(USA TODAY) -- If there’s one category of performer that Grammys voters love, it’s mainstream-accessible pop stars like Adele, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith, all of whom dominated the major Grammys categories in recent years.
That isn’t the case for the 2018 awards, with the song, album and record of the year categories excluding many pop stars that seemed like shoo-ins for the Grammys’ biggest awards.
Instead, the nominees for album of the year feature Bruno Mars and Lorde alongside hip hop and R&B releases from Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar and Childish Gambino. These artists also dominate record and song categories, along with the smash-hit Despacito from Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber. As a result, Grammys favorites like Sheeran are relegated to the smaller pop categories.
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