Tuesday morning the 2018 Grammy nominations were released, and many people were surprised by the results. Probably the most shocking was pop phenomenon Ed Sheeran not receiving a nomination for Album of the Year, Song of the Year, or Record of the Year, despite having a highly successful year with his hit album Divide. His previous album, X, had nods in all of those categories. His chart topping single “Shape of You,” which reigned at number one of the Billboard Hot 100 for an impressive twelve weeks, only received one nomination, Pop Solo Performance. The smash hit “Despacito,” sung by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, and Justin Bieber, topped the Billboard Hot 100 for a whopping sixteen weeks and gained acknowledgement in the Song of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance categories. This surprised many people, as while it did have major success with the public, the Spanish hit is not what the Grammys judges normally go for. Other notable snubs include former One Direction member, Harry Styles’ debut soft-rock album along with Niall Horan’s single “Slow Hands,” Lady Gaga’s Joanne, Kesha’s Rainbow (although her song “Praying” did receive a Pop Solo Performance nod), and Miley Cyrus’ Younger Now.

 While some were shocked at those left out, many were pleasantly surprised by the Recording Academy’s choices. With one of their most diverse group of nominees to date, the Album of the Year nominees include Bruno Mars, Jay-Z, Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, and Lorde. This makes it the first time since 1999 that a white man was not nominated in this category. Leading the pack for most nominations are Jay-Z’s 4:44, which received eight nods at this year’s awards, and Kendrick Lamar’s Damn., which received seven. Close behind them is Bruno Mars with six nominations for his album 24k Magic, Childish Gambino, SZA, and newcomer Khalid, all of which received five nominations respectively. Having such a diverse group of nominees almost guarantees that a nonwhite artist will win one of the major categories.

 While I personally loved Lorde’s Melodrama, my guess for Album of the Year would be Kendrick Lamar’s Damn., as his last album To Pimp a Butterfly lost this award to Taylor Swift’s 1989 back at the 2016 awards, as Damn. has had more than double the success of his previous album. Other musical works likely to come out on top are “Redbone” or “Humble” for Record of the Year, “1-800-273-8255” for Song of the Year, Khalid for Best New Artist, and Rainbow for Pop Vocal Album. For the first time in fifteen years, the Grammys will be held in New York’s Madison Square Garden, hosted by The Late Late Show’s James Corden. Be sure to tune in on January 28!