Grammys 2016: Kendrick Lamar Storms Nominations, Taylor Swift Trails

New York: California hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar led the Grammy nominations, scoring 11 nods including album of the year for To Pimp a Butterfly.

The 28 year-old from Compton, the heart of the Los Angeles rap scene, left country-pop superstar Taylor Swift trailing with seven nominations for the biggest awards in the music industry.

Canadian rapper The Weeknd also got seven nominations after a break-out year for his album Beauty Behind the Madness and best-selling single Can't Feel My Face.

Kendrick, who won two Grammys last year in the specialist rap category, broke into the mainstream this year with nominations for the top prize, album of the year. He will also compete for song of the year for Alright, best pop duo with Taylor for her hit Bad Blood and music video for the same single.

To Pimp a Butterfly, his third studio album, has topped the U.S. and U.K. music charts with its fusion of funk, jazz and poetry.

Kendrick will compete in the best album category with Taylor's 1989, The Weeknd's Beauty Behind the Madness, country singer Chris Stapleton's Traveller and rock band Alabama Shakes' Sand & Color.

Seven-time Grammy winner Taylor's other nominations this year include record, song of the year and best pop solo performance for Blank Space.

Erotic drama Fifty Shades of Grey powered The Weeknd to three of his Grammy nods for single Earned It which was featured on the movie's soundtrack. The 25 year-old Canadian has never won a Grammy in his five year-long career.

Competing for best new artist are All About the Bass singer Meghan Trainor, country artist Sam Hunt, British singer-songwriter James Bay, American Tori Kelly, and Australian Courtney Barnett.

Britain's Adele, who won six Grammys for her 2011 album 21, was not eligible this year because her record-breaking new release 25, was issued too late for consideration.

The Grammy Awards, chosen by members of the Recording Academy, will be handed out at a ceremony in Los Angeles on February 15.

Nomination List:

RECORD OF THE YEAR

Really Love, D'Angelo And The Vanguard
Uptown Funk, Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars
Thinking Out Loud, Ed Sheeran
Blank Space, Taylor Swift
Can't Feel My Face, The Weeknd

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Sound & Color, Alabama Shakes
To Pimp A Butterfly, Kendrick Lamar
Traveller, Chris Stapleton
1989, Taylor Swift
Beauty Behind The Madness, The Weeknd

SONG OF THE YEAR

Alright by Kendrick Duckworth, Mark Anthony Spears & Pharrell Williams, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar) Blank Space by Max Martin, Shellback & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift)
Girl Crush by Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna & Liz Rose, songwriters (Little Big Town)
See You Again by Andrew Cedar, Justin Franks, Charles Puth & Cameron Thomaz, songwriters (Wiz Khalifa Featuring Charlie Puth)
Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran & Amy Wadge, songwriters (Ed Sheeran)

BEST NEW ARTIST

Courtney Barnett
James Bay
Sam Hunt
Tori Kelly
Meghan Trainor

BEST POP SOLO PERFORMANCE

Heartbeat Song, Kelly Clarkson
Love Me Like You Do, Ellie Goulding
Thinking Out Loud, Ed Sheeran
Blank Space, Taylor Swift
Can't Feel My Face, The Weeknd

BEST POP DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE

Ship To Wreck, Florence The Machine
Sugar, Maroon 5
Uptown Funk, Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars
Bad Blood, Taylor Swift Featuring Kendrick Lamar
See You Again, Wiz Khalifa Featuring Charlie Puth

BEST TRADITIONAL POP VOCAL ALBUM

The Silver Lining: The Songs Of Jerome Kern by Tony Bennett & Bill Charlap
Shadows In The Night by Bob Dylan
Stages by Josh Groban
No One Ever Tells You by Seth MacFarlane
My Dream Duets by Barry Manilow (& Various Artists)

BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM

Piece by Piece by Kelly Clarkson
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful by Florence The Machine
Uptown Special by Mark Ronson
1989 by Taylor Swift
Before This World by James Taylor

BEST DANCE RECORDING

We're All We Need, Above & Beyond Featuring Zoe Johnston
Go, The Chemical Brothers
Never Catch Me, Flying Lotus Featuring Kendrick Lamar
Runaway (U & I), Galantis
Where Are U Now, Skrillex And Diplo With Justin Bieber

BEST DANCE/ELECTRONIC ALBUM

Our Love, Caribou
Born In The Echoes, The Chemical Brothers
Caracal, Disclosure
In Colour, Jamie XX
Skrillex And Diplo Present Jack U, Skrillex And Diplo

BEST CONTEMPORARY INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM

Guitar In The Space Age!, Bill Frisell
Love Language, Wouter Kellerman
Afrodeezia, Marcus Miller
Sylva, Snarky Puppy & Metropole Orkest
The Gospel According To Jazz, Chapter IV, Kirk Whalum

BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE

Don't Wanna Fight, Alabama Shakes
What Kind Of Man, Florence The Machine
Something From Nothing, Foo Fighters
Ex's & Oh's, Elle King
Moaning Lisa Smile, Wolf Alice

BEST METAL PERFORMANCE

Identity, August Burns Red
Cirice, Ghost
512, Lamb Of God
Thank You, Sevendust
Custer, Slipknot

BEST ROCK SONG

Don't Wanna Fight, Alabama Shakes, songwriters (Alabama Shakes)
Ex's & Oh's, Dave Bassett & Elle King, songwriters (Elle King)
Hold Back The River, Iain Archer & James Bay, songwriters (James Bay)
Lydia, Richard Meyer, Ryan Meyer & Johnny Stevens, songwriters (Highly Suspect)
What Kind Of Man, John Hill, Tom Hull & Florence Welch, songwriters (Florence The Machine)
BEST ROCK ALBUM

Chaos And The Calm, James Bay
Kintsugi, Death Cab For Cutie
Mister Asylum, Highly Suspect
Drones, Muse
5: The Gray Chapter, Slipknot

BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM

Sound & Color, Alabama Shakes
Vulnicura, Bjork
The Waterfall, My Morning Jacket
Currents, Tame Impala
Star Wars, Wilco

BEST R&B PERFORMANCE

If I Don't Have You, Tamar Braxton
Rise Up, Andra Day
Breathing Underwater, Hiatus Kaiyote
Planes, Jeremih Featuring J. Cole
Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey), The Weeknd

BEST TRADITIONAL R&B PERFORMANCE

He Is, Faith Evans
Little Ghetto Boy, Lalah Hathaway
Let It Burn, Jazmine Sullivan
Shame, Tyrese
My Favorite Part Of You, Charlie Wilson

BEST R&B SONG

Coffee, Brook Davis & Miguel Pimentel, songwriters (Miguel)
Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey), Ahmad Balshe, Stephan Moccio, Jason Quenneville & Abel Tesfaye, songwriters (The Weeknd)
Let It Burn, Kenny B. Edmonds, Jazmine Sullivan & Dwane M. Weir II, songwriters (Jazmine Sullivan)
Really Love, D'Angelo & Kendra Foster, songwriters (D'Angelo And The Vanguard)
Shame, Warryn Campbell, Tyrese Gibson & DJ Rogers Jr, songwriters (Tyrese)

BEST URBAN CONTEMPORARY ALBUM

Ego Death, The Internet
You Should Be Here, Kehlani
Blood, Lianne La Havas
Wildheart, Miguel
Beauty Behind The Madness, The Weeknd

BEST R&B ALBUM

Coming Home, Leon Bridges
Black Messiah, D'Angelo And The Vanguard
Cheers To The Fall, Andra Day
Reality Show, Jazmine Sullivan
Forever Charlie, Charlie Wilson

BEST RAP PERFORMANCE

Apparently, J. Cole
Back To Back, Drake
Trap Queen, Fetty Wap
Alright, Kendrick Lamar
Truffle Butter, Nicki Minaj Featuring Drake & Lil Wayne
All Day, Kanye West Featuring Theophilus London, Allan Kingdom & Paul McCartney

BEST RAP/SUNG COLLABORATION

One Man Can Change The World, Big Sean Featuring Kanye West & John Legend
Glory, Common & John Legend
Classic Man, Jidenna Featuring Roman GianArthur
These Walls, Kendrick Lamar Featuring Bilal, Anna Wise & Thundercat
Only, Nicki Minaj Featuring Drake, Lil Wayne & Chris Brown

BEST RAP SONG

All Day
Alright
Energy
Glory
Trap Queen

BEST RAP ALBUM

2014 Forest Hills Drive, J. Cole
Compton, Dr. Dre
If Youre Reading This Its Too Late, Drake
To Pimp A Butterfly, Kendrick Lamar
The Pinkprint, Nicki Minaj
BEST COUNTRY SOLO PERFORMANCE

Burning House, Cam
Traveller, Chris Stapleton
Little Toy Guns, Carrie Underwood
John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16, Keith Urban
Chances Are, Lee Ann Womack

BEST COUNTRY DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE

Stay A Little Longer, Brothers Osborne
If I Needed You, JoeyRory
The Driver, Charles Kelley, Dierks Bentley & Eric Paslay
Girl Crush, Little Big Town
Lonely Tonight, Blake Shelton Featuring Ashley Monroe

BEST COUNTRY SONG

Chances Are, Hayes Carll, songwriter (Lee Ann Womack)
Diamond Rings And Old Barstools, Barry Dean, Luke Laird & Jonathan Singleton, songwriters (Tim McGraw)
Girl Crush, Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna & Liz Rose, songwriters (Little Big Town)
Hold My Hand, Brandy Clark & Mark Stephen Jones, songwriters (Brandy Clark)
Traveller, Chris Stapleton, songwriter (Chris Stapleton)

BEST COUNTRY ALBUM

Montevallo, Sam Hunt
Pain Killer, Little Big Town
The Blade, Ashley Monroe
Pageant Material, Kacey Musgraves
Traveller, Chris Stapleton

BEST NEW AGE ALBUM

Grace, Paul Avgerinos
Bhakti Without Borders, Madi Das
Voyager, Catherine Duc
Love, Peter Kater
Asia Beauty, Ron Korb