Luis Fonsi, Jay Z lead Grammy Nominations

The 2018 Grammy nominees have been announced, with Luis Fonsi, Jay Z, and Bruno Mars leading the pack.

‘Despacito’ has won nominations in both the Record of the Year and Song of the Year categories, the only track to be nominated for both awards. This is doubly remarkable as songs without English lyrics are rarely nominated in the Song of the Year category. Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber are also nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, again for ‘Despacito’.

The singers face competition from Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar, Bruno Mars and Childish Gambino, also nominated in these categories. These artists, along with Lorde, are the nominees for Album of the Year.

The list of nominees is notably diverse this year, which comes as a refreshing change after last year’s #GrammysSoWhite controversy, which saw Beyonce’s iconic album Lemonade lose out to an incredulous Adele. On the downside, female artists appear underrepresented, with Lorde and Julia Michaels the only women nominated for the ceremony’s three most coveted awards.

Despite this, the list of nominations is being seen as progressive. The Grammy’s finally reflect the dominance of Hip Hop and R&B over the current music scene after years of Pop-heavy nomination lists.

With ‘Despacito’ winning both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at this year’s Latin Grammy’s there’s every chance Luis Fonsi could do the same again in 2018.

Read the full list of Grammy nominations at Billboard.

Book Luis Fonsi to bring the Grammy-nominated artist to your venue.