Summary Newcomer Sam Smith and Beyonce on Friday led nominations for the Grammy Awards.
NEW YORK (AFP) - Newcomer Sam Smith and Beyonce on Friday led nominations for the Grammy Awards, with the music industry s annual picks weighted toward female vocalists and R&B influences.
Smith -- the British blue-eyed soul singer who emerged in force this year with "Stay With Me," a ballad about a one-night stand -- was tied with Beyonce for nominations in five categories at music s biggest awards.
"Five Grammy nominations! What is happening?" Smith wrote on Twitter with a string of exclamation points and emoticons as he congratulated his competitors as well.
Beyonce, who won six Grammys in 2010 in one of the awards biggest-ever hauls, was nominated this time in five categories over her latest, self-titled album, which includes the hit "Drunk In Love," sung with her husband Jay Z.
The Grammy winners will be announced at a gala ceremony in Los Angeles on February 8. Nominations were announced on US television and in a steady drip on Twitter, with names for the most prestigious Album of the Year award to be revealed late Friday.
The nominations showed a shift in direction after French electronic duo Daft Punk won last year s top Grammys. All but one of the nods for Record of the Year went to a white artist heavily influenced by R&B or hip hop.
Smith was the only male artist tapped for Record of the Year. Other nominees included fellow new artists Meghan Trainor for "All About That Bass" and Australian rapper Iggy Azalea for "Fancy," which features British singer Charli XCX.
Sia, another Australian influenced by R&B, scored a nomination for "Chandelier." It was the biggest nomination in her more than two-decade career, although she previously was in contention two years ago in a rap category.
Country-turned-pop superstar Taylor Swift got a nod for Record of the Year with "Shake it Off" from her chart-topping album "1989." The album as a whole, which last month enjoyed the biggest single-week sales for a US album in 12 years, came out too late for Grammy eligibility.
U2, already the most nominated group in Grammy history, received another nod for Best Rock Album for "Songs of Innocence." The album was controversially released for free on iTunes in September but U2 rushed out a limited-edition vinyl in time to be Grammy eligible.
U2 s competitors in the category are veteran heartland rockers Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, critically acclaimed innovator Beck, garage band The Black Keys and alternative rocker and producer Ryan Adams.
Beyonce, who was not nominated for Record of the Year, was also in contention for Best Urban Contemporary Album.
Others in the category included Pharrell Williams, whose viral hit "Happy" came out too early for February s Grammys but who released a live version that is eligible.
Other nominees in the category included Mali Music, a singer who had earlier developed a following for his Christian-inspired Gospel music, for his mainstream debut "Mali Is..." Mali Music wrote on Instagram that he was "blown away" by the nomination.
Women also took three of the five nominations for Country Album, despite the dominance of male-dominated "bro-country" on the radio.
Brandy Clark was nominated for "12 Stories," which was released on a Dallas label after Nashville would not touch it, with established stars Miranda Lambert and Lee Ann Womack also in the running.
Clark was separately nominated in the closely watched Best New Artist category, along with Azalea and Smith. Also in the category were Haim, the Fleetwood Mac-inspired California band featuring three sisters, and British rockers Bastille.
Azalea was also nominated for Best Rap Album along with veteran Eminem, who recently threatened her in a song.
Others in the category are the successful actor and poet Common, marijuana-loving soloist Wiz Khalifa and television star Childish Gambino, as well as Schoolboy Q, who released his major label debut.
