Beyoncé Faces Stiff Competition for Grammy Album of the Year

The Grammys: several award nominees on Friday morning

Sam Smith — In The Lonely Hour

Release date: May 26, 2014
Chart performance: No. 2 (No. 1 in UK, New Zealand, Sweden)
Notable singles: "Stay With Me" (No. 2), "I'm Not The Only One" (No. 7)
Metacritic rating: 62 %

Other artist nominations: Record of the Year ("Stay With Me"), Song of the Year ("Stay With Me"), Best New Artist, Best Pop Solo Performance ("Stay With Me"), Best Pop Vocal Album (In The Lonely Hour)

Beyoncé — Beyoncé

Release date: Dec. 13, 2013
Chart performance: No. 1
Notable singles: "Drunk In Love" (No. 2), "7/11" (No. 18), "Partition" (No. 23)
Metacritic rating: 85 %

Other artist nominations: Everything

Pharrell Williams — G I R L

Release date: March 3, 2014
Chart performance: No. 2 (No. 1 in UK, Australia, Denmark, Switzerland)
Notable singles: "Happy" (No. 1 worldwide), "Come Get It Bae" (No. 23)
Metacritic rating: 67 %

Other artist nominations: Best Pop Solo Performance ("Happy [Live]"), Best Urban Contemporary Album (G I R L), Best Music Video ("Happy")

Worth noting: Pharrell had his hand in three Album of the Year noms; he was obviously the featured artist on G I R L, but also helped produce Beyoncé and X.

Ed Sheeran — X

Release date: June 20, 2014
Chart performance: No. 1
Notable singles: "Don't" (No. 9), "Sing" (No. 13, international No. 1), "Thinking Out Loud" (No. 39, international No. 1)
Metacritic rating: 67 %

Other artist nominations: Best Pop Vocal Album (X), Best Song Written For Visual Media ("I See Fire")

Beck — Morning Phase

Release date: Feb. 21, 2014

Chart performance: No. 3
Notable singles: "Blue Moon" (No. 31 on U.S. alt chart)
Metacritic rating: 81 %

Other artist nominations: Best Rock Performance ("Blue Moon"), Best Rock Song ("Blue Moon"), Best Rock Album (Morning Phase)

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It's becoming a trend: One black sheep nominee that received heavy critical praise (Morning Phase) against four pop heavyweights. Which one of these was your favorite in 2014? Let us know in the comments section below.

Having trouble deciding? Let Bey help you out: