As news of the nominations spread, artists took to social media with displays of surprise and gratitude. “Thank u for acknowledging this music my beautiful best friends and i created in just a few weeks together,” Grande wrote. Khalid said: “Woke up to Talk being a Grammy nominated song wow.”

But while the nominations are usually a moment for the music industry to bask in attention from the major news media, on Wednesday they seemed largely overshadowed by the presidential impeachment hearings. Gordon D. Sondland, the ambassador to the European Union, began his highly anticipated testimony barely half an hour after the nominations were announced.

The awards are not without some industry drama. Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” has been the subject of a harsh dispute over songwriting credits — two writers said their work in an early writing session was used without their permission; Lizzo sued them and another songwriter last month, asking a judge to deny their claims. The song was released two years ago but is eligible for the 2020 Grammys because it was included on the expanded version of Lizzo’s new album and had not been submitted before.

And there was much grumbling behind the scenes over this year’s eligibility window. To avoid competing with the Academy Awards, which will be on Feb. 9, the Grammys are being held a few weeks earlier than usual, which shortened the period for new music that could be submitted. Only music released between Oct. 1, 2018 and Aug. 31, 2019 — an 11-month stretch — is eligible this year. Swift and Del Rey’s albums came in right under the wire.

The awards are also being viewed as a coming-out for a new management era at the Recording Academy after several years of complaints and controversies over its treatment of women and artists of color.

The academy’s former chief executive, Neil Portnow, had helped stabilize the institution but came under fire when he said after the 2018 awards that women should “step up” to advance their careers and be recognized at the Grammys. Under pressure, Portnow approved a task force to evaluate the academy and its procedures.