Jay-Z sweeps Grammy nominations

Jay-Z leads the pack with nine nominations for this year's Grammy Awards.

The honours were announced at The Grammy Nominations Concert Live!! 2013 last night.

The 44-year-old rapper's nominations included Best Rap Album for Magna Carta Holy Grail and he also got a nod for his collaboration with Justin Timberlake on Suit & Tie.

The annual awards ceremony, now in its 56th year, gave newcomers Macklemore & Ryan Lewis seven nominations, including the coveted Best Album and Best New Artist awards.

But not all major artists made the cut, with Miley Cyrus being left out of all categories despite releasing headline-making song Wrecking Ball earlier this year.

LL Cool J hosted the event which saw performances from Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and Lorde, all of whom received nominations.

17-year-old New Zealand born Lorde is a first time contender for a Grammy Award. She's up for Record of the Year with her smash hit Royals.

She tweeted her excitement to her fans, posting "FOUR" to her followers. She also congratulated her fellow artists who joined her in the nominations.

"couldn't be more happy for @kendricklamar and @jamesblake, also. incredibly well deserved (sic)." She said.

Kendrick Lamar received seven nominations, including Album of the Year for his Good Kid, M.A.A.D City.

James Blake is in the running for Best New Artist. He's up against Kendrick as well as Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Kacey Musgraves and British star Ed Sheeran.

The 56th Annual Grammy Awards will be held in Los Angeles on January 26.


List of major nominations for the 56th Annual Grammy Awards:


Album of the Year

The Blessed Unrest – Sara Barielles

Random Access Memories – Daft Punk

Good Kid, M.A.A.D City – Kendrick Lamar

The Heist – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Red – Taylor Swift


Record of the Year

Get Lucky – Daft Punk ft. Pharrell Williams

Radioactive – Imagine Dragons

Royals – Lorde

Locked Out of Heaven – Bruno Mars

Blurred Lines – Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell


Best New Artist

James Blake

Kendrick Lamar

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Kacey Musgraves

Ed Sheeran


Song Of The Year

Just Give Me a Reason – Pink featuring Nate Ruess (Songwriters: Pink, Jeff Bhasker, Nate Ruess)

Locked Out of Heaven – Bruno Mars (Songwriters: Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine)

Roar – Katy Perry (Songwriters: Katy Perry, Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin, Bonnie McKee, Henry Walter)

Royals – Lorde (Songwriters: Ella Yelich O'Connor and Joel Little)

Same Love – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Mary Lambert (Songwriters: Ben Haggerty, Ryan Lewis and Mary Lambert)


Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

Get Lucky – Daft Punk featuring Pharrell

Just Give Me a Reason – Pink featuring Nate Ruess

Stay – Rihanna featuring Mikky Ekko

Blurred Lines – Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell

Suit & Tie – Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z


Best Country Album:

Night Train – Jason Aldean

Two Lanes of Freedom – Tim McGraw

Same Trailer Different Park – Kacey Musgraves

Based on a True Story – Blake Shelton

Red – Taylor Swift