Grammy 2026: Most interesting nominations, new categories and winners

The Grammy Awards are one of the most prestigious music awards in the world and have been recognizing the best recordings, songs and artists across all genres for decades. The 68th annual Grammy Awards took place February 1, 2026 and evaluated music released between August 31, 2024 and August 30, 2024. August 2025 (hence, for example, the absence of Taylor Swift, whose album The Life of a Showgirl was released in October). The awards ceremony was held for the 23rd consecutive year at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, and it was the last year the ceremony was broadcast on CBS and streamed live on Paramount+. Disney will now take the broadcast baton. The evening was hosted for the sixth and final time by comedian Trevor Noah.

From the perspective of nominations and rules, the 2026 Grammys brought about a number of significant changes. The Recording Academy announced them on June 12, 2025, with the main goal being to better reflect the current music industry. Two new categories were added - Best Traditional Country Album (Best Album in the genre of traditional country music, which is extremely popular, especially in the US) and Best Album Cover (the award for Best Cover of the Year), bringing the total number of categories to 95. The Best Country Album category has been renamed Best Contemporary Country Album, and the Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package award has again been merged with Best Recording Package.

The eligibility criteria have also been changed. Artists who have previously contributed only marginally (up to 20%) to an album nominated for Album of the Year can now still be nominated in the Best New Artist category. Another significant new feature is the expansion of recognition for songwriters and lyricists in the classic categories, where previously mainly performers and producers have been recognised. In addition, the maximum number of lead vocalists in the Best Musical Theater Album category has been increased from four to six.

The voting process has also changed - for the first time, ballots were randomly sorted, not alphabetically. According to the Recording Academy, the move is meant to increase fairness and encourage voters to pay attention to the entire list of nominations. Despite the many adjustments, however, the four main categories that traditionally define the entire year remain the focus: Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Discovery of the Year (Best New Artist). As many as 86 Grammys were awarded before the main ceremony.

This year's 2026 Grammy Awards reaffirmed that the music industry is going through a dynamic period in which the boundaries between genres, languages and regions are blurring. It's no longer just about traditional pop or rock. 2026 proves this more than ever: the main categories brought together pop megastars, rap innovators and artists bringing global musical influences - from the Latin scene, to metal and K-pop. The animated musical KPop Demon Hunters has become a literal phenomenon, with the successful soundtrack by the group Huntr/x transcending the film and making its way in a big way to social media and video games. The hit Golden's nomination in the Song of the Year category (it eventually won in the Best Song for a Visual Medium category) was therefore not that shocking. In their speeches, the artists also reflected on current social events, especially in the USA.

Who performed at the music event of the year?

A lot of attention was also focused on the performances this year, especially in the Best New Artist category. One stage featured this year's nominees Addison Rae, Alex Warren, KATSEYE, Leon Thomas, Lola Young (who wouldn't have headbanged to her megahit "Messy," which the singer performed an unconventional slowed-down version of onstage during her emotional performance), Olivia Dean, SOMBR and  The Marías - all some of the brightest new talent on the contemporary music scene.

Among the performers and nominees this year was singer Justin Bieber, who earned no fewer than four nominations. His album Swag was battling it out for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album, while tracks Daisies and Yukon had a shot at Best Pop Solo Performance and Best R&B Performance, respectively.

Most nominations and most interesting artists

One of the most prominent figures this year was clearly Kendrick Lamar, who was among the artists with the most nominations. This time around, he was nominated in nine categories, including Record of the Year (Luther, with singer SZA), album of the year (GNX), song of the year (Luther), rap album or rap song of the year. He ended up turning five of his nine nominations into awards, including the Best Rap Album (GNX) category, to become the most successful rapper in Grammy history, which he now has a total of 27. In doing so, he also surpassed previous record holder Jay-Z with 25 gramophones.

The big sensation was Bad Bunny with Debí Tirar Más Fotos, proving once again that music in Spanish has a global reach. In fact, he is the first Spanish-singing artist to receive nominations in all three major categories for album, song and recording of the year at the same time, proving that Latin American music has become a natural part of the global mainstream. It is also notable that Puerto Rican Bad Bunny is scheduled to perform as a non-American artist at the upcoming Super Bowl, the biggest sporting event in the entire United States.

The pop scene was represented by names like Selena Gomez, Sabrina Carpenter and fourteen-time Grammy winner Lady Gaga, each taking a different approach to pop, with pop represented in similarly introspective tracks to distinctly theatrical and production-rich recordings. Lady Gaga earned a whopping seven nominations, which will perhaps surprise no one. Indeed, her last album Mayhem reaped positive reviews and ratings and confirmed her songwriting talents. Also, her soundtrack for last year's Joker: Folie á Deux was rated as perhaps the best thing about the entire film.

No fewer than six nominations were earned so far by two-time Grammy winner Tyler, The Creator, who was also one of the performers.

Three nominations were also earned by current star YUNGBLUD, all in the rock categories: Best Rock Album (Idols), Best Rock Song (Zombie) and Best Rock Performance (Changes (Live From Villa Park)).

Among those nominated for the first time this year were Addison Rae, Sombr, Lola Young, Olivia Dean, Katseye, ROSÉ - nominated three times, The Marías and Alex Warren. Also up for awards were Hayley Williams and Linkin Park in the rock categories, among others, SZA and Kehlani in the R&B categories and Miley Cyrus, Teddy Swims and  Ariana Grande with Cynthia Erivo in the pop categories.

Music aficionados will also be pleased with the Deftones nominations, Bon Iver and Nine Inch Nails, but also the two nominations The Cure in the "Best Alternative Music Album" (for Songs of a Lost World) and "Best Alternative Music Performance" (with the song "Alone") categories, both of which they won.

The organizers of the 2026 Grammy live broadcast also paid tribute to the legendary Ozzy Osbourne. Slash and Duff McKagan of Guns N' Roses, rapper Post Malone, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and producer Andrew Watt joined forces on stage. The audience enjoyed a cross-section of greatest hits from Ozzy's solo career as well as the Black Sabbath era - with Ozzie's wife Sharon and children Kelly and Jack, and this time even Aimee, who tends to shy away from public appearances, watching the performances from the audience with obvious emotion. Ozzy last took the award in 2023, when he dominated the Best Metal Performance and Best Rock Album categories with Patient Number 9.

Who was nominated and who won?

Album of the Year
Bad Bunny – DeBí Tirar Más Fotos - WINNER
Justin Bieber – Swag
Sabrina Carpenter – Man’s Best Friend
Clipse, Pusha T & Malice – Let God Sort Em Out
Lady Gaga – Mayhem
Kendrick Lamar – GNX
Leon Thomas – Mutt
Tyler, the Creator – Chromakopia

Record of the Year
Bad Bunny – “DtMF”
Rosé & Bruno Mars – “Apt.”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
Doechii – “Anxiety”
Billie Eilish – “Wildflower”
Kendrick Lamar & SZA – “Luther” - WINNER
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
Chappell Roan – “The Subway”

Song of the Year
Bad Bunny – “DtMF”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
Doechii – “Anxiety”
Billie Eilish – “Wildflower” - WINNER 
Huntr/x – “Golden” (from K-Pop Demon Hunters)
Kendrick Lamar & SZA – “Luther”
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
Rosé & Bruno Mars – “Apt.”

Best New Artist
Addison Rae
Alex Warren
Katseye
Leon Thomas
Lola Young
Olivia Dean - WINNER 
Sombr
The Marías

Producer of the Year – Non-Classical
Dan Auerbach
Cirkut - WINNER 
Dijon
Blake Mills
Sounwave

Songwriter of the Year – Non-Classical
Amy Allen - WINNER 
Edgar Barrera
Jessie Jo Dillon
Tobias Jesso Jr.
Laura Veltz

The complete list of nominees is published every year on the Recording Academy’s website.

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