Grammy Awards 2015: Women lead the way

Female vocalists and R&B influences dominated nominations on Friday for the Grammy Awards, with singers Iggy Azalea and Meghan Trainor tapped for awards for their very first hits.

The first Grammy nominations were revealed on Friday on US television and then in a steady drip on Twitter.

For Record of the Year, four of the five nominations went to women and all but one were white artists heavily influenced by R&B or hip hop.

Azalea, an Australian model and rapper, was nominated for Record of the Year with her breakthrough single Fancy, which features British singer Charli XCX.

Trainor was tapped for her first hit single, All About That Bass, also driven by the rhythm line.

Sia, another Australian influenced by R&B, scored a nomination for Chandelier. It was the biggest nomination in her more than two-decade career, although she previously was in contention two years ago in a rap category.

Country-turned-pop superstar Taylor Swift got a nod for Record of the Year with Shake It Off from her chart-topping album 1989. The album as a whole, which last month enjoyed the biggest single-week sales for a US album in 12 years, came out too late for Grammy eligibility.

Beyonce, who is tied for most Grammys on a single night by a female artist by winning six in 2010, was not nominated for Record of the Year. But her blockbuster self-titled album, released last year with no prior publicity, was tapped for Best Urban Contemporary Album.

Women also took three of the five nominations for Country Album, despite the dominance of male-dominated “bro-country” on the radio.

Brandy Clark was nominated for 12 Stories, which was released on a Dallas label after Nashville would not touch it, with established stars Miranda Lambert and Lee Ann Womack also in the running.

Clark was also nominated in the closely watched Best New Artist category, along with Azalea and Smith. Also in the category were Haim, the Fleetwood Mac-inspired California band featuring three sisters, and British rockers Bastille.

The Grammy winners will be announced at a gala ceremony in Los Angeles on February 8. Last year, French electronic duo Daft Punk dominated the night.