Kendrick Lamar is king of Grammys, so far, with 5 wins

Kendrick Lamar is the king of the Grammy Awards — so far — picking up five awards in the first hour of the big show.

FILE - In this Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017 file photo, Kendrick Lamar accepts the award for video of the year for "HUMBLE." at the MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. Four of the five album of the year nominees at the 2018 Grammys are rap and R&B-based albums from black or Latino artists, including Lamar. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Lamar won best rap album for "DAMN." and best rap/sung performance for "Loyalty," with Rihanna, during the live telecast at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

"This is special man. I got a lot of guys in this building that I still idolize today," said Lamar, naming Jay-Z, Nas and Diddy as inspirations.

At the end, Lamar closed with: "Jay for president."

In the pre-telecast, Lamar won best rap song, best rap performance and best music video for "HUMBLE."

Lamar, nominated for seven awards, kicked off the Grammys with a powerful and poignant performance featuring video screens displaying a waving American flag behind him, as background dancers dressed as army soldiers marched and moved behind. He was joined Sunday by U2's Bono and The Edge, and also Dave Chappelle — who told jokes in between Lamar's performance.

Benj Pasek, right, and Justin Paul accept the best musical theater album award for "Dear Evan Hansen" at the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

At one point, Lamar's background dancers, dressed in red, were shot down as he rapped lyrics, later coming back to life as fire burst to end the six-minute performance.

Lamar and Mars walked into Grammy Awards with multiple wins, putting them as favorites for top awards like album and record of the year.

Mars won best R&B album, best R&B performance and best R&B song in the pre-telecast. Posthumous Grammys were also handed out to actress Carrie Fisher, singer Leonard Cohen and engineer Tom Coyne, who worked on Mars' "24K Magic" album.

A shaking Alessia Cara won best new artist, winning over SZA, Julia Michaels, Khalid and Lil Uzi Vert.

Rihanna, left, and Kendrick Lamar accept the award for best rap/sung performance for "Loyalty." at the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

"Thank you to my parents and my brother for believing in me," she said, also urging the crowd to "support real music and real artists because everyone deserves the same shot."

Double winners included Jason Isbell, Justin Hurwitz, CeCe Winans and Chris Stapleton.

"This is unbelievable," Stapleton said onstage.

The Rolling Stones picked up the third Grammy of their career — for best traditional blues album for "Blue & Lonesome," while Ed Sheeran won best pop vocal album. Emmy and Golden Globe winner Childish Gambino, who picked up best traditional R&B performance, gave a smooth and sultry performance of "Terrified" in all-white featuring screeching high notes. Gambino was joined by young singer-actor, JD McCrary, who matched his vocals and sings on the original track.

Ben Fielding, left, and Brooke Ligertwood, of Hillsong Worship, pose in the press room with the best contemporary Christian music performance/song award for "What A Beautiful Name" at the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Little Big Town, who sang their Taylor Swift-penned No. 1 hit "Better Man," also won best country duo/group performance with the song. Lady Gaga won over the audience with a rousing performance of the songs "Joanne" and "Million Reasons," while Sam Smith gave a powerful performance of the song "Pray

The Weeknd, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Reba McEntire, LCD Soundsystem, Portugal the Man and Shakira also won early awards. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, both Oscar and Tony winners, won best musical theater album for "Dear Evan Hansen," shared with Tony winner Ben Platt.

Lamar beat out Jay-Z for the five awards he won. Either artist could make history and become the first rapper to win record of the year and the third to win album of the year. And the Grammys are almost guaranteeing that this year will be historic: Four of the five album of the year nominees are rap and R&B-based albums from black or Latino artists. The other big awards of the night — song and record of the year — also are dominated by hip-hop, R&B and Latin music.

Reba McEntire poses in the press room with the best roots gospel album award for "Sing It Now: Songs Of Faith & Hope" at the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

It comes a year after The Recording Academy was heavily criticized when Adele won album of the year over Beyonce. "Lemonade" was seen as an album that moved the needle and dominated pop culture in different ways than Adele's colossal sales. Critics felt the Academy failed to recognize the creative and artistic elements of an R&B-based album, in the same ways they have passed over albums by Kanye West, Eminem and Mariah Carey over the years for projects by rock, country and jazz artists.

Jay-Z is the star of Sunday's show, leading with eight nominations, including album for the year for his revealing "4:44," song of the year for the title track and record of the year for "The Story of O.J." Mars also is nominated for the big three; "Despacito," by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber, is up for record and song of the year; and both Lamar and Gambino are nominated for album and record of the year.

Chris Stapleton accepts the best country solo performance award for "Either Way" at the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

"What you see in nominations is a reflection of the voting membership of the Academy. You have to remember that this is a peer award and it's unique in that way. It's not about sales or charts or popularity or fan votes or whatever, it's the professionals in the industry who are making the judgment," Recording Academy CEO Neil Portnow said in an interview with The Associated Press. "So when you look at the work that's been done, and Jay would be one example, and there's that level of excellence, we have a very sophisticated voting membership that is able to recognize that. And that's how we want it to be."

However, Lorde's critically acclaimed sophomore album, "Melodrama," still has a strong chance in the album of the year category. And Julia Michaels, a talented songwriter who has written hits for Bieber and Selena Gomez, is nominated for song of the year for her single, "Issues."

Performers include Mars with Cardi B, Lady Gaga, Pink, Gambino, Emmylou Harris and Chris Stapleton, Elton John and Miley Cyrus, Rihanna with DJ Khaled and Bryson Tiller, Sting and SZA, the most nominated female act with five.

Ledisi speaks at the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

The night also will feature some serious moments. Earlier this week, key music executives called on artists and employees to wear a white rose at the Grammys in support of Time's Up and #MeToo, the movements against sexual abuse and harassment. Singers Halsey and Dua Lipa, as well as Grammy-nominated rapper Rapsody, were some of the first to say they would wear white roses.

Kesha, who earned her first pair of Grammy nominations for an album reflecting her battle with former producer and mentor Dr. Luke, will honor victims during her performance. Maren Morris, Eric Church and Brothers Osborne, who were performers at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas where a gunman opened fire on fans, killing 58 and injuring hundreds more, will honor victims killed at live music events this past year onstage. And Patti LuPone and Ben Platt will pay tribute to Broadway as the Grammys return to New York City after 15 years for its 60th anniversary.

The Grammys is airing live from Madison Square Garden.

Lily Cornell, from left, and Toni Cornell, daughters of the late Chris Cornell, and Vicky Karayiannis, Cornell's widow, arrive at the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — It looks like the 2025 Grammy Awards may be a different kind of award show. Beyoncé leads the nods with 11, bringing her career total to a record-breaking 99 nominations. There's an incredible diversity of genres represented across the major categories, and women continue to succeed. So... who didn’t make the cut? What were the best surprises of all? Let’s take a look.

Country music has bled into other prominent genres and the Recording Academy has taken note. Country hybridists — like Beyoncé, Post Malone and first-time nominee Shaboozey — lead many nominations, in country and beyond.

But that means the traditionalists might not see rewards: CMA Awards favorites Cody Johnson’s “Leather” and Luke Combs’ “Fathers & Sons” didn’t see any nominations. The latter shouldn’t come as much of a surprise: Comb’s blockbuster cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” wasn’t nominated for record of the year at the Grammys in 2024, either – though it did land a nod in best country solo performance.

This year also marks Malone and Beyoncé’s first-ever nominations in the country categories.

Who saw this one coming? The Beatles last new song, the AI-assisted “Now and Then," is up for record of the year. Released in 2023, the song utilized artificial intelligence to extract John Lennon’s voice from an old demo. It's the same technology used to separate the Beatles’ voices from background sounds during the making of director Peter Jackson’s 2021 documentary series, “The Beatles: Get Back.”

Last summer, the Recording Academy announced a series of changes to the Grammy Awards, including new protocols involving technological advancements in machine learning. It sparked headlines: “Only human creators” could win the music industry’s highest honor in a decision aimed at the use of artificial intelligence in popular music. At the 2025 Grammys, clearly, those changes are in action.

Last year's album of the year category was dominated by pop women — and that continues, with Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX's rave-ready approach to the genre receiving noms. The latter is a nice surprise (more on that below), but the two men nominated are creative outliers. OutKast frontman André 3000's experimental jazz-flute album “New Blue Sun” is a contender, as well as Jacob Collier's “Djesse Vol. 4,” though that one may fulfill a space left vacant by Jon Batiste.

Charli XCX, having never received a solo artist nomination at the Grammys, is up for seven awards at the 2025 ceremony. Those include record and album of the year, as well as pop solo and pop duo/group performance, pop dance recording, dance/electronic album and music video. Clearly, her culture-shifting “BRAT” album — and the summer of memes it inspired — has continued to hold real influence.

There is no shortage of first-time nominees this year. Some were expected — like Roan, Carpenter and Shaboozey — others less so. Willow Smith has received her first nomination in the arrangement, instruments and vocals category for arranging her song “b i g f e e l i n g s.” Linda Martell, the first commercially successful Black woman musician in country, is featured alongside Shaboozey on Beyoncé’s “SPAGHETTII," which is up for the melodic rap performance category. That delivers the progenitor her first-ever Grammy nomination at age 83.

And lastly, Morgan Wallen — undoubtedly one of the most popular musicians in the country, and one rife with controversy — has received his first two Grammy nominations for his feature on Malone's “I Had Some Help.” Last year, his song “Last Night” was nominated for best country song, but that is a songwriter’s award, and Wallen did not receive a nod.

In the past, the country singer has been absent from nominations. In 2021, after video surfaced of him using a racial slur, he was disqualified or limited from several award shows and received no Grammy nominations for his bestselling “Dangerous: The Double Album.”

Just like last year, Latin music is missing from the top categories at the 2025 Grammys, despite a surplus of eligible talent: Peso Pluma’s “Éxodo," Shakira’s “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran,” Residente, “Las Letras Ya No Importan," Carín León's “Boca Chueca, Vol. 1” and Bad Bunny's “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana” among them.

Same as above: K-pop, too, seems to be absent. There are no nominations for the BTS members who’ve released solo material this year: RM’s “Right Place, Wrong Person,” J-Hope’s “Hope on the Street, Vol. 1,” and Jimin’s “Muse.” As a boy band, BTS has received five nominations across its career.

Despite being one of the great global superstars of the current moment — regularly celebrated as one of the most streamed artists on the planet — Bad Bunny's “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana” received only one nomination, for música urbana album.

And Usher, who had a blockbuster year — including a star-studded Super Bowl halftime show — also received only one nomination, for R&B album.

In pop, Dua Lipa's “Radical Optimism" is nowhere to be seen. In country, best new artist hopeful Megan Moroney received no nominations. In R&B, Normani's long-awaited debut album, “Dopamine,” failed to make waves with voters, and in rap, Nicki Minaj's “Pink Friday 2” and Megan Thee Stallion's “Megan” are absent.

Last year, Jack Antonoff took home producer of the year, non-classical for a third year in a row, tying Babyface as the only other producer to do so consecutively. This year, he didn't receive a nod in that category — one he has held a place in since 2019. Who will take the mantle?

The 2025 Grammy Awards will air Feb. 2 live on CBS and Paramount+ from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

This story was first published on Nov. 8, 2024. It was updated on Nov. 12, 2024, to correct the name of Dua Lipa’s album to “Radical Optimism.”

FILE - Charli XCX appears at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, Calif., on March 10, 2024. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, FIle)

FILE - Jack Antonoff attends the premiere of the Apple TV+ series "The New Look" on Feb. 12, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Bad Bunny appears in the press room at the Oscars in Los Angeles on March 10, 2024. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Andre Benjamin, also known as Andre 3000, arrives at the 30th Film Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, Calif., on Feb. 21, 2015. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - The Beatles, from left, John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney appear in Liverpool, England on July 10, 1964, for the premiere of their movie "A Hard Day's Night." (AP Photo, File)