Kayne West is the clear favorite in the 2012 Grammy nominations, leading the field with seven nominations, including Best Rap Album and Song of the Year. Following just one nomination behind, Adele was tapped to compete for six 2012 Grammy awards, including Best Song and Best Album.
The 2012 Grammy nominations were announced during a special The Grammy Nominations Concert Live! show Wednesday night featuring Lady Gaga, Usher and Nicki Minaj. Ironically, the man with the most nominations, Kayne West, wasn’t even present to gloat. Maybe he already knew that despite all the other nominations, his album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was not going to get a nod for Best Album of the Year. He also failed to land a nomination for Best Album for his joint Watch the Throne album with Jay-Z. No doubt he’s stewing over those snubs.
West was nominated for Song of the Year for the celebrity-laden tune “All of the Lights,” featuring a slew of notables from Elton John, to Alicia Keys to Rihanna. Bon Iver, the indie folk band that collaborated on West’s chart-topping album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, was honored with four nominations.
Multiple 2012 Grammy nominations also went to The Foo Fighters and Bruno Mars with six nods each, and Lil Wayne and dance-music newcomers Skrillex with five each. Mars said he felt incredible to be nominated for som many awards for his debut album Doo-Waps & Hooligans.
“I’m so glad the album is being recognized in this way. This awards stuff, I’m still trying to get used to it. It’s hard for me as Adele and Kanye West are incredible, so the fact that the album was nominated in same category is amazing,” Mars said in a press statement.
Other multiple nominations for the 2012 Grammy awards went to Lady Gaga, Radiohead, Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne. Taylor Swift, who won Best Album in 2010, failed to crossover with Speak Now in the Grammy nominations this year, landing three nods only in the country categories.
Best New Artist was perhaps the most interesting category of this year’s nominations, with nods to Nicki Minaj, J Cole, The Band Perry, Skrillex and Bon Iver.
The full lineup for Best Album of the Year included Bon Iver, Adele, Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, and Mumford & Sons. The Best Song of the Year category was almost identical, with only Katy Perry being left out, replaced by Kanye West.
The 54th Annual 2012 Grammy Awards will be held February 12 in Los Angeles. Read the full list of nominations here.
