Beyonce, Adele nominated for top 3 Grammy Awards

(CNN) – Adele and Beyonce are set for a steep competition at this year’s Grammy Awards.

Author of an ambitious concept album, “Lemonade”, Beyonce is ahead of Canadian Drake, Rihanna and rapper Kanye West, each cited eight times.

Drake and Barbadian R&B singer Rihanna shared three of their eight individual nominations, two for their steamy duet on Rihanna’s sultry “Work” and one for Rihanna as a featured artist on Drake’s “Views”. But with only five nominees and an incredible pool to choose from, there are a lot of snubs for the 2017 Grammys’ Album of Year category.

Like Beyonce, Adele is also nominated for album, record and song of the year.

— Best pop duo/group performance: “Closer”, The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey; “7 Years“, Lukas Graham; “Work”, Rihanna featuring Drake; “Cheap Thrills”, Sia featuring Sean Paul; “Stressed Out“, twenty one pilots.

The 2017 Grammy Awards ceremony will be broadcast live February 12, 2017 on CBS. But Blackstar was shut out of major awards consideration, instead appearing in genre-focused categories like Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song and Best Alternative Music Album (as well as some of the technical awards).

He said his album Ripcord “was really a collaborative labor of love both for the music and all the people that helped me bring my vision to life”. Chicagoan star Chance The Rapper also grabbed seven nominations, with his newest mixtape Coloring Book making Grammy history as the first ever streaming-only record to be recognised by the Recording Academy. Nashville-based singer-songwriter Maren Morris was an expected contender for best new artist, but she’s also joined in that category by fellow CMA Awards performer Kelsea Ballerini. And Kanye West is nominated twice in three different rap categories. Chance has never sold a single piece of recorded music – all his albums, mix tapes and tracks have been free releases, widely available as digital streams or downloads. “He closed his long post saying: “(Expletive) this town.

“I put my whole heart into Big Day in a Small Town, as did all of the co-writers, musicians and producer Jay Joyce”, Clark shares in a statement.

Beyonce is up for Best Music Video for “Formation” against Leon Bridges, Coldplay, Jamie xx and OK Go. It will be hard for some to accept “Purpose” earning an AOY nomination over more widely respected artists. Kelly Clarkson, who sang her emotional “Piece by Piece” on “American Idol” and burst into tears during the performance, is nominated for that version of the song for best pop solo performance.

The nominations for the 59 Annual Grammy Awards were announced Tuesday, and as the experts predicted (and as the show’s producers no doubt prayed for), it’s a battle of the biggest. Right. The comedian-actress is nominated for best spoken word album and comedy album.