Grammys: Kendrick Lamar leads Taylor Swift in nominations

California hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar led the Grammy nominations on Monday, scoring 11 nods including album of the year for "To Pimp a Butterfly."

The 28 year-old from Compton, the heart of the Los Angeles rap scene, left country-pop superstar Taylor Swift trailing with seven nominations for the biggest awards in the music industry.

Canadian rapper The Weeknd also got seven nominations after a break-out year for his album “Beauty Behind the Madness” and best-selling single “Can’t Feel My Face.”

Lamar, who won two Grammys last year in the specialist rap category, broke into the mainstream this year with nominations for the top prize, album of the year. He will also compete for song of the year for “Alright,” best pop duo with Swift for her hit “Bad Blood” and music video for the same single.

“To Pimp a Butterfly,” his third studio album, has topped the US and UK music charts with its fusion of funk, jazz and poetry.

Lamar will compete in the best album category with Swift's "1989," The Weeknd's "Beauty Behind the Madness," country singer Chris Stapleton's "Traveller" and rock band Alabama Shakes' "Sand & Color."

Seven-time Grammy winner Swift’s other nominations this year include record, song of the year and best pop solo performance for “Blank Space.”

Erotic drama “Fifty Shades of Grey” powered The Weeknd to three of his Grammy nods for single “Earned It” which was featured on the movie’s soundtrack. The 25 year-old Canadian has never won a Grammy in his five year-long career.

Competing for best new artist are "All About the Bass" singer Meghan Trainor, country artist Sam Hunt, British singer-songwriter James Bay, American Tori Kelly, and Australian Courtney Barnett.

Britain’s Adele, who won six Grammys for her 2011 album “21,” was not eligible this year because her record-breaking new release “25,” was issued too late for consideration.

The Grammy Awards, chosen by members of the Recording Academy, will be handed out at a ceremony in Los Angeles on February 15th.

Here's the main list of nominations. The full list is over at grammy.com

Album of the Year
Sound & Color — Alabama Shakes
To Pimp a Butterfly — Kendrick Lamar
Traveller — Chris Stapleton
1989 — Taylor Swift
Beauty Behind the Madness — The Weeknd

Best New Artist
Courtney Barnett
James Bay
Sam Hunt
Tori Kelly
Meghan Trainor

Record of the Year
Really Love — D'Angelo and The Vanguard
Uptown Funk — Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars
Thinking Out Loud — Ed Sheeran
Blank Space — Taylor Swift
Can't Feel My Face — The Weeknd

Song of the Year
Alright — Kendrick Lamar
Blank Space — Taylor Swift
Girl Crush — Little Big Town
See You Again — Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth
Thinking Out Loud — Ed Sheeran

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
Ship To Wreck — Florence + The Machine
Sugar — Maroon 5
Uptown Funk — Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars
Bad Blood — Taylor Swift Featuring Kendrick Lamar
See You Again — Wiz Khalifa Featuring Charlie Puth

Best Pop Solo Performance
Heartbeat Song — Kelly Clarkson
Love Me Like You Do — Ellie Goulding
Thinking Out Loud  — Ed Sheeran
Blank Space — Taylor Swift
Can't Feel My Face — The Weeknd

Best Pop Vocal Album
Piece By Piece — Kelly Clarkson
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful — Florence + The Machine
Uptown Special —Mark Ronson
1989 — Taylor Swift
Before This World — James Taylor

Best Rap Song
All Day — Kanye West Featuring Theophilus London, Allan Kingdom & Paul McCartney
Alright — Kendrick Lamar
Energy — Drake
Glory — Common & John Legend
Trap Queen — Fetty Wap

Best Rap Album
2014 Forest Hills Drive — J. Cole
Compton — Dr. Dre
If Youre Reading This Its Too Late — Drake
To Pimp A Butterfly — Kendrick Lamar
The Pinkprint — Nicki Minaj

- Reuters