The nominations for the 2016 Grammy Awards were announced Monday morning, and, as usual, we couldn’t wait to hear who nabbed a nod. We all know that some artists are sure bets — Taylor Swift and her insanely successful album, 1989, come to mind, obvi — but what’s always a surprise is seeing who was snubbed for the 2016 Grammys. It seems as though every year someone amazing gets left out from being nominated for music’s biggest award (or at least from being nominated in certain categories), leaving us scratching our heads at best and totally outraged at worst.
Remember last year, when Beyoncé was relegated to nominations in mostly R&B/urban categories, even though she is basically music’s queen to whom we all bow down (and we probably shouldn’t mention her Album Of The Year loss, which I’m sure Kanye West is still upset about)? Or when artists like Lana Del Ray, Maroon 5, Lady Gaga, and One Direction were shut out completely, much to the chagrin of their fans?
Of course, this year is no different. So with news of 2016 nominations out this morning, here are some of the artists we were surprised didn’t make the cut in the night’s biggest categories:
Nicki Minaj
Sure, the "Anaconda" singer did get nominated this year... but only in the rap categories. A disappointment, considering the only women to make it into the big categories this year were, of course, white women.
Justin Bieber
The Biebs gets a lot of flack for being...well...The Biebs. But you can't deny he's had a great year musically. The Grammys haven't historically been very kind to Justin Bieber, but this year he had some big hits — like "Where Are Ü Now", a collab with Skrillex and Diplo, and "What Do You Mean?" — that were both really great, and eligible for nominations (Bieber's recent album release, Purpose, missed the cut-off). Unfortunately for Justin, they didn't make the cut, meaning there are sure to be many disappointed Beliebers out in the Twitterverse today.
Drake
OK, so Drake did get some nominations in rap categories, but given his widespread appeal and popularity, you'd think we'd have seen his name in other categories too, like Album Of The Year for If You’re Reading This It’s Already Too Late (not saying that he'd win, but a nod didn't seem out of the question).
Madonna
So maybe this wasn't a huge year for Madonna, but she did release a new album, Rebel Heart, and, well, she is Madonna. Not including her at all in the nominations must have felt like a bit of a snub for the iconic performer, no?
Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre did receive a nomination this year, but only one, for Best Rap Album. But this was a big year for Dr. Dre, not just with the release of Compton, his first solo album in over a decade, but also thanks to the success of his film, Straight Outta Compton. It's kind of surprising he didn't earn more nominations this year.
Lana Del Rey
No matter how hard Lana Del Rey works to prove her critics wrong (and arguably she should have already done that, thanks to two impressive back-to-back releases, 2014's Ultraviolence and this year's Honeymoon), she still can't seem to win over Grammy voters: she was shut out completely.
Adele
Well, not really. Adele may be totally slaying with her incredible album, 25, and it seems like her name should be written all over the list of Grammy nominees ahead of Feburary's award show. But for all of us who can't wait to see our fave songstress sweep up, we'll have to wait one more year: Adele's glorious return to music missed the cut-off for this year's nominations.
The Grammys may be music's biggest night, but it doesn't always seem to get it right — at least, depending on who you ask. But missing out on a nomination doesn't mean an artist's work wasn't valuable: just ask Katy Perry, Björk, Snoop Dogg, Queen, Patti Smith, or Morrissey (need I continue?) who have never won a Grammy.
