Awards season is upon us, and with it comes music’s biggest night – the Grammys. The 56th Annual Grammy Awards, taking place Jan. 26 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, will celebrate music and the artists that make it.

This year, the four general award categories have a diverse mix of nominees, nearly representing every genre of music. The award for Record of the Year is awarded to the performing artist and production team for a particular song. The nominees for Record of the Year are “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons, “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams, “Royals” by Lorde, “Locked Out of Heaven” by Bruno Mars and “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke.

Song of the Year, on the other hand, is awarded only to the songwriters, which may or may not include the performing artist. The nominees for this year are “Roar” by Katy Perry, “Locked Out of Heaven” by Bruno Mars, “Just Give Me A Reason” by Pink featuring Nate Ruess, “Royals” by Lorde and “Same Love” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Mary Lambert.

The nominees for Best New Artist are those who gained the attention, success and acclaim of the public within the last year. Kendrick Lamar, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Kacey Musgraves, Ed Sheeran, and James Blake receive the honor this year. Lastly, Album of the Year is awarded to the artist and production team for work on an album as a whole.

The nominees are “Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City” by Kendrick Lamar, “The Blessed Unrest” by Sara Bareilles, “The Heist” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, “Red” by Taylor Swift and “Random Access Memories” by Daft Punk. With most award shows, there are big winners and others that come up short. The 2014 Grammys are no exception. 

Jay Z: While not nominated in any of the general categories, the rapper dominates the rap category. He leads all other artists in total nominations with nine, including Best Rap Album for “Magna Carta… Holy Grail” and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for the track “Holy Grail” featuring Justin Timberlake. Jay Z’s other collaboration with Timberlake for Timberlake’s song “Suit & Tie” received a nomination as well for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. A veteran rapper like Jay Z probably will not walk away from the 2014 Grammys empty handed.

Justin Timberlake: With his comeback album “The 20/20 Experience,” 2013 was a good year for Timberlake. The album itself and a few of its tracks got Timberlake seven nominations, the second most behind Jay Z and tied with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Pharrell Williams, and Kendrick Lamar. Although it is shocking that Timberlake was not prominent in the general categories, it is hard to see the artist coming away from the event with none of the awards he is nominated for. However, due to stiff competition, it will not be surprising to see Timberlake lose in the pop and general categories.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis: This duo, nominated for seven Grammys this year, exploded onto the mainstream scene in late 2012 and hasn’t looked back since. Gathering nominations in both the general and rap categories and given their increasing popularity, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis will leave the Staples Center as Grammy-winning recording artists. Their nominations include Song of the Year for “Same Love” featuring Mary Lambert and Album of the Year for “The Heist,” two of the night’s biggest honors.

Lorde: Coming out of seemingly nowhere in 2013 was 17-year-old Lorde with her hit single “Royals.” Although only nominated for four awards, this young New Zealand native has the capacity to take home the biggest awards of the night, as she is nominated for Record and Song of the Year for “Royals” and Album of the Year for “Pure Heroine.” Looking at her competition, she has the best chance to win Song of the Year.

Kendrick Lamar: This rapper gained acclaim for his album “Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City” and shockwaves for his now infamous verse on Big Sean’s “Control.” The rapper has seven nominations and is present in both the rap and general categories. Lamar brought something different to hip-hop over the past year with his sound and lyrical delivery. His uniqueness will unlikely go unnoticed by the Academy.

Other nominees sure to walk away with Grammy gold are Taylor Swift for her work on “Red,” Drake for his collaborations with other artists, Imagine Dragons for their song “Radioactive,” Pharrell Williams for his various producing efforts and Sara Bareilles for work on her album “The Blessed Unrest.”

Set to perform on the big night are Katy Perry, Pink featuring Nate Ruess, Lorde, Pharrell Williams, Stevie Wonder joining Daft Punk, Robin Thicke with the Grammy-winning band Chicago, Metallica along with Grammy Cultural Ambassador to China Lang Lang, Imagine Dragons joining Kendrick Lamar and a special performance by four country greats – Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard and Blake Shelton.

The 56th Annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast live at 7 p.m. Jan. 26 on CBS.