If the nominations announced today (Friday) are any indication, the 2019 Grammy Awards could be the most diverse and most popularity-driven in ages.
Kendrick Lamar topped the list of nominees with eight nods, mostly driven by his acclaimed Black Panther soundtrack. Drake was close behind with seven, including Album of the Year for Scorpion and Song of the Year for "God's Plan."
Roots-country singer Brandi Carlile ended up with six nods, Lady Gaga snagged four and Zedd notched three, but the more surprising list has to be the thumbs-down one -- acts who got snubbed in the big-name categories. Kanye West only earned one production nomination, while Taylor Swift could only manage a single nod for her Reputation album.
Ariana Grande fared a little better, with two -- Best Pop Vocal Album for Sweetener and Best Pop Solo Performance for "God Is a Woman." Justin Timberlake is also hurting: His only nomination this time around came from his Chris Stapleton duet "Say Something," which could win Best Pop Duo or Group Performance.
All the major categories seem to be up for grabs this year, with no clear-cut favorites. Besides Drake, the album competition includes Cardi B's Invasion of Privacy, Post Malone's Beerbongs and Bentleys, Janelle Monae's Dirty Computer, Brandi Carlile's By the Way, I Forgive You, Kacey Musgraves' Golden Hour, H.E.R.'s self-titled debut and the soundtrack to Black Panther.
Record of the Year and Song of the Year are also mighty competitive this time around, since the Recording Academy expanded the field to eight nominees. There's a lot of overlap here, with "God's Plan" and Kendrick's "All the Stars" going up against Lady Gaga's "Shallow," Shawn Mendes's "In My Blood" and Childish Gambino's controversial "This Is America" in both.
The Best New Artist category, always one of the most unpredictable, is led by Bebe Rexha and Dua Lipa, who'll get challenges from Jorja Smith, H.E.R., Margo Price, Luke Combs, Chloe X Halle and retro-rockers Greta Van Fleet.
The 61st annual Grammy Awards air on CBS on February 10th.