2016 Grammy Awards nomination highlights

It’s time to prep up for the biggest music award show of the year – The Grammys. The list of nominees for the 2016 Grammy Awards was released on Monday and surprised us all with some unexpected names, while some of the A-rated artists were dropped off the list.

Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift and The Weeknd lead the list of the nominations for the 2016 Grammys.

Owing to the strong reception to “1989,” Swift continues her successful stint at the Grammys this year and has been nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album, among others. The Weeknd, on the other hand, gives equal competition to Swift with seven nominations. However, Kendrick Lamar tops the 2016 Grammy Awards nominations with 11 titles.

Madonna and Prince are left empty-handed and have failed to secure any place on the prestigious awards list despite making a great comeback with their new albums.

The most talked about track of the year, “Hotline Bling” by Drake, is surprisingly not on it too. Drake has instead garnered a nomination for “If Youre Reading This Its Too Late,” his whole album, in the Best Rap Album category. Ed Sheeran also made a mark in the list with nominations in all the key categories, including Best Pop Solo Performance and Song of the Year, thanks to his smash hit “Thinking Out Loud.”

Selena Gomez's "Good For You," Demi Lovato's "Cool For The Summer," Rihanna's "B*** Better Have My Money" and Jason Derulo's "Want to Want Me" were other industry bigwigs to receive nominations.

Pop Artist Justin Bieber shared space with Skrillex and Diplo for his collaboration,"Where Are Ü Now," in the Best Dance Recording category. Courtney Barnett, James Bay, Sam Hunt, Tori Kelly and Meghan Trainor will all compete for the Best New Artist title.

Watch out for other key categories in the 2016 Grammy Awards nomination:

Record of the Year

“Really Love” - D'Angelo and The Vanguard

“Uptown Funk” - Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars

“Thinking Out Loud” - Ed Sheeran

“Blank Space” - Taylor Swift

“Can't Feel My Face” - The Weeknd

Song of the Year

“Alright” - Kendrick Duckworth, Mark Anthony Spears & Pharrell Williams (Kendrick Lamar)

“Blank Space” - Max Martin, Shellback & Taylor Swift

“Girl Crush” - Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna & Liz Rose (Little Big Town)

“See You Again” - Andrew Cedar, Justin Franks, Charles Puth & Cameron Thomaz (Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth)