To the excitement of many, last week the nominees for the 57^th annual Grammy awards were announced.

So far, newcomer Sam Smith is leading with the way with several nominations, Beyonce and Pharrell Williams both received six nominations, and Taylor Swift and Jay Z also received nominations for their work this year.

Much like every year in the history of the Grammys, some unusual nominations came up. James Franco's spoken word album for Actors Anonymous was nominated along with Malala Yousafzai's Children's album.

Also, there were quite a few notable nominations for Album of the Year this time around. Those nominated are Beck, Beyonce, Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran, and Pharrell Williams.

One of the surprises to come out of the country music world is the 12 Stories album by Brandy Clark. It is nominated for best country album and fans of hers couldn't be happier. The album is all about heartache, temptation, bad relationships, and even worse hangovers.

The surprise for song of the year is from newcomer Hozier for "Take Me to Church." It has had a lot of praise and fans would love to see Hozier with a Grammy.

With all of these nominees, many say that Sam Smith is the front runner for the Best New Artist this year. It's no secret that the British singer has taken the music world by storm.

The Grammys will air on February 8, 2015 and we are really looking forward to seeing all of the performances and seeing who takes the most awards. Our fingers are crossed for all of those who are nominated this year.