8 Grammy nomination surprises you didn’t see coming

Grammy nominations were announced Friday night and while some of our expectations were met – Macklemore dominating the hip-hop categories like Taylor Swift dominates country, “Blurred Lines” and “Get Lucky” contenders for Record of the Year – there were quite a few surprises.

But where’s this new album though?

No new music but Beyonce is nominated.

The Knowles-Carter team really is winning this year! Though the Beyhive is STILL waiting for official new material, the Queen Bey managed to snag a Best Rap/Sung Collaboration nomination for her song “Part II (On the Run)” with hubby Jay Z. If you count her work on The Great Gatsby soundtrack which is nominated for Best Compilations Soundtrack for Visual Media, that makes two.

20/20 Experience nominated in the pop categories?

Justin Timberlake put out a two part album this year which helped him garner a total seven nods. The shocker? Three of those nominations are in pop categories. JT is up for Best Pop Solo Performance for “Mirrors”,  his “Suit & Tie ” single with Jay Z is a nominee for Best Pop Duo/Group and his album is up for  Best Pop Vocal Album. Yes, Justin burst onto the scene as a pop singer nearly two decades ago but the 20/20 Experience is clearly an R&B album. But maybe since Rihanna won one of the two Soul/R&B awards she was nominated for at the AMAs this balances things out?

Tamar Braxton nominated for THREE awards

Many people thought Tamar’s first single was good but how many actually thought she’d get a Grammy nod? The Braxtons star snagged three nominations this year for with her album Love and War up for Best Urban Contemporary Album, and its title track up for Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song. Between her talk show The Real being picked up, giving birth and snagging all these nominations Tamar is having a great year!

Dixon Wilson is  nominated for a Grammy

While you weren’t paying attention, Tristan Wilds – most famous for his role as Dixon Wilson on The OC – was jump-starting his R&B career. Under the alias “Mack Wilds”, the Staten-Island native released New York: A Love Story on September 30th – just in time to qualify for a Best Urban Contemporary Album nomination. Wilds competes with Tamar Braxton, Fantasia, Rihanna and Salaam Remi – who produced  11 of the 13 tracks on Wilds album.

Sara Bareilles has TWO nominations

Speaking of music you didn’t know was happening, remember Sara Bareilles’ single “Brave” from earlier this year? Though most of us forgot she put out new music until Katy Perry was accused of sampling Bareilles for her own single “Roar”, critics were watching and they seem impressed. Bareilles “Brave” was nominated for Best Solo Pop Performance and her album The Blessed Unrest is up agains Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift, Daft Punk and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis for Album of the Year. Good luck!

Snoop Lion: Respected Reggae Artist

How many people still think this “Snoop Lion” thing is a joke? Well the Academy doesn’t. Somehow Snoop’s Reincarnated snagged a nom in the Best Reggae Album category, joining the ranks of Sly & Robbie and the Jam Masters, Reggae royalty Ziggy Marley, and veterans Beres Hammond and Sizzla.

Ariana Grande gets snubbed

The Nickelodeon star has been nicknamed ‘Mariah Carey 2.0’ by the public and her singles are pretty great, so it’s surprising that Ariana Grande’s debut album Yours Truly didn’t garner a single nomination. Comparable fellow female newcomers Lorde and Kacey Musgraves managed to snag four noms each including Best Pop Vocal Album and Best New Artist respectively so how did Ariana not qualify for either category?

Yeezus snags two award noms – too little or two too many?

Though Kanye’s latest project was not well received by the public, The Academy seems to be almost as pleased with this work as Yeezy himself. Yeezus managed to snag two noms in  you guessed it – the “black” categories. “New Slaves” is up against more popular singles “F****n Problems”, “Holy Grail”, “Started from the Bottom” and “Thrift Shop” for Best Rap Song while Yeezus competes with the same artists, who also happen to be the most nominated – Kendrick Lamar, Jay Z, Drake, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis for Best Rap Album.

What else shocked you about this year’s nominees? Do you think anyone got snubbed? Do you think any nominations were undeserved?