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Beyoncé ties Grammy record after leading nominations with 9

Jonathan Landrum Jr./The Associated Press | 11/17/2022, 6 p.m.
Beyoncé has propelled herself into the highest Grammy echelon: The star singer claimed a leading nine nominations Tuesday, making her ...
Beyonce at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in March 2021. Beyoncé is nominated for nine Grammy Awards, including record and song of the year for “Break My Soul,” along with album of the year for “Renaissance.” Associated Press File Photo

LOS ANGELES - Beyoncé has propelled herself into the highest Grammy echelon: The star singer claimed a leading nine nominations Tuesday, making her tied — with her husband Jay-Z — as the most nominated music act in the history of the awards show.

Beyoncés “Break My Soul” reeled in record and song of the year nominations, while “Renaissance” — which ventured into the world of dancehall music — netted an album of the year nod. With Jay-Z also earning five nods this year, each spouse now holds the record for the most-ever Grammy nominations at 88 apiece.

Kendrick Lamar came away with the second-most nominations, with eight. Adele and Brandi Carlile both received seven nods. Harry Styles, Mary J. Blige, Future, DJ Khaled, The Dream and mastering engineer Randy Merrill each picked up six.

Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar

“This makes me feel very proud, but it makes me conscious of the fact that we have to maintain the work we have done,” said Harvey Mason Jr., the Recording Academy’s CEO. He said there have been strides in the peer-driven voting system and increased membership, but he still believes more progress can be made.

The academy added a special song for social change and five new categories, including songwriter of the year, which Mr. Mason says will further help diversify the 65th edition of the annual awards.

The non-classical songwriter category will recognize one individual who was the “most prolific” non-performing and non-producing songwriter for a body of new work during an eligibility year. It will take a different approach than song of the year, which awards the songwriters who wrote the lyrics or melodies to one song.

Mr. Mason said implementing the songwriters category is a “significant” step forward for the music industry. Last year, a rule update allowed that any songwriter, producer, engineer or featured artist on a work nominated for album of the year could ultimately earn a nomination.

“The academy and voters are placing a high importance on the craft of songwriting,” Mr. Mason said of the new category, in which nominees include The Dream, Amy Allen, Nija Charles, Tobias Jesso Jr. and Laura Veltz. “Personally, as a songwriter, I’m happy to see it being a significant part of our process. We realize that songwriting is at the heart of our industry. It’s one of the building blocks for every artist’s career.”

Beyoncé, the most decorated woman in Grammy history with 28 wins, could break the late Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti’s record for most awards won if she wins four awards. Mr. Solti, who has 31 Grammys, has held on to the record since 1997.

For the first time in Beyoncés lauded career, she was nominated in the dance category. Her seventh studio project is up for best dance-electronic music album and “Break My Soul” is nominated for best dance-electronic recording. Other nominations include best R&B song for “Cuff It,” R&B performance for “Virgo’s Groove,” traditional R&B performance for “Plastic Off the Sofa” and song written for visual media for “Be Alive,” the Oscar-nominated song from the “King Richard” soundtrack.

Other album of the year nominees include: Adele’s “30,”ABBA’s “Voyage,” Bad Bunny’s “Un Verano Sin Ti,” Mary J. Blige’s “Good Morning Gorgeous” (Deluxe), Carlile’s “In These Silent Days,” Coldplay’s “Music of the Spheres,” Mr. Lamar’s “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers,” Lizzo’s “Special” and Mr. Styles’ “Harry’s House.” Bad Bunny made history, with his album becoming the first sung entirely in Spanish to compete in the category.

Brandi Carlile

Brandi Carlile

Tracks competing with “Break My Soul” for record of the year include Mr. Styles’ “As It Was,” Doja Cat’s “Woman,” Adele’s “Easy On Me,” ABBA’s “Don’t Shut Me Down,” Mary J. Blige’s “Good Morning Gorgeous,” Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit,” Mr. Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5,” Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” and Ms. Carlile’s “You and Me On the Rock” featuring Lucius.