|
 Beyonce's nine nods made her
the second most nominated Grammy artist in
history, with a total of 79, and came through
projects that celebrated Black culture in a year
of racial turmoil in the United States.
The biggest shutout for the highest honors in
the music industry was The Weeknd, whose
critically acclaimed album "After Hours," was
No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts for four
weeks.
Variety called the omission of the R&B singer,
who has been chosen to play the halftime show at
the Super Bowl next year, "the biggest snub in
memory."
The Weeknd, in a Twitter post, said: "The
Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and
the industry transparency."
The Recording Academy's chair and interim CEO,
Harvey Mason, said in a written statement that
he understood The Weeknd's disappointment.
"We were thrilled when we found out he would be
performing at the upcoming Super Bowl and we
would have loved to have him also perform on the
GRAMMY stage the weekend before. Unfortunately,
every year, there are fewer nominations than the
number of deserving artists," Mason said.
In June the academy, whose members choose the
nominees and vote on the winners, announced
tighter rules regarding potential conflicts of
interest in response to claims that the
selection process was open to rigging.
The Grammys will be handed out in Los Angeles on
Jan. 31, hosted by Trevor Noah.
British singer Dua Lipa, pop star Taylor Swift
and rapper Roddy Ricch got six nominations
apiece.
Swift and Dua Lipa will compete for the top
prize - album of the year - along with R&B
singer Post Malone, British band Coldplay,
female band Haim, avant-garde Briton Jacob
Collier, American soul band Black Pumas and
American alternative R&B singer Jhene Aiko.
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 Billboard called the
nominations for album, record, song of the year
and best new artist surprising for the range of
"superstar nominees as well as out-of-nowhere
newcomers." Bob Dylan, 79, was a
no-show despite acclaim for his first album of
new music in eight years, "Rough and Rowdy
Ways," while established artists like Katy
Perry, Maren Morris, The Chicks, Halsey and the
Jonas Brothers all got zero nominations.
But K-pop sensation BTS got its first major
Grammy nod, for single "Dynamite" in the best
pop group performance field, in a breakthrough
for a South Korean group. The
best new artist field included rappers Megan
Thee Stallion and Doja Cat, as well as
alternative artist Phoebe Bridgers and Noah
Cyrus, the younger sister of Miley Cyrus.
Women, including Fiona Apple, Brittany Howard
and newcomer Ingrid Andress, packed the rock and
country music fields, while Britain's Harry
Styles got his first Grammy love with three nods
for his work on album "Fine Line."
Beyonce's nominations came for her song "Black
Parade" and visual album "Black is King," along
with her collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion
on the single "Savage." They were released
during a summer of nationwide protests over
police killings of Black people in the United
States.
 Swift's coronavirus lockdown album "Folklore"
brought her back to the album of the year
contest, while her single "Cardigan" was among
the song of the year entries.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Jonathan
Oatis and Leslie Adler)
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