Kosove, Laura Lancaster, Michael Lombardo, Jerry Longarzo, Doug Pray & Steven Williams, video producers, “The Defiant Ones”
(Various Artists) Maro Chermayeff & Jeff Dupre, video directors; Joshua Bennett, Julia Marchesi, Sam Pollard, Sally Rosenthal, Amy Schewel & Warren Zanes, video producers, “Soundbreaking”

Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media
Various Artists,Baby Driver
Various Artists,Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Awesome Mix Vol. 2
Various Artists,Hidden Figures: The Album
Various Artists,La La Land
Various Artists,Moana: The Songs

Best Score/Soundtrack for Visual Media
Jóhann Jóhannsson, composer,Arrival
Hans Zimmer, composer,Dunkirk
Ramin Djawadi, composer,Game of Thrones: Season 7
Benjamin Wallfisch, Pharrell Williams & Hans Zimmer, composers,Hidden Figures
Justin Hurwitz, composer,La La Land

Best Song Written for Visual Media
Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, songwriters (Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone), “City Of Stars”
Lin-Manuel Miranda, songwriter (Auli’i Cravalho), “How Far I’ll Go”
Jack Antonoff, Sam Dew & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Zayn & Taylor Swift), “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)”
Sia Furler & Greg Kurstin, songwriters (Sia), “Never Give Up”
Common & Diane Warren, songwriters (Andra Day featuring Common), “Stand Up For Something”

Best Spoken Word Album
Neil deGrasse Tyson,Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
Bruce Springsteen,Born to Run
Shelly Peiken,Confessions of a Serial Songwriter
Bernie Sanders and Mark Ruffalo,Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In(Bernie Sanders)
Carrie Fisher,The Princess Diarist

Best Comedy Album
Dave Chappelle,The Age of Spin & Deep in the Heart of Texas
Jim Gaffigan,Cinco
Jerry Seinfeld,Jerry Before Seinfeld
Sarah Silverman,A Speck of Dust
Kevin Hart,What Now?

Best Musical Theater Album
Ian Eisendrath, August Eriksmoen, David Hein, David Lai & Irene Sankoff, producers; David Hein & Irene Sankoff, composers/lyricists (Original Broadway Cast Recording),Come From Away
Ben Platt, principal soloist; Alex Lacamoire, Stacey Mindich, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, producers; Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, composers/lyricists (Original Broadway Cast Recording),Dear Evan Hansen
Bette Midler, principal soloist; Steven Epstein, producer (Jerry Herman, composer & lyricist) (New Broadway Cast Recording),Hello, Dolly!