Adele scored six Grammy nominations on Wednesday – including for record, song and album of the year – but the owner of the year’s best-selling album with “21” wasn’t the top nominee.
It was Chicago rapper Kanye West who had a leading seven nominations, including a bid for song of the year for “All of the Lights.”
However, the album from which it came – “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” heralded by many critics as the best album of 2010 – was shut out of the best album category.
Bruno Mars and the Foo Fighters tied Adele with six nominations each. Bon Iver scored four nominations. Dubstep star Skrillex was the night’s biggest surprise with five nominations, including best new artist.
While West led the nominees, he wasn’t cited in the album of the year category for either his November 2010 release “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” or August’s “Watch the Throne,” a collaboration with Jay-Z. The duo performed Wednesday at Chicago’s United Center and is scheduled for another show Thursday.
Both of West’s albums are in the running for rap album of the year.
The nominations were announced Wednesday night during CBS’ “Grammy Nominations Concert Live!!,” which was hosted by LL Cool J and highlighted with performances by past Grammy Award winners Lady Gaga (paired with Sugarland for the finale), Ludacris, Lupe Fiasco and Rihanna.
Even though Adele didn’t get the lion’s share of nominations, she got them where it counted: Her “21” – the mournful post-breakup album that produced smash hits like the torch ballad “Someone Like You” – was nominated for album of the year. The searing groove “Rolling in the Deep,” which spent seven weeks at No. 1 this past summer, got nominations for both song of the year (which honors songwriters) and record of the year. Only Mars got nominations in all three categories as well.
The best album category was as noteworthy for who was excluded as it was for who was nominated. Lady Gaga garnered her third straight nod in the category for “Born This Way,” while veteran rockers the Foo Fighters were nominated for “Wasting Light,” along with Mars’ debut album, “Doo-Wops & Hooligans,” and Rihanna’s steamy dance album “Loud.”
Shut out was 85-year-old Tony Bennett, who became the oldest person to score a No. 1 debut when his “Duets II” album was released earlier this year.
The biggest snub may have been to Swift, who won in the category in 2010 and was considered by some critics to be a favorite for “Speak Now,” which has sold 3.7 million copies. She did get three nominations, however, including for best country album.
The 54th Grammys will be held Feb. 12 in Los Angeles. The ceremony will mark the first since the academy shaved its categories from 109 to 78 this year, amid some protest.
AP
