By Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Pop superstar Beyonce led the field of musicians nominated for Grammy awards on Tuesday, setting up a showdown with Adele, Harry Styles and others for the top prize of album of the year.
Beyonce landed nine nominations for the highest honors in music. That brought her career total to 88, tying her with husband Jay-Z as the most nominated artist in Grammy history.
Her album “Renaissance” will compete for album of the year with Adele’s “30,” “Harry’s House” from Harry Styles, “Special” from Lizzo, and entries from ABBA, Bad Bunny, Mary J. Blige, Brandi Carlile and Coldplay.
Rapper Kendrick Lamar, also in the running for album of the year for “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers,” received eight nominations overall, followed by British singer Adele and singer-songwriter Carlile with seven each.
The nominations set up a rematch between Beyonce and Adele, who won album of the year in 2017. Adele said from the stage that she thought that award should have gone to Beyonce’s “Lemonade.” Beyonce has never won album of the year.
Her single “Break My Soul” will compete for record and song of the year.
Taylor Swift’s 10-minute version of her 2012 song “All Too Well” also landed a nod for best song. Swift’s latest album, “Midnights,” was released after this year’s eligibility window.
In the best new artist category, contenders include Italian rock band Maneskin, Brazilian singer Anitta and American singer-songwriter Molly Tuttle.
The Grammys will be handed out at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Feb. 5. Winners will be chosen by the nearly 13,000 musicians, producers and songwriters who belong to the Recording Academy.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Danielle Broadway; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
