SharePop royalty Beyonce and Adele will face off at the Grammys once again, after the music titans released blockbuster albums that vaulted them to the front of the list of 2023 nominees. Beyonce leads the pack with nine chances to win during the performance-heavy ceremony on February 5 that honors the industry's best, the Recording Academy announced Tuesday. Rapper Kendrick Lamar notched eight nods, while Adele and fellow balladeer Brandi Carlile scored seven each.
Beyonce's "Renaissance," a pulsating club track collection, will face off with Adele's introspective, ugly-cry ode "30" in the most prestigious categories-six years after the British artist shut out Queen Bey's culture-shaking "Lemonade". Adele's sweep left both women in tears, with the crooner calling Beyonce her "idol" and telling the audience her fellow megastar's paradigm-shifting record should have won.
In this file photo Rapper Kendrick Lamar performs at the Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival in Indio, California. — AFPThat contest fueled criticism that the Academy consistently fails to pay Black artists their due. The 2023 nomination slate sees Beyonce continue on her history-making path: she moved into a tie with her husband, Jay-Z, as the most nominated artists ever with 88 each. Already the woman with the most Grammys, Beyonce could overtake classical conductor Georg Solti for the most wins by any artist, with four victories; she's already tied for second place with music power player Quincy Jones.
Bad Bunny, Mary J and Taylor redux
After years of pandemic-induced delays and scalebacks, the 65th annual Grammys will head to Los Angeles early next year for what looks primed to be the Recording Academy's most star-studded gala in recent memory. Bad Bunny, indisputably the world's biggest commercial artist, came away with three nominations for his major drop "Un Verano Sin Ti," which is in the running for Album of the Year. It's the first time an all Spanish-language album has a chance at that coveted award, and the Puerto Rican reggaeton megastar's first time landing a solo nomination in the major Grammy categories.
R&B legend Mary J. Blige won a surprise six nominations off her album "Good Morning Gorgeous." She is tied with rapper Future, who dominated the rap categories, and DJ Khaled, for his album "God Did." Pop juggernaut Harry Styles, who the Academy has repeatedly snubbed, will also vie for six awards, including alongside Beyonce, Lamar, and Adele for Record and Album of the Year. Beyonce's "Renaissance" was a boon for songwriters, including Terius "The-Dream" Gesteelde-Diamant, who received six nominations thanks to his work on the album.
Lizzo and Doja Cat also figure among the top nominees, cementing their status as Grammy regulars. Taylor Swift-who's been making good on a vow to re-record her first six albums so she can control the rights to them-returned to her country roots by earning one of the genre's down-ballot nominations for "I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor's Version) (From the Vault)." She also snagged a nod for best music video, and another in the prestigious Song of the Year contest, which celebrates songwriters, for her 10-minute version of "All Too Well."
