Album Of The Year Grammy Nominees Include Kendrick Lamar, Clipse

This year’s Grammy nominations are in, so we know who’s facing off for the all-important Album Of The Year trophy. One might argue that this year’s slate of nominees isn’t quite as packed as what we got last year, but we’re still looking at some very big stars who might finally get their long-overdue recognition in this particular category.

As widely predicted, Kendrick Lamar leads this year’s class of nominees, and you’ve probably got to consider him the heavy favorite. Kendrick has a ton of past Album Of The Year nominations — for Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City, To Pimp A Butterfly, Damn., Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, and even the Black Panther soundtrack that he curated. He has never won. Earlier this year, Kendrick won two of the big four categories, Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year, for “Not Like Us.” Kendrick’s 2024 album GNX didn’t come out within last year’s eligibility window, but it’s in the race this year. After Beyoncé finally won for Cowboy Carter this year, it certainly seems possible that the Recording Academy will finally give Kendrick his flowers for this one.

But don’t sleep on Lady Gaga, a four-time nominee who has never won. Gaga got nominations for The Fame, The Fame Monster, Born This Way, and the Tony Bennett duets album Love For Sale. She’s nominated for Mayhem, a widely acclaimed and commercially successful record that really solidified her position as a pop institution.

Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show successor Bad Bunny is nominated for Debí Tirar Más Fotos, a very good album with a lot of industry support. It’s Bad Bunny’s second nomination after Un Verano Sin Ti in 2023. Sabrina Carpenter also gets her second nomination for Man’s Best Friend; she was up for its predecessor Short N’ Sweet earlier this year. Justin Bieber, a two-time nominee for Purpose and Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe), is nominated for SWAG.

A couple of storied rap artists scored their first nominations. Reunited legends Clipse are nominate for Let God Sort Em Out, while Tyler, The Creator is up for Chromakopia. The biggest surprise of the bunch is probably R&B journeyman Leon Thomas, nominated for Mutt. Thomas now has exactly the same number of Album Of The Year nominations as his former Victorious co-star Ariana Grande.

This year’s biggest snub is definitely the Weeknd, who did not get nominated for his album Hurry Up Tomorrow. The Weeknd previously got a nomination for Beauty Behind The Madness in 2016. But when the Academy gave no nominations to 2020’s After Hours, the Weeknd elected to boycott the Grammys, calling them “corrupt.” Last year, he buried the hatchet, giving a surprise performance on the telecast. Don’t expect to see him back this year!

A bunch of other albums that were tipped for nomination were also left out, including Elton John and Brandi Carlile’s Who Believes In Angels?, Lorde’s Virgin, Bon Iver’s SABLE, fABLE, Fred again..’s Ten Days, and George Strait’s Cowboys And Dreamers. I had my fingers crossed for Turnstile, Dijon, and Addison Rae after they got nominations in some other categories, but they did not sneak in there.

Taylor Swift, the biggest winner in the history of this category, is not a snub. Her new record The Life Of A Showgirl did not come out during this year’s eligibility window. It would’ve been cool to see Geese or Wednesday or Big Thief get nominations, too, but those also fell outside the window, which ends on August 31. Maybe next year! (Probably not next year.)

Here’s the full list of nominees:

Bad Bunny – Debí Tirar Más Fotos
Justin Bieber – SWAG
Sabrina Carpenter – Man’s Best Friend
Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out
Lady Gaga – Mayhem
Kendrick Lamar – GNX
Leon Thomas – Mutt
Tyler, The Creator – Chromakopia

We’ll find out who wins Album Of The Year when the Grammys air live from LA’s Crypto.com Arena on February 1.