French electro sensation Daft Punk, pop diva Taylor Swift, chart-topper Justin Timberlake and Seattle hip hop duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are also among those vying for prizes at music's version of the Oscars in Los Angeles.
Surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr will perform as organisers the Recording Academy belatedly bestow a Lifetime Achievement Award on the Fab Four, while preparing to mark 50 years since their famous first US TV appearance.
The first couple of hip-hop, Jay-Z and Beyonce, are also expected to perform while pop legend Madonna will strut her stuff at the show, brought forward from its usual February date to avoid media conflicts with the Sochi Winter Olympics.
Going into Sunday's show, Jay-Z tops nominations with nine nods, followed by California hip-hop star Lamar, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Timberlake and Pharrell Williams with seven each, while Canadian rapper Drake scored five.
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Tipped by many for coveted Record Of The Year is Daft Punk's "Get Lucky," but rival nominees include Kiwi teenager Lorde's "Royals," "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons and Hawaiian crooner Bruno Mars' "Locked Out Of Heaven."
Thicke's "Blurred Lines," made infamous by Miley Cyrus' twerking at last year's MTV Video Music Awards show, is also competing for the evening's top prize.
In the Album of the Year category, Swift's "Red" will compete with Daft Punk's "Random Access Memories," Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's "The Heist," Lamar's "Good Kid, M.A.A.D City" and Sara Bareilles' "The Blessed Unrest.