Beyonc, Drake, Adele and Justin Bieber to vie for Grammy Awards

Singers Beyonc and Adele,as well asCanadians Justin Bieber andDrake are among the lead nominees for the 59th annual Grammy Awards.

American pop divaBeyoncled with nine nominations overall for her influential, surprise-release album Lemonade and its powerful lead track Formation. Over the years, she has earned 62 nominations, making her the most nominated woman in Grammy history.

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The singer, whose 20 previous Grammy trophies make her the award's second most awarded female performer ever (after Alison Krauss), has become the first artist to earn nominations in pop (for the trackHold Up), rock (for the songDon't Hurt Yourself with JackWhite), R&B (Lemonade, for urban contemporary R&B album)and rap (Freedomwith KendrickLamar)categories in the same year.

Right behind her, though, are Toronto rapper Drake, as well as two of his recent collaborators: Rihanna and Kanye West all three nabbed eight nominations each.

Drake's Views was one of the year's most anticipated albums and, once it debuted, it became one of theyear'sbiggest releases:it also topped most-streamed lists and was among 2016's bestsellingalbums.

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Meghan Trainor, the 2016 best new artist Grammy winner, appeared on CBS This Morningin New York today to helpunveil the nominees in the four general field categories.

Record of the year

• Hello, Adele.
• Formation,Beyonc.
• 7 years, Lukas Graham.
• Work,Rihannaf. Drake.
• Stressed Out, Twenty One Pilots.

Album of the year

• 25, Adele.
• Lemonade,Beyonc.
• Purpose, JustinBieber.
• Views, Drake.
• A Sailor's Guide to Earth,SturgillSimpson.

Song of the year (songwriter's award)

• FormationbyBeyonc.
• Helloby Adele.
• I Took a Pill in Ibizaby MikePosner.
• Love Yourselfby JustinBieber.
• 7 Yearsby Lukas Graham.

Best new artist

• KelseaBallerini.
• TheChainsmokers.
• Chance the Rapper.
• MarenMorris.
• AndersonPaak.

British singer Adele, another of the leading nominees and a Grammy favourite, earned five nods for her blockbuster album 25.

Many had expectedBlackstar,the final albumby David Bowie, whodied in January at age 69following a more thanyear-long fight with cancer, to be among the top categories. The British music legend ultimately nabbed fournominations: for best rockperformance, rock song, alternative music album and engineeredalbum, non-classical.

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More Canadians in the running

Meanwhile Bieber, who was raised in Stratford, Ont.,scored four for Purpose, which earned criticalacclaim,showcased a more mature sound for the former child popstar and has also been one of the year's bestsellingalbums.

Aside from Drake and Bieber, other Canadian nominees include:

• Vying for best R&B song are Toronto hip hop artists Tory Lanez (aka Daystar Peterson), for his track Luv, and PartyNextDoor (aka Jahron Brathwaite) for Come See Me.
• Vancouver electronicactBob Moses (comprising Tom Howie and Jimmy Vallance) earningtwo nods for the single Tearing Me Up:best dance recording and best remix recording.
• Toronto singer Kai is featured on Australian artist Flume's song Never Be Like You, also in best dance recording.
• Calgary-born JamesTeej (akaThomasMathers) shares a best remix recording nomination with German producing partnerTimoMaas for their reworking of Paul McCartney's Wings-era songNineteen Hundred Eighty-Five.
• Alberta-based powwow drum and singing group Northern Cree, with a best regional roots music album nomination for the album It's a Cree Thing.
• Toronto-based producer and songwriter Nineteen85 (aka Anthony Paul Jefferies), the Drake collaborator nominated for producer of the year (non classical).
• Montreal's YannickNzet-Sguin, whose conducting of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe's recording Mozart: Le Nozze Di Figaro is up for best opera recording.
• Vancouver-born director Miles Jay is a best music video nominee for his directorial work on River, by Leon Bridges.
• Toronto-based ARC Ensemble is up for best chamber music or small ensemble performance for its recording Fitelberg: Chamber Works.

Songs and albums released between Oct. 1, 2015, and Sept. 30, 2016, are eligible for consideration for the awards, handed out by The Recording Academy to honour outstanding achievement in music.

A complete list of nominees across all categories there are 84 in total was posted on Grammy.com.

Hosted by late-night comedian and performer James Corden,the 2017 Grammy Awards will take place in Los Angeles on Feb. 12.