Grammys nominations: Ed Sheeran snubbed for major categories, Jay-Z tops nods

New Delhi: He may be one of the biggest pop stars, but Ed Sheeran failed to pick up a nomination in the main categories at the 2018 Grammy Awards, surprising many industry observers.

Though the 26-year-old singer did get two Grammy nods for Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album for 'Shape of You' and '÷' (Divide), respectively, many fans were disappointed that he didn't appear on the list for any of the major categories, including Record, Song, or Album of the Year.

Coldplay will battle it out with Sheeran in the pop vocal album category, while they are also nominated for best pop duo/group performance for their collaboration with The Chainsmokers on 'Something Just Like This.'

Jay-Z leads this year's nomination slate with eight for his '4:44' album, followed by Compton's Lamar with seven and R&B-pop singer-songwriter Bruno Mars with six.

Album of the year nominees are Jay-Z's '4:44,' Gambino's 'Awaken, My Love!,' Lamar's 'Damn.,' Lorde's 'Melodrama' and Mars' '24K Magic.'

Contenders for Record of the Year, which honors vocal performance, songwriting, production and engineering, are Gambino's 'Redbone,' Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee's 'Despacito' (which also featured Justin Bieber), Lamar's 'Humble.,' Jay-Z's 'The Story of O.J.' and Mars' '24K Magic.'

Drake's 'More Life' will also be absent, as he did not submit it.

The Grammys are slated for January 28, 2018 in the midst of the US awards season. The eligibility period for releases was October 1, 2016, to September 30, 2017.

James Corden hosted the 2017 event, which made Adele the first artist in history to win all three general field awards in the same ceremony twice.

She won five trophies overall on the night, but notably claimed Album of the Year should have been given to Beyonce instead.

Next year's Grammys will be the 60th in its history.

The list of nominees for selected categories is below:

Album of the year:
Awaken, My Love! - Childish Gambino
4:44 - Jay-Z
Damn - Kendrick Lamar
Melodrama - Lorde
24K Magic - Bruno Mars

Record of the year:
Redbone - Childish Gambino
Despacito - Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee feat Justin Bieber
The Story of OJ - Jay-Z
Humble. - Kendrick Lamar
24K Magic - Bruno Mars

Song of the year:
Despacito - Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee feat Justin Bieber
4:44 - Jay-Z
Issues - Julia Michaels
1-800-273-8255 - Logic feat Alessia Cara and Khalid
That's What I Like - Bruno Mars

New artist:
Alessia Cara
Khalid
Lil Uzi Vert
Julia Michaels
SZA

Pop solo performance:
Love So Soft - Kelly Clarkson
Praying - Kesha
Million Reasons - Lady Gaga
What About Us - Pink
Shape of You - Ed Sheeran

Pop duo/group performance:
Something Just Like This - The Chainsmokers and Coldplay
Despacito - Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee feat Justin Bieber
Thunder - Imagine Dragons
Feel It Still - Portugal The Man
Stay - Zedd & Alessia Cara

Traditional pop vocal album:
Nobody But Me (Deluxe Version) - Michael Buble
Triplicate - Bob Dylan
In Full Swing - Seth MacFarlane
Wonderland - Sarah McLachlan
Tony Bennett Celebrates 90 - Various Artists

Pop vocal album:
Kaleidoscope EP - Coldplay
Lust for Life - Lana Del Rey
Evolve - Imagine Dragons
Rainbow - Kesha
Joanne - Lady Gaga
÷ (Divide) - Ed Sheeran

Dance recording:
Bambro Koyo Ganda - Bonobo feat Innov Gnawa
Cola - Camelphat and Elderbrook
Andromeda - Gorillaz feat Dram
Tonite - LCD Soundsystem
Line of Sight - Odesza feat Wynne and Mansionair

Dance/electronic album:
Migration - Bonobo
3-D the Catalogue - Kraftwerk
Mura Masa - Mura Masa
A Moment Apart - Odesza
What Now - Sylvan Esso

Rock performance:
You Want It Darker - Leonard Cohen
The Promise - Chris Cornell
Run - Foo Fighters
No Good - Kaleo
Go to War - Nothing More

Rock song:
Atlas, Rise! - Metallica
Blood in the Cut - K.Flay
Go to War - Nothing More
Run - Foo Fighters
The Stage - Avenged Sevenfold

Rock album:
Emperor of Sand - Mastodon
Hardwired ... to Self-Destruct - Metallica
The Stories We Tell Ourselves - Nothing More
Villains - Queens of the Stone Age
A Deeper Understanding - The War on Drugs

R&B performance:
Get You - Daniel Caesar feat Kali Uchis
Distraction - Kehlani
High - Ledisi
That's What I Like - Bruno Mars
The Weekend - SZA

Traditional R&B performance:
Laugh and Move on - the Baylor Project
Redbone - Childish Gambino
What I'm Feelin' - Anthony Hamilton feat the Hamiltones
All the Way - Ledisi
Still - Mali Music

R&B song:
First Began - PJ Morton
Location - Khalid
Redbone - Childish Gambino
Supermodel - SZA
That's What I Like - Bruno Mars

Urban contemporary album:
Free 6lack - 6lack
Awaken, My Love! - Childish Gambino
American Teen - Khalid
Ctrl - SZA
Starboy - the Weeknd

R&B album:
Freudian - Daniel Caesar
Let Love Rule - Ledisi
24K Magic - Bruno Mars
Gumbo - PJ Morton
Feel the Real - Musiq Soulchild

Rap performance:
Bounce Back - Big Sean
Bodak Yellow - Cardi B
4:44 - Jay-Z
Humble - Kendrick Lamar
Bad and Boujee - Migos feat Lil Uzi Vert

Rap/sung performance:
Prblms - 6lack
Crew - Goldlink feat Brent Faiyaz and Shy Glizzy
Family Feud - Jay-Z feat Beyonce
Loyalty. - Kendrick Lamar feat Rihanna
Love Galore - SZA feat Travis Scott

Rap song:
Bodak Yellow - Cardi B
Chase Me - Danger Mouse feat Run the Jewels and Big Boi
Humble - Kendrick Lamar
Sassy - Rapsody
The Story of OJ - Jay-Z

Rap album:
4:44 - Jay-Z
Damn - Kendrick Lamar
Culture - Migos
Laila's Wisdom - Rapsody
Flower Boy - Tyler, the Creator

Country solo performance:
Body Like a Back Road - Sam Hunt
Losing You - Alison Krauss
Tin Man - Miranda Lambert
I Could Use a Love Song - Maren Morris
Either Way - Chris Stapleton

Country album:
Cosmic Hallelujah - Kenny Chesney
Heart Break - Lady Antebellum
The Breaker - Little Big Town
Life Changes - Thomas Rhett
From a Room: Volume 1 - Chris Stapleton

Jazz vocal album:
The Journey - The Baylor Project
A Social Call - Jazzmeia Horn
Bad Ass and Blind - Raul Midon
Porter Plays Porter - Randy Porter Trio with Nancy King
Dreams and Daggers - Cecile McLorin Salvant

World music album:
Memoria de los Sentidos - Vicente Amigo
Para Mi - Buika
Rosa Dos Ventos - Anat Cohen and Trio Brasileiro
Shaka Zulu Revisited: 30th Anniversary Celebration - Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Elwan - Tinariwen

Producer of the year, non-classical:
Calvin Harris
Greg Kurstin
Blake Mills
No ID
The Stereotypes

Folk album:
Mental Illness - Aimee Mann
Semper Femina - Laura Marling
The Queen of Hearts - Offa Rex
You Don't Own Me Anymore - the Secret Sisters
The Laughing Apple - Yusuf/Cat Stevens