Beyoncé and Dua Lipa dominated the big categories, with Lady Gaga left to make do with two nominations. (Getty)
The Grammy 2021 nominations are in, with Beyoncé, Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé leading the pack.
Beyoncé was honoured with an incredible nine nominations, with Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa and Roddy Ricch all following with six.
“Black Parade”, taken from Beyoncé’s Black Is King film, was honoured in the Song and Record of the Year categories, as well as Best R&B Performance and Song. Her “Savage Remix” with Megan Thee Stallion earned her a second Record of the Year nod, as well as nominations for the pair in the Best Rap Performance and Song categories. Megan is also up for Best New Artist.
Beyoncé’s mammoth run was capped off with Best Music Video/Film (a sure-fire win for Black Is King) and Best Music Video for “Brown Skin Girl”. With 79 nominations throughout her career, Beyoncé is now the most nominated female artist in Grammy history, and tied with Paul McCartney for second-most nominations ever. Her husband Jay-Z is in top spot with just one more (80), tied with Quincy Jones.
Dua Lipa made good on her 2019 Best New Artist win with a clean run of the night’s three biggest categories: Record, Song and Album of the Year for “Don’t Start Now” and the album Future Nostalgia. For Song of the Year, she’ll also be up against H.E.R.’s powerful protest song, “I Can’t Breathe”, as well as Doja Cat’s “Say So, Billie Eilish’s “Everything I Ever Wanted” and Black Pumas’ “Colors”.
Taylor Swift is up for Song of the Year (“Cardigan”) and Album of the Year for Folklore. The surprise-released album earned her three other nominations, as well as a surprise nod for her song “Beautiful Ghosts”, from Cats, for Best Song Written For Visual Media. She’s up against Brandi Carlile, who earned a nod for for her Onward track “Carried Me With You”.
Bisexual singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers is up for Best New Artist, Best Rock Performance and Song, and Best Alternative Music Album.
The Grammy 2021 nominations will come as a disappointment to Lady Gaga, who was overlooked for all the top categories. Her duet with Ariana Grande, “Rain On Me”, is up for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, with Chromatica up for Best Pop Vocal Album.
It was a good news however for trans artist Arca, a frequent collaborator of Bjork’s, who was nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album for Kick I. She follows SOPHIE, who was the first trans woman to be nominated in the category in 2018.
Harry Styles was nominated for three awards: Best Pop Vocal Album and Solo Performance, as well as Best Music Video/Film.
Journalist Ronan Farrow won his first nomination for the audiobook of Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators, his book recounting his experiences investigating Harvey Weinstein.