Grammys spread the love with 6 top nominees
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — The Grammy Awards celebrated the diversity of music as six different artistes tied for lead nominee — Kanye West, Jay-Z, Frank Ocean, Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, Mumford & Sons and fun.
Auerbach received five nominations as a member of the Keys and also is up for producer of the year, earning a spot with the others at the top of the list as the Grammy’s primetime television special came to his hometown Wednesday night.
“We’re speechless,” Auerbach said in a statement to The Associated Press from Germany, where he’s on tour with drummer Patrick Carney.
The rockers little resemble any of the other acts at the top of the list. The nominations for Jay-Z and West, two of hip-hop’s most important figures, is a familiar refrain. Each has routinely been at or near the top of the nominations list for the last several years.
Indie pop band fun. rode the success of its anthemic hit We Are Young featuring Janelle Monae, earning nods for best new artist, song and record for We Are Young and album of the year for Some Nights. The band’s producer Jeff Bhasker is up for four nominations.
“When you call your band fun. with a period at the end of the sentence, you set a very high standard for yourself and for fun itself,” Taylor Swift, the concert’s co-host, said in introducing them. “Fortunately this band from New York has lived up to the name in the best possible way.”
R&B singer Ocean, whose mother was in attendance, made a bold social statement earlier this year when he noted he had a same-sex relationship in the liner notes of his new album channel ORANGE, and The Recording Academy rewarded him with the major nominations best new artist, record for Thinkin Bout You and album of the year.
And British folk-rock band Mumford & Sons, which made an auspicious debut in front of an international audience during the 2011 Grammys, is up for album of the year for Babel, one of 2012’s best-selling releases.
Miguel, who helped Ocean shake up the R&B world this year, and jazz great Chick Corea join the Keys with five nominations apiece. Nas and recording engineer Bob Ludwig join Bhasker at four apiece.
There were no major snubs. Most of 2012’s inescapable hits are represented in some way — Gotye’s Somebody That I Used To Know is up for record of the year and Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe garnered a song of the year nod. Drake, Rihanna and Nashville residents Swift, Kelly Clarkson, Jack White and best new artist nominee Hunter Hayes were among 16 nominees with three nods.
In many ways the nominations reflect a singles-driven year when no album rose to the level of acclaim as Adele’s 21 or West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, which dominated the Grammys last February.
The 55th annual Grammy Awards will be held February 10 in Los Angeles. Trophies will be handed out in 81 categories.
The 5-year-old nominations show was held outside Los Angeles for the first time and showcased Music City for its growing role in the music industry. The Bridgestone Arena marked the largest venue the show has been held in and it may have been a dress rehearsal for a chance to host the main awards show sometime in the future.