GRAMMYs 2026 Nominees Unveiled: See if your faves made it!
The music community rejoices once again, from artists to listeners, as the Recording Academy announces its official nominees on November 7, 2025, marking the beginning of GRAMMYs Season.
In 2026, the Recording Academy will hold its 68th annual ceremony, also known as the GRAMMY Awards, to celebrate, recognize, and honor musical artists—singers, songwriters, composers, and creative minds behind the rhythmic tunes for their contributions to the industry.
From the entertainment industry’s lens, the award-giving body holds the same prestige and validation as its counterparts, such as the Emmy, Oscar, and Tony. Hence, the coveted EGOT status, which only a few manage to achieve.
2025 has been a great year for music. From Lady Gaga returning to her dark-pop roots with “Abracadabra,” Doechii’s emergence to mainstream to become one of the rap icons to look forward for, Addison Rae’s creative growth and reinvention from TikTok star to the next pop star hitmaker with “Diet Pepsi,” and her self-titled debut, Ariana Grande’s reissue of “Eternal Sunshine” that spawned her hit, “Twilight Zone,” alongside Wicked rollout, Mariah Carey’s first studio album in seven years, and who would forget Taylor Swift’s record-breaking five million career high opening week worldwide sales with “The Life of A Showgirl”?
It is undeniable that music fans have been well-fed this year, and the GRAMMY Awards serve as the highest praise given to artists to show gratitude for their creative efforts.
This time, the Recording Academy selected music releases from August 31, 2024, to August 30, 2025, as the eligibility period to determine who deserves a nomination. From there, they will vote for the winners starting from December 15, 2025, to January 5, 2026, leading to the 2026 GRAMMYs next year on February 1.
At last, here are the nominees for the 68th GRAMMY Awards.
Big Four Category Nominees
Also known as General Field categories, consisting of Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist.
These awards are given to nominated musical works across various genres, wherein the members of the Recording Academy vote and select the recipients or winners.
The Big Four categories serve as the main event and many consider the most-awaited portion of the program, with Album of the Year usually concluding the annual ceremony.
Here are the nominees for the General Field categories:
RECORD OF THE YEAR
Previous Winner: Not Like Us – Kendrick Lamar
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Previous Winner: Cowboy Carter – Beyoncé
SONG OF THE YEAR
Previous Winner: Not Like Us – Kendrick Lamar
BEST NEW ARTIST
Previous Winner: Chappell Roan
Graphics Courtesy: Billboard
Genre-specific Category Nominees
These awards are given to nominated musical works, recognizing them in a more specific music genre. There are over 95 genre-specific awards divided into 12 fields.
Moreover, given its high volume, these awards are often untelevised and given to the winner or recipients during the pre-show event, before the main ceremony begins.
Here are some of the nominees for the General Field categories under mainstream genres:
BEST POP SOLO PERFORMANCE
Previous Winner: Espresso – Sabrina Carpenter
BEST POP DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE
Previous Winner: Die With A Smile – Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars
BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM
Previous Winner: Short n’ Sweet – Sabrina Carpenter
BEST DANCE/POP RECORDING
Previous Winner: Von dutch – Charli xcx
BEST DANCE/ELECTRONIC RECORDING
Previous Winner: Neverender – Justice & Tame Impala
BEST DANCE/ELECTRONIC ALBUM
Previous Winner: BRAT – Charli xcx
BEST R&B PERFORMANCE
Previous Winner: Made For Me – Muni Long
BEST R&B SONG
Previous Winner: Saturn – SZA
BEST R&B ALBUM
Previous Winner: 11:11 – Chris Brown
BEST RAP PERFORMANCE
Previous Winner: Not Like Us – Kendrick Lamar
BEST RAP SONG
Previous Winner: Not Like Us – Kendrick Lamar
BEST RAP ALBUM
Previous Winner: Alligator Bites Never Heal – Doechii
Graphics Courtesy: The Recording Academy/GRAMMYs
You can see the full list of nominees on the GRAMMYs official website. Click here.
Most nominated artists
The 68th GRAMMY Awards will be a full-circle moment, especially for Kendrick Lamar, who received nine nominations, Lady Gaga, bagging seven, and Sabrina Carpenter, with five.
Kendrick swept five nominations for his song, “Not Like Us,” and eventually won all of them. He became the most awarded artist that night, taking home two general field categories: Record of the Year and Song of the Year. He also won for Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and, lastly, Best Music Video.
Lady Gaga’s 2024 chart-topping hit, and her collaboration with Bruno Mars, “Die With A Smile,” won for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Fun fact, until this day, the song holds the record for the longest-running number one song on Spotify’s Daily Global Chart, spending over 150 days at the top.
Likewise, Sabrina Carpenter, who gained mainstream recognition and commercial acclaim in the past years, previously won with her summer hit, “Espresso,” for Best Pop Solo Performance, and its accompanying album, “Short n’ Sweet,” which took home the award for Best Pop Vocal Album.
Coincidentally, Kendrick Lamar (GNX) and Lady Gaga’s (Mayhem) accompanying studio albums for the songs they previously received awards for are nominated for next year. Should they continue their winning streak, these would further decorate the status of their albums as Grammy-winning bodies of work.
Meanwhile, Sabrina Carpenter’s nominations are mostly from her follow-up era with her single “Manchild” and her recent album “Man’s Best Friend”.
Following this lead, Bad Bunny, SZA, Doechii, Tyler, The Creator, and Justin Bieber received four to five nominations respectively.
Historic nominations and firsts
The nominations for the 68th GRAMMY Awards are considered historic, featuring eclectic milestones for artists coming from diverse backgrounds around the world.
Bad Bunny’s nominations are first of their kind as he is the first Latin artist to get a nomination in three major categories: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year for a mainly Spanish-language musical work.
Additionally, Asian artists’ representation also becomes evident at this year’s nomination, especially for K-pop. The magical voices of EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and REI AMI behind HUNTR/X, from the hit Netflix animation movie, KPop Demon Hunters, received their first nominations for “Golden”.
BLACKPINK member ROSÉ also made GRAMMYs history as the first credited K-pop soloist to be nominated, for her song “APT.” Thus, both K-pop artists vie for their first nominations in Best Pop/Duo Group Performance and general field categories: Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
Hayley Williams, member and frontwoman of Paramore, also received nominations for the first time in her career for her solo musical works: “Glum” (Best Rock Song) and “Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party” (Best Alternative Album).
Finally, five-time Grammy winner Mariah Carey will also receive a special award as MusiCares 2026 Person of the Year. This is her second time receiving a special recognition from the Recording Academy, following her Global Impact Award from 2024. The special award honors musicians’ achievements beyond music, but also their philanthropic and charitable efforts.
The 68th GRAMMY Awards are scheduled on Sunday, February 1, 2026, at Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles. The televised program starts at 11:30 PM ET and 8:30 PM PT. The event livestream is also available via Paramount+, and the GRAMMYs official YouTube Channel and website.
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