Kendrick Lamar leads 2026 Grammy nominations, followed by Lady Gaga, Jack Antonoff and Cirkut
Kendrick Lamar leads the 2026 Grammy Award nominations, with the potential to take home nine trophies.
Three of those nine nominations are for the biggest awards of the night: record, song and album of the year. This marks the third time he’s had simultaneous nominations in those big categories, and makes him and SZA the first duet partners to receive two record of the year nominations.
Lamar has 22 Grammy career wins and 66 nominations. GNX is his fifth consecutive studio album to be nominated for album of the year, making him the first solo artist in Grammy history to do so. If it wins, it will be his first win in the category. And it will be only the third rap album to win the top prize, following Lauryn Hill in 1999 for The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and Outkast in 2004 for Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.
Album of the year will be a first for someone
In fact, no one nominated in the album of the year category this year has ever won it before. Other nominees include Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos, Justin Bieber’s Swag and Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend.
This is not only the first time three rap albums have nominated in the category, but also only the second time an all-Spanish language album has made it. The first was also a Bad Bunny release, 2022’s Un Verano Sin Ti.
WATCH | The official Grammy nominations announcement:
Gaga and Antonoff could also win big
Lady Gaga, producer Jack Antonoff and Canadian producer-songwriter Cirkut follow Lamar, with seven nominations each.
Similar to Lamar, Gaga is up for song, record and album of the year — and it’s also her first time receiving nominations in all three categories simultaneously. She could score potential wins in the pop solo performance, pop vocal album, dance pop recording and traditional pop vocal album categories.
Antonoff is nominated in the record, album and song of the year categories twice, for his work with Lamar and Sabrina Carpenter. While he’s been left out of the producer of the year race for the second year in a row, he’s also nominated for rap song for the first time with tv off, his song with Lamar and Lefty Gunplay.
Bieber is among this year’s Grammy nominees, for his album Swag and songs Daises and Yukon. (Evan Agostini/Invision/The Associated Press)
Canadian connections
Likewise, Cirkut is up for both record and song of the year, twice, for Lady Gaga’s Abracadabra and Rosé and Bruno Mars’s APT., as well as album of the year and best dance pop recording.
Justin Bieber has nabbed nominations for best pop vocal album and album of the year for Swag, best pop solo performance for Daises and best R&B performance for Yukon. If he wins, it could mark the start of an exciting comeback year for Bieber, who’s set to headline Coachella in April 2026.
Drake and Kaytranada earned one and two nods, respectively. But in a surprising turn of events, The Weeknd did not earn any nominations this year for his album Hurry Up Tomorrow, after famously ending his boycott of the awards show at last year’s ceremony.
Snubs, firsts and surprises
The best new artist category promises to be a tight race, with popular acts like global girl group Katseye, Olivia Dean, Leon Thomas and Alex Warren going head to head. Of note from this category, Thomas is having an especially good year with six nominations, including one for album of the year.
K-pop is definitely getting the spotlight this year. Rosé, a member of the juggernaut girl group Blackpink, is the first K-pop artist to receive a nomination for record of the year. As well, the blockbuster Netflix film KPop Demon Hunters scored four nominations, three of which are for the hit song Golden.
There are a number of first-time nominees as well this year, including Tate McRae, Zara Larsson and PinkPantheress.
The 2026 Grammy Awards will air on Sun. Feb. 1, live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
For a complete list of the 2026 Grammy nominees, click here. Here is a partial list of the 2026 nominees:
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.
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; Mayhem, Lady Gaga; GNX, Kendrick Lamar; Mutt, Leon Thomas; Chromakopia, Tyler, the Creator.
Song of the year
Abracadabra, Lady Gaga; Anxiety, Doechii; APT., Rosé, Bruno Mars; DtMF, Bad Bunny; Golden, [From KPop Demon Hunters], HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI; Luther, Kendrick Lamar, SZA; Manchild, Sabrina Carpenter; Wildflower, Billie Eilish.
Best new artist
Olivia Dean, Katseye, The Marias, Addison Rae, Sombr, Leon Thomas, Alex Warren, Lola Young.
Producer of the year
Dan Auerbach, Cirkut, Dijon, Blake Mills, Sounwave.
Songwriter of the year
Amy Allen, Edgar Barrera, Jessie Jo Dillon, Tobias Jesso Jr., Laura Veltz.
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, HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI; Gabriela, KATSEYE; APT., Rosé, Bruno Mars; 30 For 30, SZA, Kendrick Lamar.
Pop vocal album
Swag, Justin Bieber; Man’s Best Friend, Sabrina Carpenter; Something Beautiful, Miley Cyrus; Mayhem, Lady Gaga; I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2), Teddy Swims.
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 remixed recording
Abracadabra (Gesaffelstein Remix), Gesaffelstein; Don’t Forget About Us, Kaytranada; A Dreams A Dream – Ron Trent Remix, Ron Trent; Galvanize, Chris Lake; Golden – David Guetta REM/X, David Guetta.
Best rock album
Private Music, Deftones; I Quit, Haim; From Zero, Linkin Park; Never Enough, Turnstile; Idols, Yungblud.
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 performance
Yukon, Justin Bieber; It Depends, Chris Brown, Bryson Tiller; Folded, Kehlani; Mutt (Live From NPR’s Tiny Desk), Leon Thomas; Heart Of A Woman, Summer Walker.
Best R&B album
BELOVED, Givēon; Why Not More?, Coco Jones; The Crown, Ledisi; Escape Room, Teyana Taylor; Mutt, Leon Thomas.
Best melodic rap
Proud Of Me, Fridayy, Meek Mill; Wholeheartedly, JID, Ty Dolla $ign, 6lack; Luther, Kendrick Lamar, SZA; WeMaj, Terrace Martin, Kenyon Dixon, Rapsody; Somebody Loves Me, PARTYNEXTDOOR, Drake.
Best rap album
Let God Sort Em Out, Clipse, Pusha T and Malice; Glorious, Glorilla; God Does Like Ugly, JID; GNX, Kendrick Lamar; Chromakopia, Tyler, the Creator.
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 traditional country album
Dollar a Day, Charley Crockett; American Romance, Lukas Nelson; Oh What a Beautiful World, Willie Nelson; Hard Headed Woman, Margo Price; Ain’t In It for My Health, Zach Top.
Best score soundtrack for visual media
How To Train Your Dragon; Severance: Season 2; Sinners; Wicked; The Wild Robot.
Best song written for visual media
As Alive as You Need Me to Be [From TRON: Ares], Golden, I Lied to You [From Sinners], Never Too Late [From Elton John: Never Too Late], Pale, Pale Moon [From Sinners], Sinners [From Sinners].
Best album cover
Chromakopia, Tyler, the Creator; The Crux, Djo; Debí Tirar Más Fotos, Bad Bunny; Glory, Perfume Genius; Moisturizer, Wet Leg.
