The 2026 GRAMMYS take place Sunday, Feb. 1, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, broadcasting live on the CBS Television Network and streaming live and on demand on Paramount+. Watch highlights and exclusive GRAMMYS content from the 2026 GRAMMYS all year long on live.GRAMMY.com.
Releasing an album isn’t just about putting a set of songs out into the world.
It’s about sharing a cohesive piece of the artist’s inner world, opening a portal that anyone can enter and discover something completely new. Each LP reveals a depth of creativity and spirit that just doesn’t exist very often in everyday life. For the artist, it’s an act of transformation; for listeners, it’s an invitation into something raw and resonant, the kind of experience that can shift how we feel, how we think, how we live.
The Recording Academy is proud to present the 2026 GRAMMYS nominees for Album Of The Year: Bad Bunny, Justin Bieber, Sabrina Carpenter, Clipse, Pusha T and Malice, Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar, Leon Thomas, and Tyler, The Creator. Their eight LPs each brim with unparalleled artistic and technical skill.
This year’s potential winners include several previous Album Of The Year nominees who have yet to take home the award, as well as a few first time nominees. No matter who takes home the golden gramophone, the winner will be a powerful first.
Learn more about the nominees below and read the full 2026 GRAMMYS nominations list ahead of Music’s Biggest Night on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026.
Bad Bunny — DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS
From his upcoming performance at the Super Bowl halftime show to yet another in a long string of genre-defining and -defying albums, Bad Bunny remains at the center of the pop conversation. With his DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, the Puerto Rican megastar returns to the Album Of The Year Category for the first time since 2023’s Un Verano Sin Ti was nominated.
DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (“I Should Have Taken More Photos”) immediately establishes a new, confident chapter in Bunny’s creative journey. Both a creative reset and a homecoming, this deeply Puerto Rican record holds onto its roots with a depth and sincerity that’s both personal and political.
The 17-track project finds Bad Bunny sounding grounded, reflective, and newly centered, embracing maturity without losing his edge. DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS blends traditional Puerto Rican sounds — salsa, bomba, plena, and early reggaeton — into lush, forward-looking blends thanks in part to trusted collaborators such as MAG, Tainy, and La Pacienca.
A polychrome, far-reaching set, the album feels intimate even at its most extreme, weaving through love, loss, and cultural memory. But DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS is more than diaristic expression; it’s a powerful outward statement and reclamation. Recorded entirely in Puerto Rico with local collaborators, it’s a proud assertion of identity and defiance. And while Bad Bunny has always been a proud proponent of Puerto Rico, its musical traditions and its people, the full-throated bravado and expression of strength on DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS will make it a landmark album for the country for years to come. In returning home, Bad Bunny has crafted his most spiritually and sonically rooted work yet.
Justin Bieber — SWAG
Considering he’s been entrenched in the heart of the music industry for decades, it’s tempting to think of Justin Bieber alongside a tier of aging pop stars — and by that virtue, expect him to be trying out some harebrained reinvention scheme. But in reality, he’s only recently entered his 30s, and the radiant SWAG shows that he’s still in his pop prime.
Bieber’s seventh album glides between genre touchstones without losing footing, a 20-track album equal parts confidence and confession. Featuring the likes of Gunna, Sexyy Red, and Lil B (and production assists from Dijon, Daniel Caesar, Mk.gee, and longtime collaborator Eddie Benjamin), SWAG leans into the the titular energy of hip-hop without sacrificing soul.
Throughout the mix, Bieber’s voice remains the anchor, tender when it needs to be, silky when it wants to be, and always unmistakably Biebs. Whether touching on smooth R&B, glossy pop, gospel, or even new jack swing, those vocals keep things distinctly warm and human. Tracks like “Go Baby,” “Devotion” and “Yukon” are lived-in love songs that transcend cliche and shimmer with emotional clarity. Elsewhere, he plays with texture and tempo, balancing romantic sincerity with the playful energy that first made him a star.
This is Bieber’s third nomination for Album Of The Year, with 2022’s Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe) his most recent run at the award. And where that record buoyed and bopped, SWAG has a smoother confidence, the work of someone at peace with their talent and looking to see where it might go next. To that end, the album represents a truly personal reset: it’s Bieber’s first since parting ways with former manager/guru Scooter Braun and his first as a new father.
About a decade and a half since his GRAMMYS debut, Bieber continues to reinvent what pop stardom looks and sounds like. SWAG proves that sometimes evolution comes down to discovering the confidence to sound exactly like yourself.
Sabrina Carpenter — Man’s Best Friend
After conquering pop with Short n’ Sweet, Sabrina Carpenter is already back for another bite. Less than a year after her GRAMMY-winning breakout, the former child star dropped Man’s Best Friend — a sharp, cheeky and emotionally unguarded follow-up that proves lightning can strike twice.
Some stars may have ridden the pop high of Short ‘n Sweet for years, so when Carpenter announced her followup it came as quite the shock. But considering the whirlwind year that accompanied its predecessor, it’s no surprise that the singer decided she had enough inspiration for new material. And despite being inspired by the hectic energy of celebrity life and a public breakup, Man’s Best Friend features an effortless energy that pulses through every synth shimmer and sly one-liner. “I felt so at ease making Man’s Best Friend,” she told fans in an email about the record. “This one felt like riding a bike.”
Reuniting with writer/producers Jack Antonoff, Amy Allen and John Ryan, Carpenter leans into her signature blend of flirtation and finesse. Across 12 tracks, she unpacks her emotional core with the wit of someone who’s survived love and loss and then tried again. Whether in disco dreamscape, country-pop catharsis or neon pop glow, Man’s Best Friend carries the authenticity, easy charm, and fluid energy of its creator.
The LP carries the sass and sparkle of Short n’ Sweet but balances it with a deepened vulnerability, Carpenter exploring her soft spots without losing her bite. But even at her most vulnerable, there’s always room for a punchline or jab; Carpenter remains delightfully, defiantly herself. With Man’s Best Friend, Carpenter is cementing her place as one of pop’s sharpest tongues: sassy, self-aware, and entirely unstoppable.
Clipse, Pusha T & Malice — Let God Sort Em Out
A lot has happened in the eighteen years since Clipse’s last album, but not the steely intensity of Pusha T and Malice. The brothers’ new album, Let God Sort Em Out, isn’t a reunion tour, it’s a fiery exclamation point reinforcing their place as rap royalty.
Nearly two decades after Til the Casket Drops, Clipse returned to their throne, supported once again by longtime collaborator Pharrell Williams. The result is an uncompromising masterclass that reasserts Clipse’s dominance while peeling back the mask on fame, faith and grief.
Over Pharrell’s stripped-down, diamond-edged production, Clipse show no sign of rust or reunion cash-grab laziness. The album opens with a gut-punch meditation on the loss of their parents and explodes outward, building from a confessional platform to the coke rap bravado that made them legends.
From there, it’s all fire and precision, Pusha and Malice delivering bars with iron fists while Pharrell balances Hell Hath No Fury minimalism with his trademark cinematic flair. Not to mention, the guest list is absolutely stacked, with spots from John Legend, Kendrick Lamar, Nas, The-Dream, and Tyler, The Creator, among others
Let God Sort Em Out proves no one delivers truths quite like Clipse. An Album Of The Year GRAMMYS nomination further establishes their status as one of rap’s most incisive acts.
Lady Gaga — MAYHEM
Seven official studio records in, Lady Gaga is still finding ways to bring massive ideas and expression into the pop sphere. Yet MAYHEM works in a controlled chaos unlike anything else in Gaga’s catalog. With four Album Of The Year nominations under her belt, the Little Monsters are hoping that MAYHEM will add to her impressive 14 GRAMMYS wins.
MAYHEM shows Gaga deftly wrangling sonic chaos that would fell a lesser artist: She maintains a strong hold on her pop roots, while incorporating dance-floor and disco experimentation of her previous releases. She added that the record is an “integration of who I am in real life and who I am on stage, and how I really started to celebrate bringing those two things together.” Rather than characters, MAYHEM feels like a team of Gagas inhabiting the same space, each true and tied to her heart while retaining the frenetic energy of her performative style. The fashion choices surrounding MAYHEM reflected Gaga’s harnessing of her varied parts, with the usually color-blasted pop star donning asymmetrical black.
MAYHEM is also a showcase of Gaga’s collaborative alchemy. Her fiancé, Michael Polansky, is listed as an executive producer, while high-profile board whisperers like D’Mile, Andrew Watt, and Cirkut join in the fun. Add to that features from Bruno Mars and Gesaffelstein and you get an album that unites past, present, and future across an impressive 53-minute run-time. Balancing intimate balladry, playful provocation, and electrifying theatrics, MAYHEM celebrates every Gaga out there, both within herself and her listeners.
Kendrick Lamar — GNX
Few people in history have had as good a time at the GRAMMYS as Kendrick Lamar did just last year, with “Not Like Us” netting five golden gramophones. That brought his career total to 22. And now with GNX, surprise-released as 2024 drew to a close, Kenny may already be on the way to growing that total.
The followup to the superb Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, GNX takes its name from a car model akin to the one that Lamar’s father drove when the rapper was a baby. Equally telling, GNX is the first album released by pgLang, the company Lamar founded, without collaboration from his former label home TDE. All said, GNX moves from the outward-pointing Drake feud energy of “Not Like Us” and back into the soul of its author.
GNX isn’t without its nimble daggers, finding all the right words to cut at competitors and boast of his superiority. And with the old-school swagger, iconic bars, and expressive production, that superiority feels earned. Lamar also brings along a crew of features from around his Compton home, most notably SZA, Roddy Ricch, and Lefty Gunplay. Production comes courtesy of Sounwave, Kamasi Washington, and even Jack Antonoff. Whether pushing g-funk-indebted synths or more Mustard-y string section goodness, GNX is a celebration, a victory lap, a next step forward, and a building block for even greater things to come.
Leon Thomas — MUTT
No one could have scripted the route that took Leon Thomas to this an Album Of The Year nomination. But after years of shining in whatever project he happens to be in — whether on Broadway, kids’ sitcoms, animation or music — Leon Thomas fully stepped into the spotlight with MUTT. His second solo album, MUTT is a bold declaration of artistic autonomy.
After a childhood career in Broadway and Nickelodeon, Thomas announced his foray into solo musicianship in 2012, releasing a promising mixtape that also featured former co-star Ariana Grande. In the years that followed, he amassed a catalog of writing and production credits with Freddie Gibbs, Post Malone, Rich the Kid, Jack Harlow, SZA, Drake, and many more. But Thomas deftly tackled transitioning from in-demand producer back to headlining artist, with MUTT‘s title track dominating charts.
An impressively cohesive and confident record, MUTT is a fusion of jazz, neo-soul, and rock, rooted in Thomas’ lifelong influences: a wide range from Art Blakey and Miles Davis, to Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Across 14 tracks, Thomas blends lush instrumentation and stacked vocals to forge a sound that’s both expansive and intimate. More broadly, MUTT represents the artist’s journey of embracing creative control, breaking genre rules, and owning the narrative of his career.
While Thomas entered the year with a GRAMMY under his belt for his work on SZA’s “Snooze,” the 2026 GRAMMYS could fully ensconce Thomas as a star in his own right as an R&B visionary capable of rich, genre-defying statements.
Tyler, the Creator — Chromakopia
After entering the public consciousness with the reputation of a button-pushing outsider, Tyler, the Creator has truly blossomed into one of the most unique voices in rap — including Best Rap Album wins for both 2019’s Igor and 2021’s Call Me If You Get Lost. His Album Of The Year nomination for the hypercharged Chromakopia further solidifies Tyler’s ascendancy as hip-hop royalty.
Chromakopia is propelled by self-scouring lyricism, with Tyler revealing emotional depths that so many others are afraid to face — let alone expose to the world. It takes a special kind of artist to do a self-diss track, after all. Throughout the album, Tyler, the Creator and Tyler Okonma (his government name) seem to be in fluid conversation, with Tyler’s mother, Bonita Smith, offering diaristic narration. A blend of jazz and soul stylings lends an added dimensionality to that exploration, Tyler knowing when to push thoughtful calm and when to ramp up the intensity.
While Tyler naturally remains the center of the conversation, he brings together an impressive guest list including GloRilla, Doechii, Lil Wayne, Schoolboy Q, and Sexxy Red. Tyler masterfully brings those big personalities together in his own narrative, turning them into a cohesive chorus in support of his vision.
If Tyler’s early days were highlighted by controversial aggression and the second era of his life was headlined by wild-eyed, technicolor emotionality, Chromakopia signifies a more precise, introspective take — though, of course, without losing an ounce of the razor-sharp lyricism. It’s tempting to say this isn’t the same Tyler of Odd Future, but the beauty of Chromakopia comes in showing the many facets of Tyler’s brain, coexisting under the microscope.
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