This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Conn chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.
It’s award season again! It’s that time when people from across the globe come together and anonymously argue online over their favorite celebrities with whom they have borderline parasocial relationships. Such fun!
I must admit that I am included in this category. I love award shows, specifically the Grammy Awards. Even if I don’t always agree with their votes, I love discussing the nominees and winners, because to me, there is nothing more fun to talk about than music.
The nominees for the 2026 Grammys were announced on Nov. 7, 2025. In the time between now and the award show, you can expect lots of discussion over who should and shouldn’t win. The biggest category and subject of most debate is Album of the Year (AOTY). AOTY is the final award presented at the end of the show and is arguably the most prestigious award one can win in music.
This year, the nominees for AOTY are as follows:
DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS – Bad Bunny
SWAG – Justin Bieber
Man’s Best Friend – Sabrina Carpenter
Let God Sort Em Out – Clipse, Pusha T & Malice
MAYHEM – Lady Gaga
GNX – Kendrick Lamar
MUTT – Leon Thomas
CHROMAKOPIA – Tyler, The Creator
Now, these are all incredible albums. And naturally, everyone will have their thoughts and opinions on who should win, but to me, there is only one answer: Bad Bunny.
Bad Bunny has been a huge success for years, releasing several award-winning songs and albums. His latest album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, released Jan. 5, 2025, skyrocketed him to an even higher level of fame. The album is a love letter to Puerto Rico, discussing many issues surrounding gentrification and culture. The title translates to “I should have taken more photos,” and wonderfully encapsulates the feeling of loss and change in both culture and personal relationships. Not only is the message behind the album very impactful, but every song is sonically and lyrically incredible, combining a wide variety of musical genres including reggaeton, house, salsa, plena, and dembow. It is truly a no-skip album, with each song providing something new and powerful.
Bad Bunny’s album was a smashing success. While he was already super popular and a mainstream artist, this album brought Puerto Rican music and culture to the masses (and I say this as a non-Puerto Rican girl who adores Bad Bunny and his music). I believe that no other nominated album had the same cultural impact combined with a sound that redefines music, the way that DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS did. It needs to win AOTY!
a look back on 2025
When discussing AOTY, we can’t ignore the discourse around the 2025 Grammys. If you missed it, Beyoncé won for COWBOY CARTER, which sparked outrage and debate across the internet. Beyoncé was up against several popular albums, most notably Charli xcx’s BRAT, Billie Eilish’s HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, and Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department. Fans of these albums were especially upset at the results, but there were also many people defending Beyoncé. In my opinion, Beyoncé deserved that win entirely.
As Beyoncé herself once said, “people don’t make albums anymore.” A lot of albums nowadays feel more like a collection of songs, but a truly cohesive album is a complete piece of work that should be experienced as a whole. COWBOY CARTER received a lot of backlash upon its release. People didn’t like that the singer was branching out into the country realm, and in my opinion, many listeners took the album strictly at face value. The album was an exploration of the history of Black musicians in America, discussing the deep past of country music. It was a cohesive album that told a story and had a meaningful cultural impact. Some people were furious that it won, but I think it was very deserving. Considering Beyoncé had never won AOTY before despite being nominated four times, this was long overdue!
2024
2024’s AOTY winner is one that I disagree with. Taylor Swift won for her album Midnights, which I do think is a good album. It has some of my favorite Swift songs and a fun pop sound, but I don’t think it deserved the award. There were a lot of great albums nominated, including SZA’s SOS and Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS, I believe Lana Del Rey’s Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd should have won.
Commonly referred to as Ocean Blvd, this album is Del Rey’s most personal work to date. The album explores the singer’s experiences with love, loss, and the music industry in a stripped down, very honest way. Del Rey has been repeatedly snubbed of awards, and this one especially hurt to see because of how open she was on the album. She put her all into it and I believe that it deserved to win.
aoty as a whole
AOTY is probably the most controversial category in the Grammy Awards, and obviously everyone will have their own opinions about it. The upcoming Grammys will inevitably spark some debate, but I look forward to seeing who wins. I know who I want to win, but if someone else takes home that trophy, all will be okay. The important thing is to respect all the artists, and not spew hatred just because your favorite singer lost. You can absolutely have opinions (I have a lot!), but at the end of the day, it’s just an award show. It is fun to discuss and have friendly discourse about it, but let’s all remember to respect each other and these artists.
With that being said, I can’t wait for the 2026 Grammy Awards to see all the fun performances and find out who will win each category!
