50 Most Popular 2018 Grammy Nominees

January 11, 2018 by John Harrington

Awards season is upon us, and after the activism and serious nature of the Golden Globes, it’s time to get ready for the the Grammys. The 60th annual Grammy Awards ceremony will be held on Jan. 28 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, returning to the Big Apple after a 15-year run in Los Angeles.

The Grammy Awards honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency, and overall excellence in the recording industry. And whether your favorite artist is nominated or not, the award show itself includes many memorable performances to keep viewers engaged. Who can forget Sting, Ziggy and Damian Marley, Bruno Mars, and Rihanna’s tribute to reggae legend Bob Marley in 2013?

To identify the most popular nominees, 24/7 Wall St. created an index measuring the popularity of artists nominated for Grammy Awards this year.

Click here to see the most popular 2018 Grammy nominees.
Click here to see our detailed findings and methodology.

50. Jerry Seinfeld
> Facebook likes: 1,037,731
> Spotify followers: 16,126
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 1

Best Comedy Album

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49. Leonard Cohen
> Facebook likes: 2,410,182
> Spotify followers: 741,098
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 2

Best Rock Performance
Best American Roots Performance

48. Gregg Allman
> Facebook likes: 594,100
> Spotify followers: 54,512
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 2

Best American Roots Song
Best Americana Album

47. Kehlani
> Facebook likes: 565,141
> Spotify followers: 1,078,541
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 1

Best R&B Performance

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46. Hans Zimmer
> Facebook likes: 2,244,819
> Spotify followers: 1,040,704
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 2

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media

45. Little Big Town
> Facebook likes: 2,196,779
> Spotify followers: 764,423
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 2

Best Country Duo / Group Performance
Best Country Album

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44. Glen Campbell
> Facebook likes: 352,768
> Spotify followers: 91,117
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 1

Best American Roots Performance

43. Lin-Manuel Miranda
> Facebook likes: 1,028,744
> Spotify followers: 76,676
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 2

Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media
Best Song Written for Visual Media

42. Bruce Springsteen
> Facebook likes: 5,503,968
> Spotify followers: 1,327,085
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 1

Best Spoken Word Album

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41. Seth MacFarlane
> Facebook likes: 1,795,209
> Spotify followers: 31,003
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 1

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

40. Avenged Sevenfold
> Facebook likes: 17,100,252
> Spotify followers: 1,851,678
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 1

Best Rock Song

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39. Luis Fonsi
> Facebook likes: 13,596,173
> Spotify followers: 1,368,005
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 3

Record of the Year
Song of the Year
Best Pop Duo / Group Performance

38. Pharrell Williams
> Facebook likes: 10,651,572
> Spotify followers: 2,002,509
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 3

Best R&B Song
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media

37. Kelly Clarkson
> Facebook likes: 14,640,020
> Spotify followers: 2,343,867
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 1

Best Pop Solo Performance

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36. Carrie Fisher
> Facebook likes: 528,429
> Spotify followers: 167
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 1

Best Spoken Word Album

35. Kevin Hart
> Facebook likes: 23,880,261
> Spotify followers: 171,816
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 1

Best Comedy Album

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34. Kenny Chesney
> Facebook likes: 6,613,550
> Spotify followers: 1,410,452
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 1

Best Country Album

33. 6LACK
> Facebook likes: 282,518
> Spotify followers: 597,603
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 2

Best Urban Contemporary Album
Best Rap / Sung Performance

32. Daddy Yankee
> Facebook likes: 30,172,030
> Spotify followers: 4,270,512
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 3

Record of the Year
Song of the Year
Best Pop Duo / Group Performance

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31. Foo Fighters
> Facebook likes: 11,992,119
> Spotify followers: 3,594,418
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 2

Best Rock Performance
Best Rock Song

30. Sam Hunt
> Facebook likes: 1,067,825
> Spotify followers: 956,087
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 2

Best Country Solo Performance
Best Country Song

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29. Cardi B
> Facebook likes: 3,696,880
> Spotify followers: 1,108,581
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 2

Best Rap Performance
Best Rap Song

28. Alessia Cara
> Facebook likes: 830,347
> Spotify followers: 2,189,606
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 4

Song of the Year
Best New Artist
Best Pop Duo / Group Performance
Best Music Video

27. Childish Gambino
> Facebook likes: 1,362,217
> Spotify followers: 2,508,084
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 5

Record of the Year
Album of the Year
Best Traditional R&B Performance
Best R&B Song
Best Urban Contemporary Album

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26. SZA
> Facebook likes: 377,088
> Spotify followers: 897,366
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 5

Best New Artist
Best R&B Performance
Best R&B Song
Best Urban Contemporary Album
Best Rap / Sung Performance

25. Miranda Lambert
> Facebook likes: 8,516,940
> Spotify followers: 1,117,358
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 2

Best Country Solo Performance
Best Country Song

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24. Gorillaz
> Facebook likes: 9,979,986
> Spotify followers: 2,482,079
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 2

Best Dance Recording
Best Alternative Music Album

23. Lorde
> Facebook likes: 6,634,587
> Spotify followers: 2,778,986
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 1

Album of the Year

22. Chris Cornell
> Facebook likes: 1,646,620
> Spotify followers: 461,669
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 1

Best Rock Performance

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21. Khalid
> Facebook likes: 371,227
> Spotify followers: 1,333,446
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 5

Song of the Year
Best New Artist
Best R&B Song
Best Urban Contemporary Album
Best Music Video

20. Chris Stapleton
> Facebook likes: 928,419
> Spotify followers: 565,689
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 3

Best Country / Solo Performance
Best Country Song
Best Country Album

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19. Kesha
> Facebook likes: 29,571,479
> Spotify followers: 2,638,396
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 2

Best Pop Solo Performance
Best Pop Vocal Album

18. Coldplay
> Facebook likes: 39,375,688
> Spotify followers: 9,670,589
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 2

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
Best Pop Vocal Album

17. Lana Del Rey
> Facebook likes: 12,049,400
> Spotify followers: 5,634,663
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 1

Best Pop Vocal Album

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16. Logic
> Facebook likes: 1,475,687
> Spotify followers: 1,892,739
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 2

Best Music Video
Song Of The Year

15. Calvin Harris
> Facebook likes: 14,139,838
> Spotify followers: 9,146,827
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 1

Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical

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14. Lil Uzi Vert
> Facebook likes: 881,473
> Spotify followers: 2,808,507
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 2

Best New Artist
Best Rap Performance

13. Jay-Z
> Facebook likes: 20,282,191
> Spotify followers: 3,498,291
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 8

Record of the Year
Album of the Year
Song of the Year
Best Rap Performance
Best Rap / Sung Performance
Best Rap Song
Best Rap Album
Best Music Video

12. Migos
> Facebook likes: 2,311,800
> Spotify followers: 3,346,499
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 2

Best Rap Performance
Best Rap Album

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11. Imagine Dragons
> Facebook likes: 13,239,988
> Spotify followers: 6,957,325
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 2

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
Best Pop Vocal Album

10. Metallica
> Facebook likes: 37,320,657
> Spotify followers: 5,116,168
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 1

Best Rock Song

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9. Shakira
> Facebook likes: 103,993,655
> Spotify followers: 7,431,811
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 1

Best Latin Pop Album

8. Kendrick Lamar
> Facebook likes: 8,771,570
> Spotify followers: 7,027,566
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 7

Record of the Year
Album of the Year
Best Rap Performance
Best Rap / Sung Performance
Best Rap Song
Best Rap Album
Best Music Video

7. Lady Gaga
> Facebook likes: 60,448,780
> Spotify followers: 4,065,840
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 2

Best Pop Solo Performance
Best Pop Vocal Album

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6. Taylor Swift
> Facebook likes: 73,827,172
> Spotify followers: 8,984,407
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 2

Best Country Song
Best Song written for Visual Media

5. Beyoncé
> Facebook likes: 63,886,203
> Spotify followers: 10,512,362
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 1

Best Rap / Sung Performance

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4. Bruno Mars
> Facebook likes: 57,567,779
> Spotify followers: 9,657,310
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 6

Record of the Year
Album of the Year
Song of the Year
Best R&B Performance
Best R&B Song
Best R&B Album

3. Justin Bieber
> Facebook likes: 78,616,268
> Spotify followers: 16,568,466
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 3

Record of the Year
Song of the Year
Best Pop Duo / Group Performance

2. Rihanna
> Facebook likes: 81,235,648
> Spotify followers: 17,196,244
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 1

Best Rap / Sung Performance

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1. Ed Sheeran
> Facebook likes: 18,064,013
> Spotify followers: 16,314,925
> 2018 Grammy nominations: 2

Pop Solo Performance
Best Pop Vocal Album

The Grammy nominations in 2018 were announced on Nov. 28, 2017. Jay-Z received the most nominations with eight, followed by Kendrick Lamar with seven, and Bruno Mars with six. SZA is the top female nominee with five nominations.

The Grammys recognize the talent of musicians in many genres, including pop, rock, R&B, jazz, classical, musical theater, and more. There are also Grammy categories for producers, engineers, sound mixers, and technicians behind the music.

A Grammy Award is a milestone for many artists, symbolizing critical success. To be nominated for a Grammy, let alone win the award, means the artist has garnered recognition. Such an achievement enhances the artist’s reputation as well as his or her value in an industry dependent on networking and social capital.

While many musical artists dream of winning a Grammy, some musical legends dream of winning their 10th, 20th, or even 30th Grammy Award.

The Grammys also boost sales of songs performed at the awards show. When British singer Sam Smith won four Grammys in 2015, digital sales of his song “Stay with Me” — which he performed at the ceremony — leaped 721%, according to Nielsen Music Connect. Data from Nielsen’s Music Connect showed his Facebook Likes and Twitter followers climbed 44% and 70%, respectively.

To identify the Most Popular Grammy Nominee, 24/7 Wall St. created an index of four datasets measuring the popularity of artists nominated for a Grammy Award. The index includes the number of Facebook likes, number of Spotify followers, Wikipedia page views in 2017, and the number of albums an artist has on the Top Billboard 200 Albums in 2017 for each of the 500+ Grammy Award nominees.

Facebook likes, Spotify followers, and daily average Wikipedia page views were given a full weight in the index. The number of albums in the Top Billboard 200 Albums in 2017 was given a one-third weight, while the highest placement of an artist’s album on the chart was given two-thirds weight. Facebook and Spotify data are current as of Jan. 10, 2018. Wikipedia page views are calculated for the past year (Jan. 9, 2017 to Jan. 9, 2018).

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