Beyoncé, Sam Smith and Pharrell Williams are tied for the most Grammy nominations this year. All three earned six nods for the 57th Grammy Awards, which will air Feb. 8 on CBS, and they battle it out for Album of the Year.
Nominations gradually were announced all day Friday on TV and on Twitter. Ed Sheeran and Pharrell Williams announced four categories on CBS This Morning. Then, for the first time, two dozen more of the categories were slowly unveiled via celebrity Twitter accounts.
During Friday night's A Very Grammy Christmas, Beyoncé, Smith and Pharrell earned their Album of The Year nods, alongside Beck and Ed Sheeran. Beyoncé is now the most-nominated female in Grammy history with 53 nods.
On their tail with four nominations are Iggy Azalea, Beck, Eric Church, Tom Coyne, Drake, Gordon Goodwin, Jay Z, Miranda Lambert, Sia, Usher, and Jack White.
"We considered announcing everything at once, but that wasn’t conducive to our goal of celebrating each nominee," Evan Greene, CMO at the Recording Academy, told Mashable. "So we decided to let each announcement live its own moment."
Got to Grammy.com for the full list of nominees. To be eligible for a nomination, recordings had to be released between Oct. 1, 2013, and Sept. 30, 2014.
Album of the Year
In The Lonely Hour, Sam Smith
Beyoncé, Beyoncé
Morning Phase, Beck
X, Ed Sheeran
Girl, Pharrell Williams
Congrats @theGRAMMYs Album Of The Year noms @beyonce @pharrell @edsheeran @beck @samsmithworld #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/fAw928Hd00— The GRAMMYs (@TheGRAMMYs) December 6, 2014
Record of the Year
“Fancy,” Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX
“Chandelier,” Sia
“Stay With Me,” Sam Smith
“Shake It Off,” Taylor Swift
“All About That Bass,” Meghan Trainor
.@theGRAMMYs Record Of The Year noms @IGGYAZALEA @charli_xcx @sia @samsmithworld @taylorswift13 @Meghan_Trainor pic.twitter.com/AhC0cbnOIb— The GRAMMYs (@TheGRAMMYs) December 5, 2014
Song of the Year (songwriters)
"All About That Bass," Meghan Trainor
"Chandelier," Sia
"Shake It Off," Taylor Swift
"Stay With Me," Sam Smith
"Take Me to Church," Hozier
Congrats to @theGRAMMYs Song Of The Year noms @Meghan_Trainor, @sia, @taylorswift13, @samsmithworld & @hozier! https://t.co/xqncX3LrSb— Troye Sivan (@troyesivan) December 5, 2014
Best New Artist
Bastille
Iggy Azalea
Brandy Clark
Haim
Sam Smith
Congrats @theGRAMMYs Best New Artist noms @bastilledan @IGGYAZALEA @TheBrandyClark @HAIMtheband @samsmithworldhttps://t.co/sFBz4aYigk— Alanis Morissette (@Alanis) December 5, 2014
Best Pop Vocal Album
Ghost Stories, Coldplay
Bangerz, Miley Cyrus
My Everything, Ariana Grande
Prism, Katy Perry
X, Ed Sheeran
In The Lonely Hour, Sam Smith
Congrats #GRAMMYs Best Pop Vocal Album noms @coldplay @mileycyrus @arianagrande @katyperry @edsheeran @samsmithworld pic.twitter.com/h7aozKO1pJ— The GRAMMYs (@TheGRAMMYs) December 5, 2014
Best Country Album
Riser, Dierks Bentley
The Outsiders, Eric Church
12 Stories, Brandy Clark
Platinum, Miranda Lambert
The Way I’m Livin, Lee Ann Womack
Congrats @theGRAMMYs Best Country Album nom @DierksBentley @ericchurch @TheBrandyClark @mirandalambert @leeannwomack pic.twitter.com/zU61E02D3s— The GRAMMYs (@TheGRAMMYs) December 5, 2014
Best Urban Contemporary Album
Sail Out, Jhené Aiko
Beyoncé, Beyoncé
X, Chris Brown
Mali Is, Mali Music
Girl, Pharrell
Congrats @theGRAMMYs Best Urban Contemporary Album noms @jheneaiko @beyonce @chrisbrown @malimusic @pharrell pic.twitter.com/NQ4eF2jLtq— The GRAMMYs (@TheGRAMMYs) December 5, 2014
Best Pop Solo Performance
John Legend, "All of Me"
Sia, "Chandelier"
Sam Smith, "Stay With Me"
Taylor Swift, "Shake It Off"
Pharrell Williams, "Happy"
The #Grammys are letting me announce Best Pop Solo performance...and your nominees are... https://t.co/mnyARLBN8E— Ryan Seacrest (@RyanSeacrest) December 5, 2014
Best Rock Song
"Ain't It Fun," Paramore
"Blue Moon," Beck
"Fever," The Black Keys
"Gimme Something Good," Ryan Adams
"Lazaretto," Jack White
Congrats @theGRAMMYs Best Rock Song noms @paramore @beck @theblackkeys @TheRyanAdams @thirdmanrecords pic.twitter.com/IJYIZk3dvf— The GRAMMYs (@TheGRAMMYs) December 5, 2014
Best Rock Album
Ryan Adams, Ryan Adams
Morning Phase, Beck
Turn Blue, The Black Keys
Hypnotic Eye, Tom Petty
Songs of Innocence, U2
Congrats @theGRAMMYs Best Rock Album noms @TheRyanAdams @beck @theblackkeys @tompetty @u2! https://t.co/RnJZCcMv3D— JARED LETO (@JaredLeto) December 5, 2014
Best Country Song
"American Kids," Kenny Chesney
"Automatic," Miranda Lambert
"Give Me Back My Hometown," Eric Church
"I'm Not Gonna Miss You," Glen Campbell
"Meanwhile Back at Mama's," Tim McGraw featuring Faith Hill
Congrats @theGRAMMYs Best Country Song noms @kennychesney @mirandalambert @ericchurch @GlenCampbell @TheTimMcGrawhttps://t.co/qQhjm1ulNX— Joy Williams (@joywilliams) December 5, 2014
Best Reggae Album
Fly Rasta, Ziggy Marley
Back On the Controls, Lee "Scratch" Perry
Full Frequency, Sean Paul
Out of Many, One Music, Shaggy
Reggae Power, Sly and Robbie & Spicy Chocolate
Amid The Noise and The Haste, SOJA
#GRAMMYs Best Reggae Album nominees! @ziggymarley #LeeScratchPerry @duttypaul @DiRealShaggy #Sly&Robbie @SOJALive pic.twitter.com/21UGoaQeVH— The GRAMMYs (@TheGRAMMYs) December 5, 2014
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
Cheek to Cheek, Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga
Nostalgia, Annie Lennox
Night Songs, Barry Manilow
Sending You a Little Christmas, Johnny Mathis
Partners, Barbra Streisand
.@theGRAMMYs Best Trad Pop noms @itstonybennett @ladygaga @AnnieLennox @barrymanilow @MathisJohnny @BarbraStreisandhttps://t.co/KqcXii2N8H— AccessHollywoodLive (@LiveAccess) December 5, 2014
Best Rap Performance
"3005," Childish Gambino
"0 to 100 / The Catch Up," Drake
"Rap God," Eminem
"i," Kendrick Lamar
"All I Need Is You," Lecrae
Congrats @theGRAMMYs Best Rap Performance noms @donaldglover @drake @eminem @kendricklamar @lecraehttps://t.co/I3xJ5HkI77— GOAT. (@llcoolj) December 5, 2014
Best Alternative Album
Congrats @theGRAMMYs Best Alt Music Album noms @alt_J @arcadefire @CageTheElephant @st_vincent @thirdmanrecordshttps://t.co/7IJob990Aq— Vampire Weekend (@vampireweekend) December 5, 2014
Best Soundtrack
Congrats @theGRAMMYs Best Soundtrack noms @AmericanHustle #Frozen @GetOnUpMovie @Guardians @TheWolfofWallSt #GRAMMYshttps://t.co/eVNun9t7ZO— Michael Yo (@MichaelYo) December 5, 2014
Best Americana Album
Congrats #GRAMMYs Best Americana Album noms @rosannecash @johnhiattmusic @kebmomusic @NickelCreek @SturgillSimpson pic.twitter.com/GoDaIvXUME— The GRAMMYs (@TheGRAMMYs) December 5, 2014
Best Country Solo Performance
Congrats @theGRAMMYs Country Solo nominees @ericchurch @hunterhayes @mirandalambert @carrieunderwood @keithurbanhttps://t.co/xtV7wjHA2f— Nancy O'Dell (@NancyODell) December 5, 2014
Best Pop/Duo Group Performance
Congrats @theGRAMMYs Best Pop Duo/Group Performance nominees! #GRAMMYshttps://t.co/E5loYaxy5C— Zedd (@Zedd) December 5, 2014
Best Music Video
Congrats @theGRAMMYs Best Music Video noms @arcadefire @djsnake @liljon @sia @pharrell @Woodkidhttps://t.co/tknNSzdePW— weezer (@Weezer) December 5, 2014
Best Rap Album
Congrats @theGRAMMYs Best Rap Album noms @eminem @donaldglover @IGGYAZALEA @common @ScHoolBoyQ @wizkhalifa!! https://t.co/titrMCCpo2— Angie Martinez (@angiemartinez) December 5, 2014
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
http://t.co/txPgRUgWFO via @theGRAMMYs Best Rap/Sung Collab noms @Common @JheneAiko @eminem @rihanna @iLoveMakonnen5D @Drake @KanyeWest— MC Lyte (@mclyte) December 5, 2014
ALL NOMINATIONS
Full list of nominations (minus Album Of The Year) is up on http://t.co/sWvXldD5AJ! Tune in tonight to @CBS #GRAMMYChristmas for AOTY noms!— The GRAMMYs (@TheGRAMMYs) December 5, 2014
When asked to elaborate on the Twitter rollout, Greene told Mashable:
"The Recording Academy is in its 57th year. You don’t last that long by staying the same. The brand has such a strong heritage that our legacy sometimes overshadows our innovation. But don’t forget, we were the first show to incorporate Instagram on the red carpet, we were first to debut the Twitter Mirror, last year Queen Latifah married couples live on the telecast! The Grammy Awards are the second-most talked about televised event on social media. Based on data compiled by Twitter and 87AM: the Grammys garnered 15.7 million mentions on Twitter during last year’s broadcast alone. Every year, we get together in a room and think about what we should do next. Evolution, innovation, and change —- this is what helped get us here and it’s what will help us grow further in the future. I’ve seen that fans appreciate the surprise element. You’ve got mix-tapes, albums, and videos dropping unannounced overnight. I think fans get excited about the process of discovery and appreciate the direct-from-the-source connection they have with their favorite artists. More importantly though, it’s not only about fan discovery, it’s also about the nominees receiving the news from their peers — someone they’ve collaborated with, possibly a friend, maybe someone who’s inspired them."