LOS ANGELES • Beyonce dominated nominations on Tuesday for next year's Grammy Awards in a field that favoured alternative artists over mainstream musicians, topped by a stunning snub for Canadian singer The Weeknd, who called the process "corrupt".

Beyonce's nine nods made her the second most-nominated Grammy artist in history, with 79, and came through projects that celebrated black culture in a year of racial turmoil in the United States.

Record producer Quincy Jones and rapper Jay-Z have 80 apiece.

The biggest shut-out for the highest honours in the music industry was The Weeknd, whose critically acclaimed album After Hours, was No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts for four weeks.

Variety called the omission of the R&B singer, who has been chosen to play the half-time show at the Super Bowl next year, "the biggest snub in memory".

The Weeknd, in a Twitter post, said: "The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency."

The Recording Academy's chair and interim chief executive officer, Mr Harvey Mason, said in a written statement that he understood The Weeknd's disappointment.

"We were thrilled when we found out he would be performing at the upcoming Super Bowl and we would have loved to have him also perform on the Grammy stage the weekend before. Unfortunately, every year, there are fewer nominations than the number of deserving artists," Mr Mason said.

In June, the academy, whose members choose the nominees and vote on the winners, announced tighter rules regarding potential conflicts of interest in response to claims that the selection process was open to rigging.

The Grammys will be handed out in Los Angeles on Jan 31, hosted by comedian-actor Trevor Noah.

In a history-making turn, South Korea's K-pop megastars BTS were nominated for the Grammy Award in best pop duo/group performance, becoming the first South Korean act to be up for the American music award.

The powerhouse septet, one of the world's most successful boy bands since its debut in 2013, was nominated for its hit single Dynamite.

BTS were one of five nominated in the category, which included Intentions by Justin Bieber, featuring Quavo; Rain On Me by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande; and Taylor Swift's Exile, featuring Bon Iver.

But that was the boy band's only nomination - Dynamite was shut out of Record of the Year and Song of the Year despite being considered a strong contender.

British singer Dua Lipa, pop star Taylor Swift and rapper Roddy Ricch got six nominations apiece.

Swift and Lipa will compete for the top prize - Album of the Year - along with R&B singer Post Malone, British band Coldplay, female band Haim, avant-garde Briton Jacob Collier, American soul band Black Pumas and American alternative R&B singer Jhene Aiko.

Billboard called the nominations for Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist surprising for the range of "superstar nominees as well as out-of-nowhere newcomers".

Bob Dylan, 79, was a no-show despite acclaim for his first album of new music in eight years, Rough And Rowdy Ways, while established artists such as Katy Perry, Maren Morris, The Chicks, Halsey and the Jonas Brothers were not nominated.

The Best New Artist field included rappers Megan Thee Stallion and Doja Cat, as well as alternative artist Phoebe Bridgers and Noah Cyrus, younger sister of Miley Cyrus.

Women, including Fiona Apple, Brittany Howard and newcomer Ingrid Andress, packed the rock and country music fields, while Britain's Harry Styles got his first taste of Grammy love with three nods for his work on the album Fine Line.

South Korean girl group Blackpink - which in recent years collaborated on bangers with Cardi B, Lady Gaga and Lipa - were surprisingly left out of the Best New Artist race.

The spoken word category that regularly features unexpected Grammy contenders - former US first lady and president Michelle and Barack Obama are past winners - this year includes journalists Rachel Maddow and Ronan Farrow.

Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist Flea is also nominated for his memoir, as is actress Meryl Streep for her reading of the children's book Charlotte's Web, and Ken Jennings, star of Jeopardy, for reading the memoir written by the beloved game show's late host Alex Trebek.

Eurovision got an unlikely shout-out this time around, as the soundtrack for a comedy film about the kitschy contest was nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media.

REUTERS/THE KOREA HERALD/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE