Musics biggest night is the Grammys.
But musics biggest morning?
That would be theGrammy nominations, of course, which were unveiled earlier Friday.
This years crop included plenty of snubs, surprises, and standard Grammy fare.
From Kendrick to Gaga to Brandi Carlile(!)
It all goes down on Feb. 10, 2019, in Los Angeles.
Ahead, EW senior editor Alex Suskind and features editor Sarah Rodman break down some of the newsworthy nominations.
This years crop has some great and unexpected but welcome nominees.
Its great to see the love for Wakanda translate into another medium.
Kendrick has been to this dance a few times though and come away empty-handed in the big categories.
What do you think Alex, is this Kendricks year to win the big awards?
Or will he need to use some vibranium to actually triumph?
But the big prizes have eluded the Compton MC, this despite his three previous AOTY-nominated studio efforts.
Considering how major a pop culture momentBlack Pantherwas, its tempting to make Lamar the favorite.
But, with or without the vibranium, the competition isfierce.
Speaking of, what do you think of the rest of the AOTY list?
SARAH:That was one of the most refreshing surprises of this years crop!
(Im just going keep shouting that!)
Were there any big surprise or snubs that caught your eye?
ALEX:The biggest surprise for me: Taylor Swift.
As in, a lack thereof.
Im now curious if Swift shows up to this years ceremony at all.
But for now, lets talk numbers.
Do you think thats a good thing?
SARAH:It is both a good and a bad thing, right?
More nominations theoretically means more recognition for deserving artists and their work.
But the cynic in me cant help but wonder: If everybody is special, is anybody special?
And will people now start to pick apart the nominations to figure out who the extra people are?
But, more nominations also makes it that much more difficult to win.
Does someone like H.E.R.
have a chance against Drake?
Which brings us to the expanded Best New Artist category.
This one has had a wild history.
What do you think of this years class?
ALEX:Wild history is right.
SARAH:These nominations give me hope for that on a lot of levels.
