The Recording Academy announced Tuesday that the South African comedian is returning “one final time” for the Feb. 1 show, for which he will also serve as an executive producer. Only singer Andy Williams, who hosted the Grammys seven times in the 1970s has hosted more often.

Noah himself is a four-time Grammy nominee, and is up this year in the best audio book, narration, and storytelling recording category for “Into The Uncut Grass,” a children’s story.

Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga and Jack Antonoff are among the leading nominees for the 68th annual Grammys, to air live on CBS and Paramount+ from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

AP

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Lamar’s nine nominations for his album “GNX” are part of a wave of hip-hop albums competing in the Grammys’ top categories, including Tyler, the Creator’s “Chromakopia” and “Let God Sort Em Out” from Clipse, Pusha T and Malice.

Other top nominees, announced Friday, include Lady Gaga, producer Jack Antonoff and Sabrina Carpenter.

The Grammys will be handed out Feb. 1 in Los Angeles.

Here’s a list of nominees in select categories.

Album of the Year

“Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” Bad Bunny; “Swag,” Justin Bieber; “Man’s Best Friend,” Sabrina Carpenter; “Let God Sort Em Out,” Clipse, Pusha T and Malice; “Mayhem,” Lady Gaga; “GNX,” Kendrick Lamar; “Mutt,” Leon Thomas; “Chromakopia,” Tyler, the Creator.

Record of the Year

“DtMF,” Bad Bunny; “Manchild,” Sabrina Carpenter; “Anxiety,” Doechii; “Wildflower,” Billie Eilish; “Abracadabra,” Lady Gaga; “luther,” Kendrick Lamar with SZA; “The Subway,” Chappell Roan; “APT.,” Rosé and Bruno Mars.

Song Of the Year (Songwriter’s Award)

“Abracadabra,” Henry Walter, Lady Gaga and Andrew Watt; “Anxiety,” Jaylah Hickmon; “APT.,” Amy Allen, Christopher Brody Brown, Rogét Chahayed, Henry Walter, Omer Fedi, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Chae Young Park and Theron Thomas; “DtMF,” Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, Scott Dittrich, Benjamin Falik, Hugo René Sención and Tyler Thomas Spry; “Golden,” EJAI and Mark Sonnenblick; “luther,” Jack Antonoff, Roshwita Larisha Bacha, Matthew Bernard, Ink, Scott Bridgeway, Sam Dew, Kendrick Lamar, Mark Anthony Spears, Solána Rowe and Kamasi Washington; “Manchild,” Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff and Sabrina Carpenter; “Wildflower,” Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O’Connell.

Best New Artist

Olivia Dean; Katseye; The Marias; Addison Rae; sombr; Leon Thomas; Alex Warren; Lola Young.

Songwriter Of The Year

Amy Allen; Edgar Barrera; Jessie Jo Dillon; Tobias Jesso Jr.; Laura Veltz

Best Pop Solo Performance

“Daisies,” Justin Bieber; “Manchild,” Sabrina Carpenter; “Disease,” Lady Gaga; “The Subway,” Chappell Roan; “Messy,” Lola Young.

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

“Defying Gravity,” Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande; “Golden,” HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI; “Gabriela,” Katseye; “APT.,” Rosé and Bruno Mars, “30 for 30,” SZA with Kendrick Lamar.

Best Rap Performance

“Outside,” Cardi B; “Chains & Whips,” Clipse, Pusha T and Malice, featuring Kendrick Lamar and Pharrell Williams; “Anxiety,” Doechii; “TV Off,” Kendrick Lamar featuring Lefty Gunplay; “Darlin, I,” Tyler, the Creator featuring Teezo Touchdown.

Best Pop Vocal Album

“Swag,” Justin Bieber; “Man’s Best Friend,” Sabrina Carpenter; “Something Beautiful,” Miley Cyrus; “Mayhem,” Lady Gaga; “I’ve Tried Everything but Therapy (Part 2),” Teddy Swims.

Best Rap Album

“Let God Sort Em Out,” Clipse, Pusha T and Malice; “Glorious,” GloRilla; “God Does Like Ugly,” JID, “GNX,” Kendrick Lamar, “Chromakopia,” Tyler, the Creator.

Best Contemporary Country Album

“Patterns,” Kelsea Ballerini; “Snipe Hunter,” Tyler Chilers; “Evangeline vs the Machine,” Eric Church; “Beautifully Broken,” Jelly Roll; “Postcards from Texas,” Miranda Lambert.

Best Traditional Country Album

“Dollar a Day,” Charley Crockett; “American Romance,” Lukas Nelson; “Oh What a Beautiful World,” Willie Nelson; “Hard Headed Woman,” Margo Price; “Ain’t In It For My Health,” Zach Top.

Best R&B Album

“Beloved,” Giveon; “Why Not More?,” Coco Jones; “The Crown,” Ledisi; “Escape Room,” Teyana Taylor; “Mutt,” Leon Thomas.

Best Dance/Electronic Album

“EUSEXUA,” FKA twigs; “Ten Days,” Fred again…; “Fancy That,” PinkPantheress; “Inhale/Exhale,” Rüfüs du Sol; “F— U Skrillex You Think Ur Andy Warhol but UR Not!! 3,” Skrillex

Best Rock Album

“private music,” Deftones; “I quit,” HAIM; “From Zero,” Linkin Park; “Never Enough,” Turnstile; “Idols,” YUNGBLUD

Best Alternative Music Album

“Sable, Fable,” Bon Iver; “Songs of a Lost World,” The Cure; “Don’t Tap the Glass,” Tyler, the Creator; “Moisturizer,” Wet Leg; “Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party,” Hayley Williams.

Best Jazz Vocal Album

“Elemental,” Dee Dee Bridgewater and Bill Charlap; “We Insist 2025!,” Terri Lyne Carrington and Christie Dashiell; “Portrait,” Samara Joy; “Fly,” Michael Mayo; “Live at Vic’s Las Vegas,” Nicole Zuraitis, Dan Pugach, Tom Scott, Idan Morim, Keyon Harrold and Rachel Eckroth.

Best Jazz Instrumental Album

“Trilogy 3 (Live),” Chick Corea, Christian McBride and Brian Blade; “Southern Nights,” Sullivan Fortner featuring Peter Washington and Marcus Gilmore; “Belonging,” Branford Marsalis Quartet; “Spirit Fall,” John Patitucci featuring Chris Potter and Brian Blade; “Fasten Up,” Yellowjackets.

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

“Wintersongs,” Laila Biali; “The Gift of Love,” Jennifer Hudson; “Who Believes in Angels?,” Elton John and Brandi Carlile; “Harlequin,” Lady Gaga; “A Matter of Time,” Laufey; “The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume 2,” Barbra Streisand.

Best Gospel Album

“Sunny Days,” Yolanda Adams; “Tasha,” Tasha Cobbs Leonard; “Live Breathe Fight,” Tamela Mann; “Only on the Road (Live),” Tye Tribbett; “Heart of Mine,” Darrel Walls, PJ Morton.

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album

“Child of God II,” Forrest Frank; “Coritos Vol. 1,” Israel & New Breed; “King of Hearts,” Brandon Lake; “Reconstruction,” Lecrae; “Let the Church Sing,” Tauren Wells.

Best Latin Pop Album

“Cosa Nuestra,” Rauw Alejandro; “Bogotá (Deluxe),” Andrés Cepeda; “Tropicoqueta,” Karol G; “Cancionera,” Natalia Lafourcade; “¿Y ahora qué?,” Alejandro Sanz.

Best Latin Urban Album

“Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” Bad Bunny; “Mixteip,” J Balvin; “FERXXO Vol. X: Sagrado,” Feid; “Naiki,” Nicki Nicole; “EUB Deluxe,” Trueno; “Sinfónico (En Vivo),” Yandel.

Best Música Mexicana Album

“Mala Mía,” Fuerza Regida, Grupo Frontera; “Y Lo Que Viene,” Grupo Frontera; “Sin Rodeos,” Paola Jara, “Palabra De To’s (Seca), Carín León; “Bobby Pulido & Friends Una Tuya y Una Mía – Por La Puerta Grande (En Vivo),” Bobby Pulido.

Best African Music Performance

“Love,” Burna Boy; “With You,” Davido featuring Omah Lay; “Hope & Love,” Eddy Kenzo and Mehran Matin; “Gimme Dat,” Ayra Starr featuring Wizkid; “Push 2 Start,” Tyla.

Best Reggae Album

“Treasure Self Love,” Lila Iké; “Heart & Soul,” Vybz Kartel; “BLXXD & FYAH,” Keznamdi; “From Within,” Mortimer; “No Place Like Home,” Jesse Royal.

Best Spoken Word Poetry Album

“A Hurricane in Heels: healed people don’t act like that,” Queen Sheba; “Black Shaman,” Marc Marcel; “Pages,” Omari Hardwick and Anthony Hamilton; “Saul Williams meets Carlos Niño and friends at Treepeople,” Saul Williams, Carlos Niño and friends; “Words for Days Vol. 1,” Mad Skillz.

Best Comedy Album

“Drop Dead Years,” Bill Burr; “PostMortem,” Sarah Silverman; “Single Lady,” Ali Wong; “What Had Happened Was…,” Jamie Foxx; “Your Friend, Nate Bargatze,” Nate Bargatze.

Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media

“A Complete Unknown,” Timothée Chalamet; “F1 The Album,” various artists; “KPop Demon Hunters,” various artists, “Sinners,” various artists; “Wicked,” various artists.

Best Song Written for Visual Media

“As Alive as You Need Me to Be,” from “Tron: Ares”); “Golden,” from “KPop Demon Hunters; “I Lied to You,” from “Sinners; “Never Too Late,” from “Elton John: Never Too Late”; “Pale, Pale Moon,” from “Sinners; “Sinners,” from “Sinners.

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media (composer’s award)

“How to Train Your Dragon,” John Powell; “Severance: Season 2,” Theodore Shapiro; “Sinners,” Ludwig Göransson; “Wicked,” John Powell and Stephen Schwartz; “The Wild Robot,” Kris Bowers.

Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical

Dan Auerbach; Cirkut; Dijon; Blake Mills; Sounwave.

Best Music Video

“Young Lion,” Sade; “Manchild,” Sabrina Carpenter; “So Be It,” Clipse; “Anxiety,” Doechii; “Love,” OK Go.

Best Music Film

“Devo”; Raye, “Live at the Royal Albert Hall,” “Relentless,” “Music by John Williams”; “Piece by Piece.”

Best Album Cover

“Chromakopia”; “The Crux”; “Debí Tirar Más Fotos”; “Glory”; “Moisturizer.”

AP

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Lady Gaga gave a free concert Saturday night in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach for the biggest show of her career.

“Tonight, we’re making history. (…) Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd.

The Mother Monster, as she is known, kicked off the show at around 22:10 p.m. local time with her 2011 song “Bloody Mary.” Cries of joy rose from the tightly-packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand.

Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show.

Lady Gaga performed her classic hits, including “Poker Face” and “Alejandro,” switching between an array of dresses including one with the colors of the Brazilian flag.

Some fans – many of them young – arrived on the beach at the crack of dawn to secure a good spot, armed with snacks and drinks. They spent the day under a blazing sun, while others perched in trees, determined to get a panoramic view.

“Today is the best day of my life,” said Manoela Dobes, a 27-year-old designer who was wearing a dress plastered with a photograph from when she met Lady Gaga in the United States in 2019. “It’s surreal to be here.”

Madonna also turned Copacabana Beach into a massive dance floor last year.

The large-scale performances are part of an effort led by City Hall to boost economic activity after Carnival and New Years’ Eve festivities and the upcoming month-long Saint John’s Day celebrations in June.

“It brings activity to the city during what was previously considered the low season – filling hotels and increasing spending in bars, restaurants, and retail, generating jobs and income for the population,” said Osmar Lima, the city’s secretary of economic development, in a statement released by Rio City Hall’s tourism department last month.

Rio’s City Hall said in a recent report that the show should inject at least 600 million reais (some $106 million) into Rio’s economy.

Similar concerts are scheduled to take place every year in May at least until 2028.

Lady Gaga arrived in Rio in the early hours of Tuesday. The city has been alive with Gaga-mania since, as it geared up to welcome the pop star for her first show in the country since 2012. Rio’s metro employees danced to Lady Gaga’s 2008 hit song “LoveGame” and gave instructions for Saturday in a video. A free exhibition celebrating her career sold out.

While the vast majority of attendees were from Rio, the event also attracted Brazilians from across the country and international visitors.

More than 500,000 tourists poured into the city in the days leading up to the show, more than double the initial forecast, according to data from the local bus station and Tom Jobim airport, Rio’s City Hall said in a statement on Friday.

Ingrid Serrano, a 30-year-old engineer, made a cross-continent trip from Colombia to Brazil to attend the show.

“I’ve been a 100% fan of Lady Gaga my whole life,” said Serrano, who was wearing a T-shirt featuring Lady Gaga’s outlandish costumes over the years.

For her, the mega-star represents “total freedom of expression – being who one wants without shame.”

Rio officials have a history of organizing huge concerts on Copacabana Beach. Madonna’s show drew an estimated 1.6 million fans last year, while 4 million people flooded onto the beach for a 1994 New Year’s Eve show by Rod Stewart in 1994. According to Guinness World Records, that was the biggest free rock concert in history.

To ensure fans could hear the songs, sixteen sound towers were spread along the beach.

Rio state’s security plan included the presence of 3,300 military and 1,500 police officers, and 400 military firefighters.

Among those present were Lady Gaga admirers who remember their disappointment in 2017, when the artist canceled a performance scheduled in Rio at the last minute due to health issues.

Ricardo Filho, who has been a fan since childhood, said it was worth the wait.

“She’s the best artist in the world,” the 25-year-old said, as chants of “Gaga, I love you” in Portuguese rose from the crowd behind him.

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