By Jill Serjeant and Adam Morton
Australian artists Tame Impala and Courtney Barnett have been surprise additions to the 2015 Grammy nominations, scoring nods alongside music royalty such as Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar.
Courtney Barnett was nominated for best new artist for her independently produced album Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit.
Perth psychedelic rock band Tame Impala were nominated for best alternative album on Monday, recognised for their second album Currents, and will go against heavyweights such as Bjork.
Keith Urban was also nominated for best solo country performance for his song John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16.
Put Melbourne-based indie rocker Courtney Barnett on your Christmas list.Credit: Simon Schluter
California hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar led the Grammy nominations, scoring 11 nods including album of the year for To Pimp a Butterfly.
The 28-year-old artist from Compton, the heart of the Los Angeles rap scene, left country-pop superstar Taylor Swift trailing with seven nominations for the biggest awards in the music industry.
Barnett, an indie-rock singer-songwriter who was raised in Sydney but is now based in Melbourne, came to prominence in March after her album entered the top 20 of the US and British charts.
In the US, it also debuted at number one on the rock, alternative, folk, independent and vinyl charts.
Leader of the pack ... California hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar received 11 Grammy nominations, ahead of pop princess Taylor Swift, who received seven.
"Basically, everything I sing about is something that happened," she told Fairfax Media in May.
"I've been here for about seven years in Melbourne, so I think to tell the story it helps to paint a picture of the environment around you. It's not intentional – it just strengthens the story, or the idea, and it kind of creeps in naturally."
Taylor Swift was dumped from the list, as Forbes made an effort to steer away from celebrities.Credit: Getty Images
Barnett goes up against fellow nominees All About the Bass singer Meghan Trainor, country artist Sam Hunt, British singer-songwriter James Bay and American Tori Kelly in the best new artist category.
Canadian singer The Weeknd also got seven nominations after a break-out year for his album Beauty Behind the Madness and best-selling single Can't Feel My Face.
Kendrick Lamar dominates nominations
Lamar, who won two Grammys last year in the specialist rap category, broke into the mainstream this year with nominations for the top prize, album of the year. He will also compete for song of the year for Alright, best pop duo with Swift for her hit Bad Blood and music video for the same single.
To Pimp a Butterfly, his third studio album, has topped the US and UK music charts with its fusion of funk, jazz and poetry.
Lamar will compete in the best album category with Swift's 1989, The Weeknd's Beauty Behind the Madness, country singer Chris Stapleton's Traveller and rock band Alabama Shakes' Sand & Colour.
Seven-time Grammy winner Swift's other nominations this year include record, song of the year and best pop solo performance for Blank Space.
Erotic drama Fifty Shades of Grey powered The Weeknd to three of his Grammy nods for single Earned It, which was featured on the movie's soundtrack. The 25-year-old Canadian has never won a Grammy in his five-year-long career.
Britain's Adele, who won six Grammys for her 2011 album 21, was not eligible this year because her record-breaking new release 25, was issued too late for consideration.
The academy has been criticised in the past for nominees that suggest a body of old, white, male voters, a lack of diversity president Neil Portnow has attempted to improve since taking over in 2002.
"Commerciality isn't mutually exclusive of artistry," Portnow said. "We've put a lot of attention and focus on who our members are - what they want, what they need, what they represent. It's an ongoing process. If we were predominantly 50-plus white male voters out of touch with what's happening in music, you wouldn't possibly see Kendrick Lamar get the most nominations."
Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly debuted in the top spot on the Billboard 200 when it was released in March, giving one of the most respected lyricists in the music business his first No. 1 album. Lamar's previous record, good kid, m.A.A.d city, peaked at No. 2.
good kid, m.A.A.d city was nominated for album of the year in 2014, when Lamar didn't win a single award despite being up for seven, the most any artist has received without a win. He shares that bit of ignominy with India.Arie. Lamar's fortunes reversed last year, when he won a pair of Grammys for his song i.
Hip-hop artists Jay-Z, Kanye West and Eminem rank among the most-nominated artists in the history of the Grammys, yet none of them has won song or record of the year. One hip-hop acts - OutKast - has won album of the year.
Developmental fashion
"Kendrick has been well nominated, but very early in his career," Portnow said. "Sometimes our voters might look at artistry in a developmental fashion and over time recognise the maturity and development."
Lamar didn't make the cut for record of the year, where nominees include Swift, The Weeknd, Ed Sheeran, Mark Ronson's Uptown Funk, and D'Angelo, the soulful singer who this year released his first album in 14 years.
Bay, Hunt and Kelly all record for subsidiaries of Universal Music Group, which earned more nominations in the major categories than its peers combined. Universal works with nominees for the four main categories, including four of the five albums - Lamar, Swift and Chris Stapleton's Traveller.
The Grammy Awards, chosen by members of the Recording Academy, will be handed out at a ceremony in Los Angeles on February 15.
- with Reuters, Bloomberg