Beyonce became the most-nominated female artist in Grammy award history on Tuesday as she received a leading nine nods this year, followed closely by Drake, Rihanna and Kanye West with eight nominations each.

Beyonce&#39;s haul of nine included album, song and record of the year, the top three Grammy accolades, for her hit song &quot;Formation&quot; and visual album &quot;Lemonade,&quot; a collection of songs about race, feminism and empowerment.

The R&amp;B singer, 35, has been nominated 62 times in Grammy history and has won 20 Grammy awards over her career spanning two decades. Rapper Kanye West, who has eight nominations this year for his &quot;The Life of Pablo&quot; album, has notched 68 Grammy nominations over his career, and won 21 awards.

British singer Adele is also up for the top three awards with her hit ballad &quot;Hello&quot; and album &quot;25&quot; and has a total of five nominations. The singer previously swept all three top categories in 2012 with her &quot;21&quot; album.

Canadian pop star Justin Bieber&#39;s &quot;Purpose,&quot; Canadian hip hop star Drake&#39;s &quot;Views&quot; and country music singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson&#39;s &quot;A Sailor&#39;s Guide To Earth&quot; rounded out the contenders of album of the year.

The Grammy Awards are the top US music honours and each year, members of the music industry choose nominees and winners across more than 80 categories.

This year&#39;s winners will be announced at a star-studded televised ceremony in Los Angeles on Feb. 12.

Other record of the year contenders include Lukas Graham&#39;s &quot;7 Years,&quot; Rihanna&#39;s &quot;Work&quot; and Twenty One Pilots&#39; &quot;Stressed Out.&quot; Graham&#39;s &quot;7 Years&quot; is also nominated for song of the year alongside Mike Posner&#39;s &quot;I Took a Pill in Ibiza&quot; and Bieber&#39;s &quot;Love Yourself.&quot;

Drake and Barbadian R&amp;B singer Rihanna shared three of their eight individual nominations, two for their steamy duet on Rihanna&#39;s sultry &quot;Work&quot; and one for Rihanna as a featured artist on Drake&#39;s &quot;Views.&quot;

Chance The Rapper landed seven nominations including the best new artist category, in which the 23-year-old Chicago native is up against pop duo The Chainsmokers, California rapper Anderson Paak and country music singers Kelsea Ballerini and Maren Morris.

Late British singer David Bowie, who died in January two days after the release of his final album &quot;Blackstar,&quot; received four nominations including best alternative album.

Late music star Prince, who died in April, also landed one Grammy nomination for his final record, &quot;Hit n Run Phase Two,&quot; in the best engineered non-classical album category alongside Bowie&#39;s &quot;Blackstar.&quot;

(Reuters)

The R&B singer, 35, has been nominated 62 times in Grammy history and has won 20 Grammy awards over her career

Beyonce became the most-nominated female artist in Grammy award history on Tuesday as she received a leading nine nods this year, followed closely by Drake, Rihanna and Kanye West with eight nominations each. Beyonce's haul of nine included album, song and record of the year, the top three Grammy accolades, for her hit song "Formation" and visual album "Lemonade," a collection of songs about race, feminism and empowerment. The R&B singer, 35, has been nominated 62 times in Grammy history and has won 20 Grammy awards over her career spanning two decades. Rapper Kanye West, who has eight nominations this year for his "The Life of Pablo" album, has notched 68 Grammy nominations over his career, and won 21 awards. British singer Adele is also up for the top three awards with her hit ballad "Hello" and album "25" and has a total of five nominations. The singer previously swept all three top categories in 2012 with her "21" album. Canadian pop star Justin Bieber's "Purpose," Canadian hip hop star Drake's "Views" and country music singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson's "A Sailor's Guide To Earth" rounded out the contenders of album of the year. The Grammy Awards are the top US music honours and each year, members of the music industry choose nominees and winners across more than 80 categories. This year's winners will be announced at a star-studded televised ceremony in Los Angeles on Feb. 12. Other record of the year contenders include Lukas Graham's "7 Years," Rihanna's "Work" and Twenty One Pilots' "Stressed Out." Graham's "7 Years" is also nominated for song of the year alongside Mike Posner's "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" and Bieber's "Love Yourself." Drake and Barbadian R&B singer Rihanna shared three of their eight individual nominations, two for their steamy duet on Rihanna's sultry "Work" and one for Rihanna as a featured artist on Drake's "Views." Chance The Rapper landed seven nominations including the best new artist category, in which the 23-year-old Chicago native is up against pop duo The Chainsmokers, California rapper Anderson Paak and country music singers Kelsea Ballerini and Maren Morris. Late British singer David Bowie, who died in January two days after the release of his final album "Blackstar," received four nominations including best alternative album. Late music star Prince, who died in April, also landed one Grammy nomination for his final record, "Hit n Run Phase Two," in the best engineered non-classical album category alongside Bowie's "Blackstar." (Reuters)

Beyonce leads Grammys with 9 nominations

The Weeknd has ended Drake&#39;s long reign as king of Spotify, with the singer topping the rapper in monthly listeners on the world&#39;s leading streaming service.

The Weeknd, whose new album &quot;Starboy&quot; came out November 25, had close to 37.5 million listeners in November -- more than one-third of all Spotify users.

He edged out Drake, a fellow Torontonian who supported The Weeknd early in his career, who had just under 36 million monthly listeners.

Spotify, releasing data late Saturday, also confirmed that &quot;Starboy&quot; broke the record for streams in its first week, with listeners playing it 223 million times.

&quot;Starboy,&quot; released just one year after The Weeknd&#39;s breakthrough album &quot;Beauty Behind the Madness,&quot; is a sprawling work of R&amp;B and electronica on which the singer collaborates with elusive French duo Daft Punk.

Drake had been the biggest artist in terms of monthly listeners since May after the rapper released his long-awaited album &quot;Views,&quot; featuring viral hits such as &quot;One Dance&quot; and &quot;Hotline Bling&quot;.

Spotify, in earlier figures for 2016 so far, said that Drake was the most-streamed artist for a second straight year, a ranking which does not change.

Drake&#39;s success on Spotify comes even though he has a close relationship with rival Apple, through which he released &quot;Views&quot; exclusively for its first week.

(AFP)

His new album 'Starboy' which came out on November 25, had close to 37.5 million listeners in November, more than 1/3 of all Spotify users

The Weeknd has ended Drake's long reign as king of Spotify, with the singer topping the rapper in monthly listeners on the world's leading streaming service. The Weeknd, whose new album "Starboy" came out November 25, had close to 37.5 million listeners in November -- more than one-third of all Spotify users. He edged out Drake, a fellow Torontonian who supported The Weeknd early in his career, who had just under 36 million monthly listeners. Spotify, releasing data late Saturday, also confirmed that "Starboy" broke the record for streams in its first week, with listeners playing it 223 million times. "Starboy," released just one year after The Weeknd's breakthrough album "Beauty Behind the Madness," is a sprawling work of R&B and electronica on which the singer collaborates with elusive French duo Daft Punk. Drake had been the biggest artist in terms of monthly listeners since May after the rapper released his long-awaited album "Views," featuring viral hits such as "One Dance" and "Hotline Bling". Spotify, in earlier figures for 2016 so far, said that Drake was the most-streamed artist for a second straight year, a ranking which does not change. Drake's success on Spotify comes even though he has a close relationship with rival Apple, through which he released "Views" exclusively for its first week. (AFP)

The Weeknd ends Drake's reign as Spotify king

Reports are in that not only is Taylor Swift&nbsp;dating Canadian mega-rapper Drake,&nbsp;he&#39;s already introduced her to his mother!

Hollywood Life reported the two were spotted together at Drake&#39;s 30th birthday party this week in Los Angeles, where&nbsp;an anonymous source said the two were &quot;cheek-to-cheek&quot;. Despite being the busy host he&nbsp;was seen constantly whispering to each other. What were they saying? The source&nbsp;wouldn&#39;t reveal.

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Wait &mdash; are Drake and Taylor reallllly a thing?!? <a href="https://t.co/MndZkeDf47">https://t.co/MndZkeDf47</a>
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Drake has been much obsessed with his on/off ex&nbsp;Rihanna forever, but&nbsp;now he seems to be with the only woman more profile than her.

Meanwhile, this would come close on the heels of Swift&#39;s last relationship with...Tom Hiddleston. A source close to the British actor Hiddleston told Hollywood Life that&nbsp;he was &quot;shocked at the news&quot;. Apparently he was in denial about it, but wished them the best, but closed remarking that he doubts it will work out.

No word yet&nbsp;whether or not each one is already working on their breakup songs, as per their habit. But things appear to be off to a decent start.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

T Swift has, after all, already met his mom.

(WION)

This would be one serious power couple. At the very least, when it's over there'll be some sweet breakup songs

Reports are in that not only is Taylor Swift dating Canadian mega-rapper Drake, he's already introduced her to his mother! Hollywood Life reported the two were spotted together at Drake's 30th birthday party this week in Los Angeles, where an anonymous source said the two were "cheek-to-cheek". Despite being the busy host he was seen constantly whispering to each other. What were they saying? The source wouldn't reveal. Wait — are Drake and Taylor reallllly a thing?!? https://t.co/MndZkeDf47 — Teen Vogue (@TeenVogue) October 28, 2016 × Drake has been much obsessed with his on/off ex Rihanna forever, but now he seems to be with the only woman more profile than her. Meanwhile, this would come close on the heels of Swift's last relationship with...Tom Hiddleston. A source close to the British actor Hiddleston told Hollywood Life that he was "shocked at the news". Apparently he was in denial about it, but wished them the best, but closed remarking that he doubts it will work out. No word yet whether or not each one is already working on their breakup songs, as per their habit. But things appear to be off to a decent start. T Swift has, after all, already met his mom. (WION)

Taylor Swift meets Drake's mom as rumours swirl the two are dating

Canadian rapper Drake earned 13 nominations for the upcoming American Music Awards, the maximum this year and beating &nbsp;Michael Jackson&#39;s record of 11 nods set in 1984 for his album &quot;Thriller.&quot;

R&amp;B artist Rihanna scored seven nominations, British singer Adele and Canadian heartthrob Justin Bieber scored five nominations each. Beyonce, who won in eight categories at August&#39;s MTV Video Music Awards, got just four nods. The artistes, along with Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, Carrie Underwood and Twenty One Pilots will compete for the artist of the year. 
Winners will be announced at a ceremony in Los Angeles on November 20, which will also be telecast live.

Drake&#39;s latest album, &quot;Views,&quot; has spent 13 weeks at the top of the US music charts this year. His hit single &quot;One Dance&quot; from the album was chosen as Billboard`s 2016 song of the summer.

The winners of the American Music Awards are chosen by fans on the basis of a poll. Nominees are based on album and digital song sales, touring, radio airplay, social media activity and fan interactions through Billboard magazine and Billboard.com.

Two new categories, Tour of the Year, and Video of the Year&nbsp;were added by organisers this year, while the Song of Year was split into separate categories for pop/rock, country, R&amp;B/soul and rap/hip-hop and renamed favorite song.

(WION with inputs from agencies)

Drake's latest album, 'Views' earned him 13 nods, beating the record set by Michael Jackson for 'Thriller' in 1984

Canadian rapper Drake earned 13 nominations for the upcoming American Music Awards, the maximum this year and beating Michael Jackson's record of 11 nods set in 1984 for his album "Thriller." R&B artist Rihanna scored seven nominations, British singer Adele and Canadian heartthrob Justin Bieber scored five nominations each. Beyonce, who won in eight categories at August's MTV Video Music Awards, got just four nods. The artistes, along with Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, Carrie Underwood and Twenty One Pilots will compete for the artist of the year. Winners will be announced at a ceremony in Los Angeles on November 20, which will also be telecast live. Drake's latest album, "Views," has spent 13 weeks at the top of the US music charts this year. His hit single "One Dance" from the album was chosen as Billboard`s 2016 song of the summer. The winners of the American Music Awards are chosen by fans on the basis of a poll. Nominees are based on album and digital song sales, touring, radio airplay, social media activity and fan interactions through Billboard magazine and Billboard.com. Two new categories, Tour of the Year, and Video of the Year were added by organisers this year, while the Song of Year was split into separate categories for pop/rock, country, R&B/soul and rap/hip-hop and renamed favorite song. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Canadian rapper Drake tops American Music Award nominations, beats Michael Jackson's record

Canadian R&amp;B artist Drake continued his reign atop the weekly U.S. Billboard 200 album chart on Monday for a fifth consecutive week on the strength of streaming activity, holding off country singer Dierks Bentley and R&amp;B singer Beyonce. 
 
Drake&#39;s &quot;Views&quot; sold 152,000 units for the week ending June 2, comprising album and song sales and 137 million streams, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan. 
 
The Billboard 200 album chart tallies units from album sales, song sales (10 songs equal one album) and streaming activity (1,500 streams equal one album). 
 
Drake&#39;s fourth studio album has been topping the Billboard 200 chart on the strength of streaming activity on platforms such as Spotify and Apple Inc&#39;s &lt;AAPL.O&gt; Apple Music. It has soared past 100 million streams each week since its release. 
 
Bentley&#39;s latest album, &quot;Black,&quot; debuted at No. 2 with 101,000 units sold, including 5 million streams. Beyonce&#39;s &quot;Lemonade&quot; album climbed one spot to No. 3 with 79,000 units sold including nearly 9 million streams. 
 
Other new entries in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart included pop group Fifth Harmony at No. 4 with &quot;7/27,&quot; and electronic dance music producer Flume&#39;s &quot;Skin&quot; at No. 8. 
 
On the Digital Songs chart, which measures online single sales, Justin Timberlake&#39;s upbeat &quot;Can&#39;t Stop The Feeling!&quot; held the top spot for the third week running, with 155,000 copies sold. 
&nbsp;

Streaming activity puts Drake before country singer Dierks Bentley and R&B singer Beyonce

Canadian R&B artist Drake continued his reign atop the weekly U.S. Billboard 200 album chart on Monday for a fifth consecutive week on the strength of streaming activity, holding off country singer Dierks Bentley and R&B singer Beyonce. Drake's "Views" sold 152,000 units for the week ending June 2, comprising album and song sales and 137 million streams, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan. The Billboard 200 album chart tallies units from album sales, song sales (10 songs equal one album) and streaming activity (1,500 streams equal one album). Drake's fourth studio album has been topping the Billboard 200 chart on the strength of streaming activity on platforms such as Spotify and Apple Inc's <AAPL.O> Apple Music. It has soared past 100 million streams each week since its release. Bentley's latest album, "Black," debuted at No. 2 with 101,000 units sold, including 5 million streams. Beyonce's "Lemonade" album climbed one spot to No. 3 with 79,000 units sold including nearly 9 million streams. Other new entries in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart included pop group Fifth Harmony at No. 4 with "7/27," and electronic dance music producer Flume's "Skin" at No. 8. On the Digital Songs chart, which measures online single sales, Justin Timberlake's upbeat "Can't Stop The Feeling!" held the top spot for the third week running, with 155,000 copies sold.

Drake tops Billboard 200 chart for 5th consecutive week

&nbsp;Canadian R&amp;B artist Drake continued his reign atop the weekly U.S. Billboard 200 album chart on Monday for a fifth consecutive week on the strength of streaming activity, holding off country singer Dierks Bentley and R&amp;B singer Beyonce. 
 
Drake&#39;s &quot;Views&quot; sold 152,000 units for the week ending June 2, comprising album and song sales and 137 million streams, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan. 
 
The Billboard 200 album chart tallies units from album sales, song sales (10 songs equal one album) and streaming activity (1,500 streams equal one album). 
 
Drake&#39;s fourth studio album has been topping the Billboard 200 chart on the strength of streaming activity on platforms such as Spotify and Apple Inc&#39;s &lt;AAPL.O&gt; Apple Music. It has soared past 100 million streams each week since its release. 
 
Bentley&#39;s latest album, &quot;Black,&quot; debuted at No. 2 with 101,000 units sold, including 5 million streams. Beyonce&#39;s &quot;Lemonade&quot; album climbed one spot to No. 3 with 79,000 units sold including nearly 9 million streams. 
 
Other new entries in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart included pop group Fifth Harmony at No. 4 with &quot;7/27,&quot; and electronic dance music producer Flume&#39;s &quot;Skin&quot; at No. 8. 
 
On the Digital Songs chart, which measures online single sales, Justin Timberlake&#39;s upbeat &quot;Can&#39;t Stop The Feeling!&quot; held the top spot for the third week running, with 155,000 copies sold. 
&nbsp;

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