Grammy nominations 2016: Kendrick Lamar leads with 11 nominations, with Taylor Swift and the Weeknd each have seven.

Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift, and the Weeknd Lead This Year’s Grammy Nominations

Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift, and the Weeknd Lead This Year’s Grammy Nominations

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Slate's Culture Blog
Dec. 7 2015 10:20 AM

Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift, and the Weeknd Lead This Year’s Grammy Nominations

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Kendrick Lamar leads with 11 nominations.

Photo by Chris Weeks/Getty Images for Reebok.

This year’s Grammy nominations were announced Monday morning, and the big leaders will come as a surprise to no one: Kendrick Lamar, whose To Pimp a Butterfly was an enormous critical and cultural success, leads with 11 nominations, followed by Taylor Swift and the Weeknd, who each received seven nominations.

Before you freak out because your majesty Adele is nowhere to be found on this list, remember that the Grammy cutoff for nomination eligibility was Sept. 30—several weeks prior to the release of the biggest-opening album of all time. The big categories are listed below; you can check out the full list at the Grammys official website.

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Album of the Year

Alabama Shakes, Sound and Color

Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly

Chris Stapleton, Traveller

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Taylor Swift, 1989

The Weeknd, Beauty Behind the Madness

Song of the Year

Kendrick Lamar, "Alright"

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Taylor Swift, "Blank Space"

Little Big Town, "Girl Crush"

Wiz Kahifa feat. Charlie Puth, "See You Again"

Ed Sheeran, "Thinking Out Loud"

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Record of the Year

D'Angelo and the Vanguard, "Really Love"

Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars, "Uptown Funk"

Ed Sheeran, "Thinking Out Loud"

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Taylor Swift, "Blank Space"

The Weeknd, "Can't Feel my Face"

Best New Artist

Courtney Barnett

James Bay

Sam Hunt

Tori Kelly

Meghan Trainor

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

Florence + The Machine, " Ship to Wreck"

Maroon 5, "Sugar"

Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars, "Uptown Funk"

Taylor Swift feat. Kendrick Lamar, "Bad Blood"

Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth, "See You Again"

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

Tony Bennett & Bill Charlap, The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern

Bob Dylan, Shadows in the Night

Josh Groban, Stages

Seth MacFarlane, No One Ever Tells You

Barry Manilow (& Various Artists), My Dream Duets

Best Pop Vocal Album

Kelly Clarkson, Piece by Piece

Florence + The Machine, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful

Mark Ronson, Uptown Special

Taylor Swift, 1989

James Taylor, Before This World

Best Dance Recording

Above & Beyond feat. Zoë Johnston, “We're All We Need"

The Chemical Brothers, "Go”

Flying Lotus feat. Kendrick Lamar, "Never Catch Me"

Galantis, "Runaway (U & I)"

Skrillex and Diplo With Justin Bieber, "Where Are Ü Now"

Best Rock Performance

Alabama Shakes, "Don't Wanna Fight"

Florence + The Machine, "What Kind Of Man"

Foo Fighters, "Something From Nothing"

Elle King, "Ex's & Oh's"

Wolf Alice, "Moaning Lisa Smile"

Best Alternative Music Album

Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color

Björk, Vulnicura

My Morning Jacket, The Waterfall

Tame Impala, Currents

Wilco, Star Wars

Best Urban Contemporary Album

The Internet, Ego Death

Kehlani, You Should Be Here

Lianne La Havas, Blood

Miguel, Wildheart

The Weeknd, Beauty Behind the Madness

Best Rap Album

J. Cole, 2014 Forest Hills Drive

Dr. Dre, Compton

Drake, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late

Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly

Nicki Minaj, The Pinkprint

Best Country Album

Sam Hunt, Montevallo

Little Big Town, Pain Killer

Ashley Monroe, The Blade

Kacey Musgraves, Pageant Material

Chris Stapleton, Traveller

Best Jazz Instrumental Album

Joey Alexander, My Favorite Things

Terence Blanchard feat. The E-Collective, Breathless

Robert Glasper & The Robert Glasper Trio, Covered: Recorded Live at Capitol Studios

Jimmy Greene, Beautiful Life

John Scofield, Past Present

Best Latin Pop Album

Pablo Alborán, Terral

Alex Cuba, Healer

Ricky Martin, A Quien Quiera Escuchar (Deluxe Edition)

Alejandro Sanz, Sirope

Julieta Venegas, Algo Sucede

Best Americana Album

Brandi Carlile, The Firewatcher's Daughter

Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell, The Traveling Kind

Jason Isbell, Something More Than Free

The Mavericks, Mono

Punch Brothers, The Phosphorescent Blues

Best Rock Song

Alabama Shakes, "Don't Wanna Fight"

Elle King, "Ex's & Oh's"

James Bay, "Hold Back the River"

Highly Suspect, "Lydia"

Florence + the Machine, "What Kind of Man"

Best Rock Album

James Bay, Chaos and the Calm

Death Cab for Cutie, Kintsugi

Highly Suspect, Mister Asylum

Muse, Drones

Slipknot, .5: The Gray Chapter

Best R&B Performance

Tamar Braxton, "If I Don't Have You"

Andra Day, "Rise Up"

Hiatus Kaiyote, "Breathing Underwater"

Jeremih feat. J. Cole, "Planes"

The Weeknd, "Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)"

Best Traditional R&B Performance

Faith Evans, "He Is"

Lalah Hathaway, "Little Ghetto Boy"

Jazmine Sullivan, "Let It Burn"

Tyrese, "Shame"

Charlie Wilson, "My Favorite Part of You"

Best R&B Song

Miguel, "Coffee"

The Weeknd, "Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)"

Jazmine Sullivan, "Let It Burn"

D'Angelo and The Vanguard, "Really Love"

Tyrese, "Shame"

Best R&B Album

Leon Bridges, Coming Home

D'Angelo and the Vanguard, Black Messiah

Andra Day, Cheers to the Fall

Jazmine Sullivan, Reality Show

Charlie Wilson, Forever Charlie

Best Rap Performance

J. Cole, "Apparently"

Drake, "Back to Back"

Fetty Wap, "Trap Queen"

Kendrick Lamar, "Alright"

Nicki Minaj feat. Drake & Lil Wayne, "Truffle Butter"

Kanye West feat. Theophilus London, Allan Kingdom & Paul McCartney, "All Day"

Aisha Harris is a Slate culture writer and host of the Slate podcast Represent.