The nominations for the 2026 Grammy Awards have been unveiled, and Kendrick Lamar stands tall at the forefront with an impressive nine nominations, powered by his 2024 album GNX. The announcement, made on Friday, brought its customary mix of celebrated inclusions and surprising omissions, setting the stage for the live broadcast on February 1 from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on CBS and Paramount+.
Historic Recognition and Notable Absences
This year marks a significant moment for hip-hop in the Album of the Year category. For the first time, three rap albums have secured nominations for both the top prize and Best Rap Album. Alongside Lamar's GNX, the list includes Let God Sort Em Out by Clipse, Pusha T & Malice, and Tyler, the Creator's Chromakopia. This collective recognition is seen by many as a potential shift for the Recording Academy, which has faced past criticism for a lack of diversity and for overlooking artists of colour in major categories.
However, this hip-hop celebration in the album category contrasts sharply with the Best New Artist list. The nominees—Katseye, Olivia Dean, The Marias, Addison Rae, sombr, Leon Thomas, Alex Warren, and Lola Young—entirely exclude new rap and country artists, leaving fans of emerging talents like Ella Langley and Megan Moroney questioning their absence.
Surprises, Snubs, and Rule Changes
Billie Eilish makes a surprising return to the major categories, nominated for both Song and Record of the Year for her track Wildflower. This is notable because the song was released on her previous album in May 2024. Its eligibility stems from a specific Grammy rule that allows album tracks from a previous eligibility period to compete if they were not submitted the year the album was released and the album did not win a Grammy.
In a major turn of events, The Weeknd received zero nominations for his eligible album Hurry Up Tomorrow, which was submitted in over a dozen categories. This comes just one year after he returned to the Grammy stage in 2025 following a public boycott where he had called the awards "corrupt." His absence is one of the most talked-about snubs of the year.
The new category split for country music has also created confusion. The Grammys introduced Best Traditional Country Album and renamed the existing award Best Contemporary Country Album. The distinction between the two remains unclear to many observers, with traditional nominees including Willie Nelson and Margo Price, while the contemporary field features Kelsea Ballerini and Miranda Lambert. It was also confirmed that Morgan Wallen did not submit his popular album, I'm the Problem, for consideration.
Historic Firsts and Pop Culture Crossovers
K-pop achieves a historic milestone this year. Rosé of BLACKPINK becomes the first K-pop artist ever nominated for Record of the Year for her collaboration APT. with Bruno Mars. Additionally, the song Golden from the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack is nominated for Song of the Year.
In a fascinating crossover, actor Timothée Chalamet earned his first Grammy nomination for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media for A Complete Unknown, in which he portrays Bob Dylan. He is joined by other unexpected first-time nominees, including Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and the Dalai Lama in the audiobook category.
Bad Bunny continues to make history, as his album Debí Tirar Más Fotos becomes only the second all-Spanish-language album ever nominated for Album of the Year. The first was also his, for Un Verano Sin Ti in 2023. This raises questions about whether the Grammys are broadening their horizons for Spanish-language music, especially with the notable absence of Fuerza Regida's chart-topping 111XPANTIA from the major categories.
Finally, producer Jack Antonoff, though absent from the Producer of the Year category for a second consecutive year, is tied for the second-most nominations this year with seven, recognized for his work with Kendrick Lamar and Sabrina Carpenter.
