Staggering the content is not just for blogs anymore. The Recording Academy is announcing the 2015 Grammy nominations today not in one televised info-dump, but rather teasing out tidbits over the course of the day, until the Best Bluegrass Album hopefuls are crawling in their skin with suspense.
One person who is already happy is Pharrell Williams, who has probably felt that way every single day for the last 18 months or so since his song “Happy” became one of the most successful things that has ever happened. Somehow that Happy-train keeps chugging along, however, as the song has just been nominated for best solo pop performance. Because of the draconian voting deadline, older hits like “Happy” and Miley Cyrus’s much-ballyhooed Bangerz are up for awards alongside more recent fare such as the inescapable Iggy Azalea hit, “Fancy” and Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.” (Look for the remainder of Swift’s deadline-darting album, 1989, to be nominated in the 2016 Grammys.)
Retaining part of the televised element of the usual announcements, each of the nominations is being announced with videos on the Grammys Twitter account by stars like Jared Leto and Alanis Morissette. Here are the nominees we know so far.
Record of the Year
Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX – “Fancy”
Sia – “Chandelier”
Sam Smith – “Stay With Me” (Darkchild Version)
Taylor Swift – “Shake It Off”
Meghan Trainor – “All About That Bass”
Best Pop Solo Performance
John Legend – “All of Me” (live version)
Sia – “Chandelier”
Sam Smith – “Stay With Me”
Taylor Swift – “Shake It Off”
Pharrell – “Happy”
Best Country Album
Dierks Bentley – Riser
Eric Church – The Outsiders
Brandy Clark – 12 Stories
Miranda Lambert – Platinum
Lee Ann Womack – The Way I’m Livin’
Best Rock Album
Ryan Adams – Ryan Adams
The Black Keys – Turn Blue
U2 – Songs of Innocence
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Hypnotic Eye
Beck – Morning Phase
Best Pop Vocal Album
Coldplay – Ghost Stories
Miley Cyrus – Bangerz
Ariana Grande – My Everything
Katy Perry – Prism
Ed Sheeran – X
Sam Smith – In The Lonely Hour
Best Urban Contemporary Album
Jhené Aiko – Sail Out
Beyoncé – Beyoncé
Chris Brown – X
Mali Music – Mali Is
Pharrell Williams – G I R L
Best Rock Song
Jack White – “Lazaretto”
The Black Keys – “Fever”
Paramore – “Ain’t It Fun”
Beck – “Blue Moon”
Ryan Adams – “Gimme Something Good”
Best New Artist
Iggy Azalea
Sam Smith
Bastille
Brandy Clark
HAIM
The Grammys will be broadast February 8 on CBS.