Who's Nominated For Album Of The Year? | 60th GRAMMYs
The nominations are in for the coveted honor of Album Of The Year at the 60th GRAMMY Awards, with a broad range of sounds comprising pop, hip-hop, and a dash of soul.
Modern pop's range is represented from the feel-good grooves of Bruno Mars' 24K Magic, to the moody melodies of Lorde's Melodrama, while hip-hop's sustained dominance is clear with Jay-Z's 4:44 and Kendrick Lamar's DAMN. Rounding out the nominees is Childish Gambino's (Donald Glover) soulful R&B odyssey "Awaken, My Love!"
Here's a closer look at this year's Album Of The Year nominees:
Awaken, My Love!, Childish Gambino
Shifting from the hip-hop heavy sounds of his critically-acclaimed 2013 sophomore album, Because The Internet, the actor-turned-rapper blew the doors off of convention with his cosmic soul-funk-soul experiment Awaken My Love! His musical pivot was both refreshing and magnetic, yielding five GRAMMY Award nominations this year, including Record Of The Year for the album's centerpiece single, "Redbone."
Front-and-center on Awaken My Love! is Glover's impressive falsetto, harkening back to the unbounded passion of Prince. Ludwig Göransson's flamboyant production and inventive flourishes unify the album as something comfortingly familiar, yet altogether fresh.
“How I think is piecemeal and it is a patchwork quilt," says Glover, whose myriad of electrifying performances truly bring the album to life. "And now I’m better at making those quilts."
4:44, Jay-Z
On his 13th studio album, the rapper and international business mogul has landed a knockout blow. Jay-Z tops this year's award's tally with a staggering eight GRAMMY nominations, including Record Of The Year for "The Story Of O.J.," and Best Rap Album.
The album shows the legend at his most commanding, and is adorned by guest appearances from the likes of Frank Ocean, Damien Marley, James Fauntleroy, and The Dream.
Also a family gathering of sorts, the album includes vocal appearances by Jay's mother, Gloria Carter, as well as Blue Ivy Carter and, of course, GRAMMY-winning wife, Beyoncé. The couple also received a nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for their work on 4:44's "Family Feud."
This Album Of The Year nomination is Jay-Z's first, though he's been previously included as a featured artist on Album Of The Year-nominated projects by Lil Wayne, Kendrick Lamar, and Beyoncé.
DAMN., Kendrick Lamar
With two of his albums, good kid, m.A.A.d. city and To Pimp A Butterfly, previously receiving nominations for Album Of The Year, Kendrick Lamar is surely hoping the third time's a charm.
On DAMN., Lamar further solidifies his role as the leader of hip-hop's next generation, and the GRAMMY-winner that Rolling Stone calls "the greatest rapper alive" found the stiffest competition to be his own ego. On the album's first single and biggest hit, "HUMBLE.," Lamar set the tone for his most personal work to date.
"When you look at the song titles on this album, these are all my emotions and all my self-expressions of who I am," says Lamar. "That's why I did a song like ("HUMBLE."), where I just don't give a f***, or I'm telling the listener, 'You can't f*** with me.' But ultimately, I'm looking in the mirror."
Lamar's seven GRAMMY nominations this year for DAMN. include Album Of The Year and Record Of The Year, as well as Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video, all for "HUMBLE."
Melodrama, Lorde
Continuing her exploration of pop's shadowy back alleys, Lorde delivered a striking sophomore album full of compelling textures and moody melodic hooks.
The nomination marks Lorde's first for Album Of The Year, and proves her 2013 smash single "Royals" – which won the GRAMMY Awards for Song Of The Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 56th GRAMMY Awards – was only the beginning.
Co-produced by GRAMMY-winner Jack Antonoff, Melodrama is an album rich with honesty and self-awareness, or as Pitchfork describes it, "a masterful study of being a young woman, a sleek and humid pop record full of grief and hedonism, crafted with the utmost care and wisdom."
24K Magic, Bruno Mars
Few hit-makers in music's history can match Bruno Mars' ability to make us move. The "Uptown Funk" singer/songwriter had his work cut out for him on 24K Magic, following an impressive string of hits that have earned him 21 GRAMMY nominations and five wins since 2010.
Mars' affinity for a good time is on full display on 24K Magic. As he says in "Chunky": "If you ain't here to party take your a** back home." The album saunters and struts with effortless mastery of the funk-heavy pop sound for which he's become known. The infectious title track "24K Magic" also topped Billboard's Rhythmic Songs charts, becoming Mars' seventh to hit No. 1.
This is Mars' second nomination for Album Of The Year, and one of his six for this year; which include Record Of The Year and Best R&B Album for 24K Magic; Song Of The Year, Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song for "That's What I Like."
60th GRAMMY Awards: Full Nominations List
The 60th GRAMMY Awards will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York on Jan. 28, 2018, airing live on CBS from 7:30–11 p.m. ET/4:30–8 p.m. PT.
