NEW YORK: Female vocalists and R&B influences dominated early nominations Friday for the Grammy Awards, with singers Iggy Azalea and Meghan Trainor tapped for awards for their very first hits.
The first Grammy nominations were revealed Friday on US television and then in a steady drip on Twitter, with names for the most prestigious Album of the Year to be announced late in the day.
For Record of the Year, four of the five nominations went to women and all but one were white artists heavily influenced by R&B or hip hop.
Azalea, an Australian model and rapper, was nominated for Record of the Year with her breakthrough single "Fancy," which features British singer Charli XCX.
Trainor was tapped for her first hit single, "All About That Bass," also driven by the rhythm line.
Sia, another Australian influenced by R&B, scored a nomination for "Chandelier." It was the biggest nomination in her more than two-decade career, although she previously was in contention two years ago in a rap category.
The only male artist nominated for Record of the Year was British blue-eyed soul singer Sam Smith for "Stay With Me," his ballad about a one-night stand from his debut album.
Smith looked set to be one of the most nominated artists at the Grammys as he was also in contention for Pop Vocal Album and Pop Solo Performance. He reacted with a string of "happy tears" emoticons on Twitter.
Country-turned-pop superstar Taylor Swift got a nod for Record of the Year with "Shake It Off" from her chart-topping album "1989." The album as a whole, which last month enjoyed the biggest single-week sales for a US album in 12 years, came out too late for Grammy eligibility.
The Grammy winners will be announced at a gala ceremony in Los Angeles on February 8. Last year, French electronic duo Daft Punk dominated the night.
- Less obvious choices -
Beyonce, who is tied for most Grammys on a single night by a female artist by winning six in 2010, was not nominated for Record of the Year. But her blockbuster self-titled album, released last year with no prior publicity, was tapped for Best Urban Contemporary Album.
Pharrell Williams -- who wrote the globally viral anthem "Happy" -- was also nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album and Pop Solo Performance. "Happy" came out too early for February's Grammys, but he released a live version that is eligible.
Other nominees in the category include Mali Music, a singer who had earlier developed a following for his Christian-inspired Gospel music, for his mainstream debut "Mali Is..." Mali Music wrote on Instagram that he was "blown away" by the nomination.
Women also took three of the five nominations for Country Album, despite the dominance of male-dominated "bro-country" on the radio.
Brandy Clark was nominated for "12 Stories," which was released on a Dallas label after Nashville would not touch it, with established stars Miranda Lambert and Lee Ann Womack also in the running.
The two men who received nominations, Dierks Bentley and Eric Church, also offer more than just bro-country hits, with songs that go beyond party anthems.
Clark was also nominated in the closely watched Best New Artist category, along with Azalea and Smith. Also in the category were Haim, the Fleetwood Mac-inspired California band featuring three sisters, and British rockers Bastille.
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