2026 Grammy Nominations: Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga Lead the Pack

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The four major entertainment awards – Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and Tonys – are always a popular topic of conversation. The Grammys, which honor the best in music, are usually the first of these awards presented each year, celebrating the most outstanding musical accomplishments with a glamorous and unforgettable show.

There’s a lot of excitement building about the 2026 Grammy Awards now that the nominations are out. People are talking about the Grammys alongside recent controversies, like the changes to the Best Country Album categories and the buzz around Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance. Despite some personal disappointments with certain artists, many are already looking forward to the awards show.

The Recording Academy revealed this year’s nominees, with Kendrick Lamar leading the pack at nine nominations, followed closely by Lady Gaga with seven. This year also features a strong showing from exciting new artists, and a great lineup of performers who will be presenting two brand-new award categories. Nominees represent a wide range of genres and impressive talent.

Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Sabrina Carpenter, Bad Bunny, And Leon Thomas Dominate This Year’s List Of Nominees

Kendrick Lamar’s latest album, GNX, released last November, has quickly become a cultural phenomenon. It earned him nominations in three of the biggest Grammy categories – Record of the Year for “luther” featuring SZ, Song of the Year for “luther,” and Album of the Year. He also received nominations in several other categories, including Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and various rap categories, bringing his total to nine nominations.

Lady Gaga is close behind, earning seven nominations this year – surpassing her previous record of six. This success follows the March release of her album, MAYHEM. She received nominations in the three biggest categories: “Abracadabra” for both Record and Song of the Year, and MAYHEM for Album of the Year. On top of that, Gaga was also nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Dance Pop Recording, and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

Although Lamar and Gaga received the most nominations overall, Sabrina Carpenter, Bad Bunny, and rising artist Leon Thomas each earned six nominations for their music this year. Carpenter’s album, Man’s Best Friend, is up for Album of the Year, and her song “Manchild” is nominated for both Record and Song of the Year. Bad Bunny is also expected to have a big February, with nominations for Record, Album, and Song of the Year for his summer album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, and he’s scheduled to perform at the Super Bowl Halftime show the following week on February 8th.

Leon Thomas had a remarkable year musically, earning nominations for Album of the Year with his album MUTT, as well as Best New Artist and several R&B awards. While many know him as Andre Harris from the Nickelodeon show Victorious, Thomas is proving himself as a major force in music. It’s impressive enough to be nominated for Best New Artist, but Thomas’s multiple nominations across various R&B categories are truly exceptional, especially considering his established acting career.

The Three Major Categories Saw Nominations From A Handful Of Other Contendors

Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter, Kendrick Lamar, and Lady Gaga are leading the nominations, appearing in all three of the biggest categories. But they’re facing strong competition. In the Record of the Year category, they’re up against established Grammy favorites like Billie Eilish (“WILDFLOWER”), Doechii (“Anxiety”), Chappell Roan (“The Subway”), and ROSÉ and Bruno Mars (“APT.”).

This year’s Album of the Year nominees include artists like Justin Bieber with SWAG, Clipse and Pusha T with Let God Sort Em Out, Tyler, The Creator with CHROMAKOPIA, and newcomer Leon Thomas with MUTT. Interestingly, half of the nominees are hip-hop or R&B albums – a significant shift in a category that usually favors pop music.

The nominees for Song of the Year are largely the same as those for Record of the Year, but with one standout addition: “Golden” by KPop Demon Hunters. Many fans were surprised to see the song nominated at all this year, let alone three times! Besides Song of the Year, it’s also up for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Song Written For Visual Media.

This Year’s Grammy Awards Will See The Debut Of Two New Categories, And Some Surprising First-Time Nominees

This year, the Grammys are introducing two new awards: Best Album Cover and Best Traditional Country Album. The Best Album Cover category recognizes outstanding visual packaging, and its inaugural nominees are Tyler, The Creator’s CHROMAKOPIA, Djo’s The Crux, Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos, Perfume Genius’s Glory, and Wet Leg’s moisturizer.

The Best Traditional Country Album award is a new category, created by splitting the original Best Country Album into two: Traditional and Contemporary. The Recording Academy says this change is meant to acknowledge a wider range of musical styles and how music is evolving. However, some fans believe the new Contemporary Country Album category was created to separate Black country artists from their white counterparts, making the category’s debut somewhat controversial.

This year’s nominees include a number of people being recognized for the first time. Some, like Addison Rae and Olivia Dean, were widely anticipated, while others came as a surprise. Timothée Chalamet is one example – he’s a dedicated young actor hoping for an Oscar, but he might win a Grammy first for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. Also nominated for the first time are the Dalai Lama and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, both in the category of Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording.

This year’s Grammy nominees are incredibly talented, representing a wide range of musical genres. The awards ceremony will be held February 1st at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and broadcast live on CBS.

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2025-11-08 00:11