Beyonce leads Grammy nominations, with Cowboy Carter tipped for album of year

Singer-songwriter Beyonce accepts the award for Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for Renaissance during the 65th Annual Grammy Awards in 2023. AFP

Superstar singer Beyonce topped the list of Grammy Award contenders unveiled on Friday, earning 11, including an album of the year nomination for her venture into country music, Cowboy Carter.

Behind Beyonce, Billie Eilish, Charli XCX, Kendrick Lamar and Post Malone tied with seven nominations each. Pop phenomenon Taylor Swift and newcomers Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter scored six each.

Beyonce's nominations brought her career total to 99, more than any other artist. She had been tied for the lead with her husband, rapper Jay-Z, who has 88.

Women dominate the album of the year category, the top Grammy honour.

Beyonce, despite her lifetime lead in nominations, has never taken home the album trophy. Jay-Z called out that fact at the last Grammys ceremony, saying that voters had failed to give proper recognition to black artists.

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  Sitting on a metallic horse, Beyonce wears a silver coat by Balmain and a catsuit by LaQuan. All photos: @beyonce / Instagram

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  Ethereal draped beading by Elie Saab

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  Custom-made Damier check catsuit by Pharrell Williams for Louis Vuitton

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  Crystal-embellished chain-mail look by British designer Stella McCartney

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  Winged haute couture look by Iris van Herpen

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  Open-fronted silver dress with full sleeves by Valentino

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  A monochrome Mary Katrantzou look

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  A catsuit with armour by Marine Serre

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  A sleek, wet-look corset by Vivienne Westwood

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  Anatomical beading and metalwork, made to look like muscle, by Alexander McQueen

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  An all-red, strappy number by Off-White, now headed by Ib Kamara

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  Shimmering catsuit decorated with gloved hands by Jonathan Anderson for Loewe

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  Feathery polka dots and oversized sleeves by Schiaparelli

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  Gathered silver bodysuit and matching gloves by Lanvin

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  Minidress with cutouts and beaded fringing by Givenchy haute couture

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  Metallic pink leather look by Acne Studios

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  Bodysuit made from pieces of metal by Balmain

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  Hooded minidress by Carolina Herrera

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  Sleek red dress by British designer David Koma

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  Bodysuit and cape covered in green crystals by Del Core

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  Red quilted leather by Balmain

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  Head-to-toe denim by Diesel

Swift has won the top prize four times and is in the running again with her break-up album The Tortured Poets Department.

At the awards ceremony in February, the Beyonce and Swift records will compete with Carpenter's Short n' Sweet, Brat from Charli XCX, Eilish's Hit Me Hard and Soft, and Roan's The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.

The two male artists nominated in the album field were rapper Andre 3000 with New Blue Sun, and jazz artist Jacob Collier for Djesse Vol. 4.

Winners will be chosen by the roughly 13,000 singers, songwriters, producers, engineers and others who make up the Recording Academy. The organisation has taken steps to diversify its ranks, and said 38 per cent were people of colour, a 65 per cent increase since 2019.

Cowboy Carter was viewed by experts and fans as a reclamation and homage to an overlooked legacy of black Americans within country music and culture. It became the first album by a black woman to land at No 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart on release last spring.

The Beyonce album was snubbed, however, by voters for the Country Music Awards in September.

Beyonce's other Grammy nominations included record and song of the year for single Texas Hold 'Em. She also was nominated in pop, rap and Americana categories, showcasing the variety of genres on Cowboy Carter.

In the best new artist field, Espresso singer Carpenter will face fellow pop singer Roan, pop-rock singer Benson Boone, hip-hop/country artist Shaboozey, multi-genre musician Teddy Swims and others.

Also on the Grammy nominations list were The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

Now and Then, a Beatles song produced with artificial intelligence to bring the voice of John Lennon to life, was nominated for song of the year.

The Rolling Stones were recognised with a nomination for rock album of the year for Hackney Diamonds, their first album of original music in 18 years.