The nominations for the 2026 Grammy’s were recently announced with many surprises. Nominees like Bad Bunny, Doechii, Kendrick Lamar, Sabrina Carpenter, and surprisingly, the K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack swept the scene.

The Grammy’s will take place on Sunday, February 1, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Viewers can watch the award show broadcasted live on CBS and Paramount+.

Some people consider the “big four” Grammy awards to be the Record, Album, and Song of the Year awards, as well as the Best New Artist award. The nominees in these categories often display musical excellence and cultural importance throughout the year.

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 & Bruno Mars)

This category is not always about the song, but the auditory production as well. Many of these tracks were heard everywhere and this represents 2025’s general sound. The diversity in the nominees and production reflects the current musical scene.

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 & Malice)
• MAYHEM (Lady Gaga)
• GNX (Kendrick Lamar)
• MUTT (Leon Thomas)
• CHROMAKOPIA (Tyler, The Creator)

The Recording Academy’s choices elevate both global songs and deeply personal ones as well. If GNX wins, Kendrick Lamar would finally take home his first Album of the Year, despite being nominated for the award multiple times.

Bad Bunny’s nomination is also historic as his album is entirely in Spanish. The nomination itself marks one of the rare moments where an all spanish language album is being considered for this top prize.

Song of the Year:

• Abracadabra (Lady Gaga)
• Anxiety (Doechii)

• APT. (ROSÉ, Bruno Mars)

• DtMF (Bad Bunny)

• Golden — From KPop Demon Hunters (EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and REI AMI)

• luther (Kendrick Lamar With SZA)

• Manchild (Sabrina Carpenter)

• WILDFLOWER (Billie Eilish)

The Song of the Year nominees (which reward songwriting) largely overlap with the Record of the Year nominees. The songwriting in these songs are not confined to only one style as there is bold pop with Abracadabra, reflective rap in luther, and even K-pop in APT. and Golden. This demonstrates that the Academy is not only valuing commercial success, but also craftsmanship and pushing boundaries. 

Best New Artist:

• Olivia Dean
• KATSEYE
• The Marias
• Addison Rae
• sombr
• Leon Thomas
• Alex Warren
• Lola Young

The Best New Artist category is known for catapulting upcoming artists into stardom and assisting them to advance their careers. Some of these names are already known within niche or online communities and have been creating music for many years, and other artists on this list may be fresh and trying to build a name for themselves. For the not-so-new artists, this nomination may be due to a breakthrough into more mainstream music.

Here are some other categories and their nominees:

Songwriter of the Year (Non-Classical):

• Amy Allen 

For the following songs: APT. (ROSÉ & Bruno Mars), Handlebars (JENNIE Featuring Dua Lipa), Just Keep Watching (Tate McRae), Manchild (Sabrina Carpenter), Tears (Sabrina Carpenter)

• Edgar Barrera

For the following songs: Birthday Behavior (BIA, Young Miko), Milagros (KAROL G), Me Jalo (Fuerza Regida, Grupo Frontera), Soltera (Shakira), Una Noche Contigo (Juanes)

• Jessie Jo Dillon

For the following songs: Bless Your Heart (Megan Moroney), Dreams Don’t Die (Jelly Roll), First Rodeo (Kelsea Ballerini), Happen To Me (Russell Dickerson), Hello S—ty Day (Jake Worthington, Miranda Lambert)

• Tobias Jesso Jr

For the following songs: Daisies (Justin Bieber), Golden Burning Sun (Miley Cyrus), Man I Need (Olivia Dean), Relationships (HAIM), Walking Away (Justin Bieber) 

• Laura Veltz

For the following songs: About You (BigXthaPlug Featuring Tucker Wetmore), Blue Strips (Jessie Murph), Grand Bouquet (Maren Morris), Leave Me Too (Josh Ross), Parallel Universe (Lauren Spencer Smith)

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 & Ariana Grande)
• Golden — From KPop Demon Hunters (EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI)
• Gabriela (KATSEYE)
• APT (ROSÉ & Bruno Mars)
• 30 For 30 (SZA Featuring Kendrick Lamar)

Best Dance Pop Recording:

• Bluest Flame (Selena Gomez & benny blanco)
• Abracadabra (Lady Gaga)
• Midnight Sun (Zara Larsson)
• Just Keep Watching — From F1® The Movie (Tate McRae)
• Illegal (PinkPantheress)

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 Song:

• As Alive As You Need Me To Be (Nine Inch Nails)
• Caramel (Sleep Token)
• Glum (Hayley Williams)
• NEVER ENOUGH (Turnstile)
• Zombie (YUNGBLUD)

Best Rock Album:

• private music (Deftones)
• I quit (HAIM)
• From Zero (Linkin Park)
• NEVER ENOUGH (Turnstile)
• Idols (YUNGBLUD)

Best Alternative Music Performance:

• Everything Is Peaceful Love (Bon Iver)
• Alone (The Cure)
• SEEIN’ STARS (Turnstile)
• mangetout (Wet Leg)
• Parachute (Hayley Williams)

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 R&B Song:

• Folded (Kehlani)
• Heart Of A Woman (Summer Walker)
• It Depends (Chris Brown Featuring Bryson Tiller)
• Overqualified (Durand Bernarr)
• YES IT IS (Leon Thomas)

Best R&B Album:

• BELOVED (GIVĒON)
• Why Not More (Coco Jones)
• The Crown (Ledisi)
• Escape Room (Teyana Taylor)
• MUTT (Leon Thomas)

Best Rap Song: 

• Anxiety (Doechii)
• The Birds Don’t Sing (Clipse, Pusha T & Malice Featuring John Legend & Voices Of Fire)
• Sticky (Tyler, The Creator Featuring GloRilla, Sexyy Red & Lil Wayne)
• TGIF (GloRilla)
• tv off (Kendrick Lamar Featuring Lefty Gunplay)

Best Rap Album:

• Let God Sort Em Out (Clipse, Pusha T & Malice)
• GLORIOUS (GloRilla)
• God Does Like Ugly (JID)
• GNX (Kendrick Lamar)
• CHROMAKOPIA (Tyler, The Creator)

Best Country Song:

• Bitin’ List (Tyler Childers)
• Good News (Shaboozey)
• I Never Lie (Zach Top)
• Somewhere Over Laredo (Lainey Wilson)
• A Song To Sing (Miranda Lambert And Chris Stapleton)

Best Contemporary Country Album:

• Patterns (Kelsea Ballerini)
• Snipe Hunter (Tyler Childers)
• Evangeline Vs. The Machine (Eric Church)
• Beautifully Broken (Jelly Roll)
• Postcards From Texas (Miranda Lambert)

Best Latin Pop Album:

• Cosa Nuestra (Rauw Alejandro)
• BOGOTÁ DELUXE (Andrés Cepeda)
• Tropicoqueta (KAROL G)
• Cancionera (Natalia Lafourcade)
• Y ahora qué (Alejandro Sanz)

Best Música Mexicana Album (Including Tejano):

• 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 Tropical Latin Album:

• Fotografías (Rubén Blades, Roberto Delgado & Orquesta)

• Raíces (Gloria Estefan)

• Clásicos 1.0 (Grupo Niche)

• Bingo (Alain Pérez)

• Debut y Segunda Tanda, Vol. 2 (Gilberto Santa Rosa)

Best African Music Performance:

• Love (Burna Boy)
• With You (Davido Featuring Omah Lay)
• Hope & Love (Eddy Kenzo & Mehran Matin)
• Gimme Dat (Ayra Starr Featuring Wizkid)
• PUSH 2 START (Tyla)

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 (Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande & Wicked Movie Cast)

Best Music Video:

• Manchild (Sabrina Carpenter)

• So Be It (Clipse)

• Anxiety (Doechii)

• Love (OK Go)

• Young Lion (Sade)

Best Album Cover:

• CHROMAKOPIA (Tyler, The Creator)
• The Crux (Djo)
• Debí Tirar Más Fotos (Bad Bunny)
• Glory (Perfume Genius)
• moisturizer (Wet Leg)

The 2026 Grammy nominations paint a vibrant and inclusive picture of the current musical landscape. By honoring global superstars, celebrating songwriting across different genres, and making room for surprise contenders, the Recording Academy has crafted a lineup that is both culturally relevant and daring.

The stage is set for a ceremony that not only celebrates winners but also validates a new and expansive era in music. The future Grammys winners seem to demonstrate a compelling reflection of who and what defined the sound of the year.