Grammy nominees 2016: Kendrick Lamar leads the way

The 58th annual Grammy Awards announced its nominations in 83 categories on December 7, 2015. They were led by hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar, who pulled in 11 nominations. Taylor Swift and the Weeknd each received seven.

The top four categories reflect a broadly diverse slate of musical artists, from major stars like Swift and the Weeknd to more obscure figures like Alabama Shakes and Courtney Barnett. The Album of the Year category alone features representatives from pop, country, hip-hop, and alternative.

Swift was the only artist to receive nominations in the top three categories, with 1989 nominated for Album of the Year and her song "Blank Space" landing spots in the Record of the Year and Song of the Year categories. (For an explanation of what's different about these categories, go here.) No artist received nominations in all four top categories, as none of the five Best New Artist nominees saw substantial success in the other top three categories. These four categories — Album, Record, Song, and New Artist — are the only four all artists are eligible for. Otherwise, they are split up among "fields," including pop, rock, country, and so on.

The many nominations for Swift's 1989, which came out in October 2014, and the Best New Artist nomination for Meghan Trainor, who first saw major success in summer 2014, reflect the Grammys' odd eligibility calendar, which runs from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 2015. (Trainor's first album came out in that time period.)

Though the Grammys are currently known more for their wild performances than for the actual awards, they do still hand out trophies. Most are handed out before the telecast (which will be held on Monday, February 15, 2016), but a handful — including the big four — are saved for the main show.

A list of nominees in selected categories follows. To read the full list in all 83 categories, go to the Grammys' website.

The 58th annual Grammy Award nominations

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

Record of the Year

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• "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

Song of the Year

• "Alright," Kendrick Duckworth, Mark Anthony Spears & Pharrell Williams, songwriters; Kendrick Lamar, performer
• "Blank Space," Max Martin, Shellback, and Taylor Swift, songwriters; Swift, performer
• "Girl Crush," Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, and Liz Rose, songwriters; Little Big Town, performer
• "See You Again," Andrew Cedar, Justin Franks, Charles Puth, and Cameron Thomax, songwriters; Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth, performers
• "Thinking Out Loud," Ed Sheeran and Amy Wadge, songwriters; Sheeran, performer

Best New Artist

• Courtney Barnett
• James Bay
• Sam Hunt
• Tori Kelly
• Meghan Trainor

Best Pop Vocal Album

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

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 Ü, Skrillex and Diplo

Best Alternative Music Album

Photo by Brian Ach/Getty Images for AOL

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

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 Rap Album

• 2014 Forest Hills Drive, J. Cole
• Compton, Dr. Dre
• If You're Reading This It's Too Late, Drake
• To Pimp a Butterfly, Kendrick Lamar
• The Pinkprint, Nicki Minaj

Best Urban Contemporary Album

• Ego Death, the Internet
• You Should Be Here, Kahlani
• Blood, Lianne La Havas
• Wildheart, Miguel
• Beauty Behind the Madness, the Weeknd

Best Country Album

Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images

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

Best Musical Theater Album

• An American in Paris
• Fun Home
• Hamilton
• The King and I
• Something Rotten!

Best Comedy Album

• Back to the Drawing Board, Lisa Lampanelli
• Brooklyn, Wyatt Cenac
• Happy. And a Lot., Jay Mohr
• Just Being Honest, Craig Ferguson
• Live at Madison Square Garden, Louis C.K.

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