The 2018 Grammy nominations are in! Soulful songstress Audra Day announced the Big 4 categories early Tuesday morning, which includes best new artist, record of the year, song of the year, and album of the year.
Brooklyn boy JAY-Z leads the pack with eight nods for his very personal work on 4:44, followed by Kendrick Lamar, whose critically acclaimed album DAMN garnered seven nods. Lamar’s labelmate SZA not only racked up a best new artist nod, but is the most nominated woman this year with five potential chances to take home an award.
Check out the nominees for your favorites in R&B, gospel, hip hop and more below.
Record Of The Year
(Award to the Artist and to the Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s) and/or Mixer(s) and mastering engineer(s), if other than the artist.)
• Redbone
Childish Gambino
Ludwig Goransson, producer; Donald Glover, Ludwig Goransson, Riley Mackin & Ruben Rivera, engineers/mixers; Bernie Grundman, mastering engineer
• Despacito
Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber
Josh Gudwin, Mauricio Rengifo & Andrés Torres, producers; Josh Gudwin & Jaycen Joshua, engineers/mixers; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer
• The Story Of O.J.
JAY-Z
JAY-Z & No I.D., producers; Jimmy Douglas & Gimel “Young Guru” Keaton, engineers/mixers; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer
• HUMBLE.
Kendrick Lamar
Mike Will Made It, producer; Derek “MixedByAli” Ali, James Hunt & Matt Schaeffer, engineers/mixers; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer
• 24K Magic
Bruno Mars
Shampoo Press & Curl, producers; Serban Ghenea, John Hanes & Charles Moniz, engineers/mixers; Tom Coyne, mastering engineer
Album Of The Year
(Award to Artist(s) and to Featured Artist(s), Songwriter(s) of new material, Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s), Mixer(s) and Mastering Engineer(s) credited with at least 33% playing time of the album, if other than Artist.)
• “Awaken, My Love!”
Childish Gambino
Ludwig Goransson, producer; Bryan Carrigan, Donald Glover, Ludwig Goransson, Riley Mackin & Ruben Rivera, engineers/mixers; Donald Glover & Ludwig Goransson, songwriters; Bernie Grundman, mastering engineer
• 4:44
JAY-Z
JAY-Z & No I.D., producers; Jimmy Douglas & Gimel “Young Guru” Keaton, engineers/mixers; Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer
• DAMN.
Kendrick Lamar
DJ Dahi, Sounwave & Anthony Tiffith, producers; Derek “MixedByAli” Ali, James Hunt & Matt Schaeffer, engineers/mixers; K. Duckworth, D. Natche, M. Spears & A. Tiffith, songwriters; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer
• Melodrama
Lorde
Jack Antonoff & Lorde, producers; Serban Ghenea, John Hanes & Laura Sisk, engineers/mixers; Jack Antonoff & Ella Yelich-O’Connor, songwriters; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
• 24K Magic
Bruno Mars
Shampoo Press & Curl, producers; Serban Ghenea, John Hanes & Charles Moniz, engineers/mixers; Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence & Bruno Mars, songwriters; Tom Coyne, mastering engineer
Song Of The Year
(A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)
• Despacito
Ramón Ayala, Justin Bieber, Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd, Erika Ender, Luis Fonsi & Marty James Garton, songwriters (Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber)
• 4:44
Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters (JAY-Z)
• Issues
Benny Blanco, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Julia Michaels & Justin Drew Tranter, songwriters (Julia Michaels)
• 1-800-273-8255
Alessia Caracciolo, Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, Arjun Ivatury & Khalid Robinson, songwriters (Logic Featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid)
• That’s What I Like
Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip, songwriters (Bruno Mars)
Best New Artist
(An artist will be considered for Best New Artist if their eligibility year release/s achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and notably impacted the musical landscape.)
• Alessia Cara
• Khalid
• Lil Uzi Vert
• Julia Michaels
• SZA
Best R&B Performance
(For new vocal or instrumental R&B recordings.)
• Get You
Daniel Caesar Featuring Kali Uchis
• Distraction
Kehlani
• High
Ledisi
• That’s What I Like
Bruno Mars
• The Weekend
SZA
Best Traditional R&B Performance
(For new vocal or instrumental traditional R&B recordings.)
• Laugh And Move On
The Baylor Project
• Redbone
Childish Gambino
• What I’m Feelin’
Anthony Hamilton Featuring The Hamiltones
• All The Way
Ledisi
• Still
Mali Music
Best R&B Song
(A Songwriter(s) Award. For Song Eligibility Guidelines see Category #3. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)
• First Began
PJ Morton, songwriter (PJ Morton)
• Location
Alfredo Gonzalez, Olatunji Ige, Samuel David Jiminez, Christopher McClenney, Khalid Robinson & Joshua Scruggs, songwriters (Khalid)
• Redbone
Donald Glover & Ludwig Goransson, songwriters (Childish Gambino)
• Supermodel
Tyran Donaldson, Terrence Henderson, Greg Landfair Jr., Solana Rowe & Pharrell Williams, songwriters (SZA)
• That’s What I Like
Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip, songwriters (Bruno Mars)
• “Awaken, My Love!”
Childish Gambino
• American Teen
Khalid
• Ctrl
SZA
• Starboy
The Weeknd
• “Awaken, My Love!”
Childish Gambino
• American Teen
Khalid
• Ctrl
SZA
• Starboy
The Weeknd
Best R&B Album
(For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new R&B recordings.)
• Freudian
Daniel Caesar
• Let Love Rule
Ledisi
• 24K Magic
Bruno Mars
• Gumbo
PJ Morton
• Feel The Real
Musiq Soulchild
Best Rap Performance
(For a Rap performance. Singles or Tracks only.)
• Bounce Back
Big Sean
• Bodak Yellow
Cardi B
• 4:44
JAY-Z
• HUMBLE.
Kendrick Lamar
• Bad And Boujee
Migos Featuring Lil Uzi Vert
Best Rap/Sung Performance
(For a solo or collaborative performance containing both elements of R&B melodies and Rap.)
• PRBLMS
6LACK
• Crew
Goldlink Featuring Brent Faiyaz & Shy Glizzy
• Family Feud
JAY-Z Featuring Beyoncé
• LOYALTY.
Kendrick Lamar Featuring Rihanna
• Love Galore
SZA Featuring Travis Scott
Best Rap Song
(A song must contain music and lyrics and must be either a new song or a song first achieving prominence during the eligibility year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.))
• Bodak Yellow
Dieuson Octave, Klenord Raphael, Shaftizm, Jordan Thorpe, Washpoppin & J White, songwriters (Cardi B)
• Chase Me
Judah Bauer, Brian Burton, Hector Delgado, Jaime Meline, Antwan Patton, Michael Render, Russell Simins & Jon Spencer, songwriters (Danger Mouse Featuring Run The Jewels & Big Boi)
• HUMBLE.
K. Duckworth, Asheton Hogan & M. Williams II, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar)
• Sassy
E. Gabouer & M. Evans, songwriters (Rapsody)
• The Story Of O.J.
Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters (JAY-Z)
Best Rap Album
(For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new rap recordings.)
• 4:44
JAY-Z
• DAMN.
Kendrick Lamar
• Culture
Migos
• Laila’s Wisdom
Rapsody
• Flower Boy
Tyler, The Creator
Best New Age Album
(For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new vocal or instrumental new age recordings.)
• Reflection
Brian Eno
• SongVersation: Medicine
India.Arie
• Dancing On Water
Peter Kater
• Sacred Journey Of Ku-Kai, Volume 5
Kitaro
• Spiral Revelation
Steve Roach
Best Gospel Performance/Song
(This award is given to the artist(s) and songwriter(s) (for new compositions) for the best traditional Christian, roots gospel or contemporary gospel single or track.)
• Too Hard Not To
Tina Campbell
Tina Campbell; Tina Campbell & Warryn Campbell, songwriters
• You Deserve It
JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise Featuring Bishop Cortez Vaughn
JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise Featuring Bishop Cortez Vaughn; David Bloom, JJ Hairston, Phontane Demond Reed & Cortez Vaughn, songwriters
• Better Days
Le’Andria
Le’Andria
• My Life
The Walls Group
The Walls Group; Warryn Campbell, Eric Dawkins, Damien Farmer, Damon Thomas, Ahjah Walls & Darrel Walls, songwriters
• Never Have To Be Alone
CeCe Winans
CeCe Winans; Dwan Hill & Alvin Love III, songwriters
Best Gospel Album
(This award is given to the artist(s) and any producer(s) or engineer(s) responsible for at least 51% playing time of an album containing at least 51% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, traditional or contemporary/R&B gospel music recordings.)
• Crossover: Live From Music City
Travis Greene
• Bigger Than Me
Le’Andria
• Close
Marvin Sapp
• Sunday Song
Anita Wilson
• Let Them Fall In Love
CeCe Winans
Best Reggae Album
(For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new reggae recordings.)
• Chronology
Chronixx
• Lost In Paradise
Common Kings
• Wash House Ting
J Boog
• Stony Hill
Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley
• Avrakedabra
Morgan Heritage
Best Comedy Album
(For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new recordings.)
• The Age Of Spin & Deep In The Heart Of Texas
Dave Chappelle
• Cinco
Jim Gaffigan
• Jerry Before Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld
• A Speck Of Dust
Sarah Silverman
• What Now?
Kevin Hart