The Weeknd, Drake, Justin Bieber earn Grammys nods

Toronto R&B singer The Weeknd is a top contender for the Grammy Awards,earning nods for his catchy trackCan't Feel My Face and his album Beauty Behind the Madness as part of thenominations released Monday morning.

The Weeknd,the stage name ofAbelTesfaye,along with perennial nominee Taylor Swift earned seven nominations each, behind theleading contender, American rapper Kendrick Lamar, who has 11.

Previous Grammywinner Alicia Keys was in New York City early Monday morning tounveilnominees in four general fieldcategories liveon CBS, which will broadcast the awards gala in February.

Best new artist

• Courtney Barnett
• James Bay
• Sam Hunt
• Tori Kelly
• Meghan Trainor

Record of the year

• Really Love, D'Angelo and the Vanguard
• Uptown Funk, Mark Ronson featuringBruno Mars
• Thinking Out Loud, Ed Sheeran
• Blank Space, Taylor Swift
• Can't Feel My Face, The Weeknd

Song of the year

• All Right, Kendrick Lamar
• Blank Space, Taylor Swift
• Girl Crush, Little Big Town
• See You Again, Wiz Khalifa featuringCharlie Puth
• Thinking Out Loud, Ed Sheeran

Album of the year

• Sound and Color, Alabama Shakes
• To Pimp a Buttterfly, Kendrick Lamar
• Traveller, Chris Stapleton
• 1989, Taylor Swift
• Beauty Behind the Madness, The Weeknd

Organizers of the Grammy Awards, handed out by theNational Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the U.S. to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry, subsequentlyrevealedthe balance on grammys.com.

"There's a broad spectrum and certainly it shows there's been quite a bit of wonderful and excellent recordings in the last year," Recording Academy CEO Neil Portowtold AP in an interview Monday.

Toronto rapperDrake,aformer collaborator of The Weeknd,is up for Grammy Awards in fivecategories.

He will vie forbest rap performance (Back to Back), best rap song (forEnergy)and best rap album (If You're Reading This It's Too Late). The popular performeralso shared intwo nominations for featured appearances onNickiMinaj songs:best rap/sung collaboration (for his cameo on Minaj'strackOnly) and best rap performance (for her Truffle Butter).

Stratford, Ont.,singer Justin Bieber, who is set to play an intimate benefit show in Toronto onMonday night, earned one nod for his track Where Are U Now, a collaboration with Skrillex and Diplo.

• Caribou (best dance/electronic album for Our Love)
• Alex Cuba (best Latin pop album for Healer)
• Stephan Moccio withAbel Tesfaye and others(best song written for visual media for Earned It from Fifty Shades of Grey)
• Joni Mitchell (best album notes for Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, A Ballet, Waiting to be Danced)
• Marc-Andr Hamelin with Takacs Quartet (best chamber music/small ensemble performance)
• Yannick Nzet-Sguin (shared best opera recording nomination for Mozart: Die Entfhrung Aus Dem Serail)
• Ron Korb (best new age album for Asia Beauty)
• Matt Maher (bestcontemporary Christian music album for Saints And Sinnersand
  best contemporary Christian music performance/song for Because HeLives (Amen)
• ProducerKevin Howes (besthistorical album for Native North America (Vol. 1): AboriginalFolk, Rock, And Country 1966-1985)
• Michael Silver, also known as CFCF(best remixedrecording non-classical for Berlin By Overnight -CFCF Remix)
• Jan Haust and Peter J. Moore (part of the team up for besthistorical album for The Basement Tapes Complete: The BootlegSeries Vol. 11)
• Charles Moniz (as part of the teambehindrecord of the yearnominee Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson)

Popular music leads contenders

Swift's music was unavoidable over the past year. She hadhit after hit from herblockbuster album 1989 thanks to much-watched music videos and a popular tour that saw surprise guests at nearly every stop.

Lamar and Sheeran earned praise for their latest efforts (To Pimp A Butterfly and x, respectively).The Weekndcrossed over into the mainstream with his catchy tracksCan't Feel MyFace and The Hills,along with his song Earned Itfor the film Fifty Shades of Grey.

Drake was also ubiquitous, whether for hisplatinum, surprise digital releaseIf You're Reading This It's Already Too Late, hismixtape collaboration with rapper Future titledWhat a Time to Be Alive, his viral video hit Hotline Blingor releasing "diss tracks" during a feud with former collaborator Meek Mill.

Music that was released between Oct. 1, 2014, andSept. 30, 2015,is eligible for the latest Grammys, soAdele's record-breaking25 will have to wait another year.

The 58th annualGrammygala will take place Feb. 15 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.