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Jay Z Leads The Pack In Grammy Nominations

The man who famously rapped about “99 Problems” has nine reasons to cheer the Grammys — that’s how many nominations Jay Z received, the most of any artist for 2013.

Then again, none of those nods appears for work under his name in the most coveted categories — Record, Song and Album of the Year. (He slid into the Album of the Year bids with a guest appearance on a Kendrick Lamar disc).

Four artists have chances to snag two of the most vaunted prizes — the indie-rap breakthrough act Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Album and Song; electro-art duo Daft Punk, Album and Record; song-and-dance man Bruno Mars, Record and Song; and New Zealand alterna-singer Lorde, Record and Song.

In a truly bizarre move, Grammy voters found no place among the three categories that matter most for this year’s most obvious candidates — Justin Timberlake, whose “20/20 Experience” was the biggest-selling album of the year, and one of the best-received, and Kanye West, who had the most rapturously reviewed disc of the year with “Yeezus.”

Even so, Timberlake did garner seven nods in lesser categories. Tying him were three acts — rapper Lamar, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Pharrell Williams.

Drake and legendary mastering engineer Bob Ludwig stand to pick up five prizes. Taylor Swift has four bids, including Album of the Year “Red.” West has just two shots this time, both confined to genre categories: Best Rap Song and Best Rap Album.

In another inexplicable move, Lorde isn’t up for Best New Artist. This, in a year that anointed her with bids for two far more prestigious categories (Record and Song of the Year). The New Artist candidates consist of electro-artist James Blake, hip-hop star Kendrick Lamar, YouTube phenoms Macklelmore & Ryan Lewis, teen-pop artist Ed Sheeran and country breakout Kacey Musgraves.

In one last head-scratcher move, the middling cult singer Sara Barielles earned a bid for Album of the Year, for “The Blessed Unrest.”

The Grammys will be broadcast live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Jan. 26.