Kendrick Lamar, Bad Bunny, and Lady Gaga lead the pack as the nominees for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards were announced Friday, Nov. 7.
After winning Song and Record of the Year for “Not Like Us” earlier this year, Lamar led all nominees for 2026 with nine, including Album of the Year for GNX. He’ll also compete for Song and Record of the Year again, this time for his hit collaboration with SZA, “Luther.”
Lady Gaga was right behind Lamar, picking up seven nominations, while Bad Bunny had six. Gaga was nominated in the three big categories — Album, Song, and Record of the Year — for Mayhem and “Abracadabra,” while Bad Bunny picked up his second Album of the Year nod for DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, as well as his first nod as lead artist for Song and Record of the Year for “DtMF” (he was previously nominated in the latter category for “I Like It” with Cardi B and J Balvin).
Sabrina Carpenter and Leon Thomas also picked up six nominations each, and both will compete in Album of the Year, too, for Man’s Best Friend and Mutt, respectively. Other nominees in that category include Justin Bieber’s Swag, Clipse’s Let God Sort Em Out, and Tyler, the Creator’s Chromakopia.
In Record of the Year, “Luther,” “Abracadabra,” and “DtMF” will be up against Carpenter’s “Manchild,” Doechii’s “Anxiety,” Billie Eilish’s “Wildflower,” Chappell Roan’s “The Subway,” and Rosé and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” And Song of the Year will boast “Abracadabra,” “Anxiety,” “APT.”, “Luther,” “Manchild,” “Wildflower,” and “Golden,” the breakthrough track from KPop Demon Hunters.
Rounding out the big four categories, Best New Artist is set to feature Olivia Dean, Katseye, the Marias, Addison Rae, Sombr, Thomas, Alex Warren, and Lola Young. (Of those nominees, only Katseye, Thomas, and Young received nominations in other Grammy categories.)
Lamar will certainly be favored to build off the recent Grammys success of “Not Like Us,” and if he manages to win Album of the Year, GNX will become the first rap album to win the night’s biggest prize since Outkast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below in 2003. The rapper has also found himself on a Beyoncé-level streak of repeated Album of the Year nominations, but no wins: This is his sixth time nominated for the big prize, having earned nods for every solo album he’s released since Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, as well as one for the Black Panther soundtrack LP.
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But some of Lamar’s competitors are equally overdue for an Album of the Year win. Lady Gaga has been nominated for the prize four times before, while this is Bieber’s third time being nominated. Gaga is a highly decorated Grammy winner, with 14 prizes to her name, but she hasn’t yet won a major prize in her career. Similarly, neither has Bieber, though he’s only won two Grammys.
For Clipse, the hip-hop duo’s five nominations are their first in 22 years, having been nominated just once before in 2003 for their song with Justin Timberlake, “Like I Love You.” And this is Tyler, the Creator’s first time being nominated for Album of Year as a solo artist, having twice won Best Rap Album. The musician also picked up his first nomination in a non-rap category, notching a Best Alternative Album nod for Don’t Tap the Glass.
This could be the year Carpenter or Bad Bunny cement their place as Grammy favorites, with both artists earning a handful of genre prizes over the past few years. Meanwhile, Eilish has once again proven irresistible to Grammy voters, having now been nominated in at least one category every year going back to 2020. The same goes for Bruno Mars, who’s only lost once in his last 15 nominations, going back to 2016.
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This year’s breakout artist is undeniably Thomas, who won a Grammy two years ago, Best R&B Song, for his work on SZA’s “Snooze.” The six nods he picked up this year, however, are his first as a solo following the success of his second LP, Mutt.
As always, there were several major first-time nominees. Protest singer Jesse Welles was nominated in four folk and Americana categories, while Blackpink’s Rosé, country artist Zach Top, and U.K. rocker Yungblud all scored three nominations each. The celebrated singer/songwriter/producer Dijon picked up his first two Grammy noms, too, though interestingly, they weren’t for his acclaimed album, Baby. Instead, he earned a nod for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, and is up for Best Rap song for his work on Lamar’s “TV Off.”
Other surprises scattered throughout the genre fields include five nominations for Baltimore hardcore favorites Turnstile for their latest LP, Never Enough, as well as four for Paramore’s Hayley Williams for her latest, Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party. Country star Tyler Childers will have another chance to win his first Grammy, earning four nominations for his latest LP, Snipe Hunter.
Next year’s Grammys will also see the introduction of a few new categories, including Best Album Cover. (Nominees include Tyler’s Chromakopia, Djo’s The Crux, Bad Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, Perfume Genius’ Glory, and Wet Leg’s Moisturizer.) There will also be some changes to the country category, with the Grammys effectively splitting Best Country Album into Best Contemporary Country Album and Best Traditional Country Album. The latter category features one of the more interesting match-ups of 2026, too: Willie Nelson against his own son, Lukas Nelson.
The 68th Grammy Awards are set to air Feb. 1, 2026.
See the full list of nominees below:
Album of the Year
Bad Bunny – DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS
Justin Bieber – Swag
Sabrina Carpenter – Man’s Best Friend
Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out
Lady Gaga – Mayhem
Kendrick Lamar – GNX
Leon Thomas – Mutt
Tyler, the Creator – Chromakopia
Record of the Year
Bad Bunny – “DtMF”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
Doechii – “Anxiety”
Billie Eilish – “Wildflower”
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
Kendrick Lamar with SZA – “Luther”
Chappell Roan – “The Subway”
Rosé and Bruno Mars – “APT.”
Song of the Year
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
Doechii – “Anxiety”
Rosé and Bruno Mars – “APT.”
“DtMF” – Bad Bunny
Huntr/x (Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami) – “Golden” (from KPop Demon Hunters)
Kendrick Lamar with SZA – “Luther”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
Billie Eilish – “Wildflower”
Best New Artist
Olivia Dean
KATSEYE
The Marias
Addison Rae
Sombr
Leon Thomas
Alex Warren
Lola Young
Best Pop Solo Performance
Justin Bieber – “Daisies”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
Lady Gaga – “Disease”
Chappell Roan – “The Subway”
Lola Young – “Messy”
Best Pop Vocal Album
Justin Bieber – Swag
Sabrina Carpenter – Man’s Best Friend
Miley Cyrus – Something Beautiful
Lady Gaga – Mayhem
Teddy Swims – I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2)
Best Rap Album
Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out
GloRilla – Glorious
JID – God Does Like Ugly
Kendrick Lamar – GNX
Tyler, The Creator – Chromakopia
Best R&B Album
Givēon – Beloved
Coco Jones – Why Not More?
Ledisi – The Crown
Teyana Taylor – Escape Room
Leon Thomas – Mutt
Best Rock Album
Deftones – Private Music
Haim – I Quit
Linkin Park – From Zero
Turnstile – Never Enough
Yungblud – Idols
Best Metal Performance
Dream Theater – “Night Terror”
Ghost – “Lachryma”
Sleep Token – “Emergence”
Spiritbox – “Soft Spine”
Turnstile – “Birds”
Best Música Urbana Album
Bad Bunny – DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS
J Balvin – Mixteip
Feid – Ferxxo Vol X: Sagrado
Nicki Nicole – Naiki
Trueno – Eub Deluxe
Yandel – Sinfónico (En Vivo)
Best Música Mexicana Album (Including Tejano)
Fuerza Regida, Grupo Frontera – Mala Mía
Grupo Frontera – Y Lo Que Viene
Paola Jara – Sin Rodeos
Carín León – Palabra De To’s (Seca)
Bobby Pulido and Friends Una Tuya Y Una Mía – Por La Puerta Grande (En Vivo)
Best Traditional Country Album
Charley Crockett – Dollar A Day
Lukas Nelson – American Romance
Willie Nelson – Oh What A Beautiful World
Margo Price – Hard Headed Woman
Zach Top – Ain’t In It For My Health
Best Contemporary Country Album
Kelsea Ballerini – Patterns
Tyler Childers – Snipe Hunter
Eric Church – Evangeline Vs. The Machine
Jelly Roll – Beautifully Broken
Miranda Lambert – Postcards From Texas
Best African Music Performance
Burna Boy – “Love”
Davido Featuring Omah Lay – “With You”
Eddy Kenzo & Mehran Matin – “Hope & Love”
Ayra Starr featuring Wizkid – “Gimme Dat”
Tyla – “Push 2 Start”
Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical
Amy Allen
Edgar Barrera
Jessie Jo Dillon
Tobias Jesso Jr.
Laura Veltz
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
Dan Auerbach
Cirkut
Dijon
Blake Mills
Sounwave
Trending Stories
Best Song Written For Visual Media
Nine Inch Nails – “As Alive As You Need Me To Be” (from Tron: Ares)
Huntr/x (Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami) – “Golden” (from KPop Demon Hunters)
Miles Caton – “I Lied to You” (from Sinners)
Elton John and Brandi Carlile – “Never Too Late” (from Elton John: Never Too Late)
Jayme Lawson – “Pale, Pale Moon” (from Sinners)
Rod Wave – “Sinners” (from Sinners)
Best Music Film
Devo – Devo
Raye – Live at the Royal Albert Hall
Diane Warren – Relentless
John Williams – Music by John Williams
Pharrell Williams – Piece by Piece
