Beyoncé and Sam Smith are the top contenders for the 57th annual Grammy Awards, leading a crop of nominees that also includes Iggy Azalea, Beck, Pharrell Williams, Miranda Lambert and Sia, it was announced on Friday.
Beyoncé, whose surprise album release a year ago jolted the music industry’s thinking about marketing, and Mr. Smith, a 22-year-old British singer whose debut, “In the Lonely Hour,” is one of the year’s best sellers, each earned six nominations, including album of the year.
Mr. Smith, who has a smooth and haunting take on blue-eyed soul, is up in all of the Top 4 categories — including best new artist and record and song of the year for “Stay With Me (Darkchild Version).” If he sweeps all four prizes, Mr. Smith would be the first to do so since Christopher Cross in 1981. (Others have had the chance, like Amy Winehouse in 2008 and the band Fun in 2013, but failed to take all four.)
