Kendrick Lamar is the king of the Grammys: The rapper is the leading nominee for the 2016 awards with 11, including album of the year for “To Pimp a Butterfly” and song of the year for “Alright.”

Lamar, who won two Grammys earlier this year, is followed by Taylor Swift and the Weeknd, who each earned seven nominations, including album of the year. “Butterfly,” ”1989″ and “Beauty Behind the Madness” will battle country singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton’s “Traveller” and rock group Alabama Shakes’ “Sound & Color” for the top prize.

“Alright” and Swift’s “Blank Space” are nominated for song of the year, a songwriter’s awards. Other nominees include Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s tribute to actor Paul Walker, “See You Again,” Ed Sheeran’s slow burner “Thinking out Loud” and Little Big Town’s semi-controversial hit, “Girl Crush,” written by Lori McKenna, Hillary Lindsey and Liz Rose.

“Thinking out Loud” and “Blank Space,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, are also nominated for record of the year, pitting the songs against No.1 hits that include Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk” and the Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face,” as well as a wild card: “Really Love” from R&B singer D’Angelo and the Vanguard…..

Source: www.nbcnewyork.com