58th Grammy Awards Nominations Announced: Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift Lead

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Kendrick Lamar performing at Los Angeles' 92.3 "The Real Show" in November 2015 (Gibson Dintersmith/Roman's Rap-Up).

Kendrick Lamar has had a stellar year this year with the release of his third studio album “To Pimp a Butterfly;" it’s no wonder he’s leading the pack with 11 nominations.  Taylor Swift and The Weeknd both have seven nominations each after both having a solid year with excellent albums being released by both respectively. 

Album of the year features the likes of Alabama Shakes, Kendrick Lamar, Chris Stapleton, Taylor Swift, and The Weeknd. Alabama Shake’s 2nd album “Sound & Color” was a huge hit among rock fans in North America as it went number one on both the U.S. Billboard 200 and Canadian Albums. Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly” soared to number one on the Billboard 200 as well as being certified gold. Chris Stapleton released his debut album “Traveller” which already won Album of the Year at the CMAs and peaked at number one on the Billboard 200. Taylor swift released her much anticipated fifth album “1989” which went 5x platinum in the U.S. as well as platinum in eight other countries.  The Weeknd’s second album “Beauty Behind the Madness” was a big hit while going gold in the U.S. and platinum in a handful of countries as well as earning the number one spot on many charts around the world.

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance includes Florence + Machine, Maroon 5, Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift & Kendrick Lamar, and Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth. Florence + Machine released “Ship to Wreck” back at the beginning of April and has since peaked at number 14 on the U.S. Charts and number one of the U.S. alternative charts. Maroon 5’s hit song “Sugar” soared to the number two spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and went platinum in eight different countries. Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars’ funky single “Uptown Funked” was an obvious success as it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. as well as many other countries. Taylor Swift's song “Bad Blood” which features Kendrick Lamar has already won a countless number of awards this year and looks to do no different at the Grammys as it went four times platinum in the U.S. “See You Again” was one of the most emotional songs released this year as it was  tribute the passing of Paul Walker being featured in Furious 7. It went number one in almost every country and also reached platinum in 14 different countries. 

Check the full list below to see if your favorite artist was nominated, and be sure to see who takes home a famed award on February 15th at 8pm EST LIVE from Los Angeles on CBS. 

Album Of The Year:

Sound & Color — Alabama Shakes

To Pimp A Butterfly — Kendrick Lamar

Traveller — Chris Stapleton

1989 — Taylor Swift

Beauty Behind The Madness — The Weeknd

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, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar)

"Blank Space" — Max Martin, Shellback & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift)

"Girl Crush" — Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna & Liz Rose, songwriters (Little Big Town)

"See You Again" — Andrew Cedar, Justin Franks, Charles Puth & Cameron Thomaz, songwriters (Wiz Khalifa Featuring Charlie Puth)

"Thinking Out Loud" — Ed Sheeran & Amy Wadge, songwriters (Ed Sheeran)

Best New Artist:

Courtney Barnett

James Bay

Sam Hunt

Tori Kelly

Meghan Trainor

 

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:

"Ship To Wreck" — Florence + The Machine

"Sugar" — Maroon 5

"Uptown Funk" — Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars

"Bad Blood" — Taylor Swift Featuring Kendrick Lamar

"See You Again" — Wiz Khalifa Featuring Charlie Puth

Best Dance Recording:

"We're All We Need" — Above & Beyond Featuring Zoë Johnston

"Go" — The Chemical Brothers

"Never Catch Me" — Flying Lotus Featuring Kendrick Lamar

"Runaway (U & I)" — Galantis

"Where Are Ü Now" — Skrillex And Diplo With Justin Bieber

Best Rock Performance:

"Don't Wanna Fight" — Alabama Shakes

"What Kind Of Man" — Florence + The Machine

"Something From Nothing" — Foo Fighters

"Ex's & Oh's" — Elle King

"Moaning Lisa Smile" — Wolf Alice

Best Alternative Music Album:

Sound & Color — Alabama Shakes

Vulnicura — Björk

The Waterfall — My Morning Jacket

Currents — Tame Impala

Star Wars — Wilco

Best Urban Contemporary Album:

Ego Death — The Internet

You Should Be Here — Kehlani

Blood — Lianne La Havas

Wildheart — Miguel

Beauty Behind The Madness — The Weeknd

Best Rap Album:

2014 Forest Hills Drive — J. Cole

Compton — Dr. Dre

If Youre Reading This Its Too Late — Drake

To Pimp A Butterfly — Kendrick Lamar

The Pinkprint — Nicki Minaj

Best Country Album:

Montevallo — Sam Hunt

Pain Killer — Little Big Town

The Blade — Ashley Monroe

Pageant Material — Kacey Musgraves

Traveller — Chris Stapleton

Best Jazz Instrumental Album:

My Favorite Things — Joey Alexander

Breathless — Terence Blanchard Featuring The E-Collective

Covered: Recorded Live At Capitol Studios — Robert Glasper & The Robert Glasper Trio

Beautiful Life — Jimmy Greene

Past Present — John Scofield

Best Gospel Album:

Destined To Win (Live) — Karen Clark Sheard

Living It — Dorinda Clark-Cole

One Place Live — Tasha Cobbs

Covered: Alive Is Asia [Live] (Deluxe) — Israel & Newbreed

Life Music: Stage Two — Jonathan McReynolds

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album:

Whatever The Road — Jason Crabb

How Can It Be — Lauren Daigle

Saints And Sinners — Matt Maher

This Is Not A Test — Tobymac

Love Ran Red — Chris Tomlin

Best Latin Pop Album:

Terral — Pablo Alborán

Healer — Alex Cuba

A Quien Quiera Escuchar (Deluxe Edition) — Ricky Martin

Sirope — Alejandro Sanz

Algo Sucede — Julieta Venegas

Best Americana Album:

The Firewatcher's Daughter — Brandi Carlile

The Traveling Kind — Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell

Something More Than Free — Jason Isbell

Mono — The Mavericks

The Phosphorescent Blues — Punch Brothers

Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling):

Blood On Snow (Jo Nesbø) — Patti Smith

Brief Encounters: Conversations, Magic Moments, And Assorted Hijinks — Dick Cavett

A Full Life: Reflections At Ninety — Jimmy Carter

Patience And Sarah (Isabel Miller) — Janis Ian & Jean Smart

Yes Please — Amy Poehler (& Various Artists)

Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical:

Jeff Bhasker

Dave Cobb

Diplo

Larry Klein

Blake Mills

Best Music Film:

Mr. Dynamite: The Rise Of James Brown — James Brown

Sonic Highways — Foo Fighters

What Happened, Miss Simone? — Nina Simone

The Wall — Roger Waters

Amy — Amy Winehouse

Photos: Billboard Hot 100 Music Festival - Day 2

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Justin Bieber closes out the Billboard Hot 100 Fest on August 23rd, 2015 at the Nikon at Jones Beach Theater in New York (Benjamin Esakof/Roman's Rap-Up).

Day 2 of the Billboard Hot 100 Fest brought in even bigger crowds to see the likes of Nicki Minaj, Skrillex, Justin Bieber & countless others (including an appearance by Instagram-famed "Doug the Pug"). The day, anchored by Bieber, started out with hit-maker Fetty Wap taking to the beach stage, drawing so many to the small stage that it had to be closed, something Billboard definitely didn't anticipate. Following Fetty's knockout performance, all eyes were on the main stage for the rest of the night as artists like Kygo, Nicki Minaj, Skrillex & Justin Bieber took to the stage to give the ultimate finale to a great weekend of hit music.

See photos from Day 2 of the Billboard Hot 100 Fest below:


Concert Review: Chris Brown & Trey Songz Bring "Between The Sheets" Tour to LA with Special Guests

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Chris Brown performing at The Forum in Los Angeles on March 8th, 2015 as part of the "Between The Sheets" tour (Michelle Kwong/Roman's Rap-Up).

Chris Brown and Trey Songz’ “Between The Sheets” tour finally stopped in Los Angeles on Sunday, putting on a show for the books. The sold-out crowd was on their feet the whole show, singing and dancing along under the intense lighting effects. Trey opened with "Foreign" and "Cake," both off his newest album “Trigga,” which was released in July of last year. He shared the stage with renowned artist Chris Brown, as they both delivered smooth and sexy vocals, along with several dance solos. Brown performed some of his newer tracks, including "Came to Do" and "Love More," as well as his very first single, "Run It!," which topped the charts when it was released back in 2005.

Trey Songz performing at The Forum in Los Angeles on March 8th, 2015 as part of the "Between The Sheets" tour (Michelle Kwong/Roman's Rap-Up).

The dynamic duo surprised their audience with several unannounced guests. Trey Songz was joined by blunt-carrying Ty Dolla $ign, as they performed the remix for "Paranoid," and Ty serenaded the crowd with "Or Nah." The crowd received a special surprise from Trey himself, as he shirtlessly performed "NaNa" and "Bottoms Up," which Chris applauded the men in the crowd for bringing their ladies to see. Also arriving at the party was none other than Nicki Minaj, who didn't hesitate to strut across the stage and dance with the gang, lending her voice for “Touchin’ Lovin’” and capturing the eyes of the crowd. A$AP Ferg was in attendance as well as Big Sean, who helped Chris Brown and the crowd with "IDFWU." Chris also "dropped it like it was hot" with legendary artist Snoop Dogg. The night ended with Chris Brown being joined on stage by his nephew and Kevin Hart, who helped him sing is 2014 platinum hit “Loyal.”

Chris Brown:

Trey Songz:

Watch Nicki Minaj take the stage with Trey Songz below:

Nicki Minaj Lends Voice for Maroon 5's "Sugar" Remix

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Maroon 5's "Sugar" is just starting to impact radio, and already has a remix. YMCMB-rapper Nicki Minaj lends her voice to the band for a super-sexy verse. Listen to the iHeartRadio premiere above.

Nicki Minaj also made an appearance as a special guest at Chris Brown and Trey Songz' "Between The Sheets" tour in LA last night. Check out the Roman's Rap-Up Exclusive footage below:

Best of 2014: Top 10 Songs of the Year

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As the year comes to a close, we've taken the time to go through the Billboard Charts and our own playlists to compile a list of the Best Songs of 2014. See if your favorite single made the list below:

10. No Love (feat. Nicki Minaj) - August Alsina

9. Hold You Down (feat. August Alsina, Chris Brown, Future & Jeremih) - DJ Khaled

8. Loyal (feat. Lil Wayne & Tyga) - Chris Brown

7. Fancy (feat. Charli XCX) - Iggy Azalea

6. Rather Be (feat. Jess Glynne) - Clean Bandit

5. The Heart Wants What It Wants - Selena Gomez

4. Lips Are Movin' - Meghan Trainor

3. Flawless Remix (feat. Nicki Minaj) - Beyoncé

2. My Hitta (feat. Lil Wayne, Rich Homie Quan, Meek Mill & Nicki Minaj) - YG

1. 2 On - Tinashe