And just like that, the 2014 Grammy race has gotten a little less crowded.

This year’s nominees were revealed at CBS’s annual Grammy Nominations Concert Live! telecast. There were a few surprises (Sara Bareilles, eh?), a few snubs (no Album of the Year nod for Kanye?), but mostly we were presented with a lot of familiar faces. Jay Z scored the most Grammy nominations (9 in total), although acts like Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Kendrick Lamar and Pharrell Williams (all clocking in with 7 nods) pop up in some of the higher profile categories. Katy Perry, Lorde and Taylor Swift are also in the running for some sought after award show hardware.

RELATED: This Year’s Grammy Nominees And Snubs

The LL Cool J hosted event was absolutely packed with live performances, including a few that took place both outside the arena and outside the country. Taylor Swift’s performance came via satellite from Australia and Katy Perry sang her hit “Roar”; from inside the confines of Toronto’s Mod Club. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Lorde and Miguel & Keith Urban (yup, they teamed up) were among the acts that opted for the more traditional “inside the venue”; performance option. Drake was originally scheduled to perform at the evening’s nominee announcement bash, but he ended up axing the performance due to a “scheduling issue.”;

Here’s a handy rundown of who is up for some of the big name prizes.

SONG OF THE YEAR

Pink – “Just Give Me a Reason”
Bruno Mars – “Locked Out of Heaven”
Katy Perry – “Roar”
Lorde – “Royals”
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Mary Lambert – “Same Love”

RECORD OF THE YEAR

Daft Punk feat. Pharrell – Get Lucky
Imagine Dragons – Radioactive
Lorde – “Royals”;
Bruno Mars – “Locked Out of Heaven”;
Robin Thicke feat. Pharrell & T.I. – “Blurred Lines”;

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Sara Bareilles – The Blessed Unrest
Daft Punk – Random Access Memories
Kendrick Lamar – Good Kid, M.A.D.D. City
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – The Heist
Taylor Swift – Red

BEST NEW ARTIST

James Blake
Kendrick Lamar
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Kacey Musgraves
Ed Sheeran

The 56th Annual Grammy Awards will take place on Jan. 26, 2014 at the Staples Center. For the full list of nominees, you can check out the entire slate over at the official Grammys site.