Lady Gaga and Kendrick Lamar lead 2026 Grammy nominations

Lady Gaga and Kendrick Lamar lead the nominees for the 2026 Grammy Awards, while K-Pop breaks into the Song of the Year category for the first time.

For the second year in a row, Compton rapper Lamar received the most nominations — nine in total — including the coveted Album of the Year award for the stylish and fiery GNX.

Gaga is also nominated for the main award for Mayhem, a record based on her own history, and It represents a return to its electro roots. She has seven nominations overall.

Meanwhile, two K-Pop songs were shortlisted for Song of the Year: Rosie and Bruno MarsFoam pop music hit APT, and hunter/x‘s Golden, the hit animated film on Netflix Demon hunters in kpop.

Gaga and Lamar have each received five previous nominations for Album of the Year, but neither has managed to hoist the coveted gold gramophone in the category.

Lamar is the early favorite, having racked up multiple wins for his blistering track Not Like Us in Grammy 2025.

If it can win album of the year next February, GNX will become the first rap album to take home the night’s main award since Outkast’s SPEAKERBOXXX/The Love Below in 2004.

He faces competition from a fellow rap maverick Tyler, the Creator With the highly innovative Chromakopia; and a reunion of hip-hop duo Clipse, whose Let God Sort Em Out is their first release since 2009.

It is the first time in Grammy history that three rap albums have been shortlisted for Album of the Year.

The Puerto Rican star was also nominated Bad bunny – Who is separated? She is scheduled to headline next year’s Super Bowl halftime show.

He is known for his ambitious musical Debí Tirar Más Fotos, which fuses live instruments with the swaying pulse of reggaeton and traditional Puerto Rican styles like plena.

This is only the second time that an entirely Spanish-language album has been shortlisted for the award. The first was Bad Bunny’s 2022 release Un Verano Sin Ti.

Song of the year

• Lady Gaga – Abracadabra
• Deutsche – Anxiety
• Rosie and Bruno Mars – APT
• Bad Bunny – DtMF (In the photo)
• Hunter/x – gold
• Kendrick Lamar and SZA – Luther
• Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild
• Billie Eilish – Wildflower

General record

• Bad Bunny – DtMF
• Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild
• Deutsche – Anxiety
• Billie Eilish – Wildflower
• Lady Gaga – Abracadabra
• Kendrick Lamar and SZA – Luther
• Chapel Rouen – Subway
• Rosie and Bruno Mars – APT

Album of the year

• Bad Bunny – Debí has ​​more photos
• Justin Bieber – swag
• Sabrina Carpenter – Man’s best friend
• Clipse, Pusha T & Malice – let God sort them out
• Lady Gaga – Chaos
• Kendrick Lamar – GNX
• Leon Thomas – Death
• Tyler, the Creator – Chromacopia

Best New Artist

• Olivia Dean
• Katsi
• Marias
• Addison Rae
• sad
• Leon Thomas
• Alex Warren
• Lola Young

Rosie, a quarter successful girl group blackpink, He is the first K-Pop idol to be shortlisted for any of the “Big Four” Grammy Awards.

APT, which adapts Toni Basil’s classic 1980s song Mickey, is also nominated for Best Pop Duo. While co-writer Amy Allen is nominated for Songwriter of the Year.

Huntr/x is the first animated band to receive a nomination in a major category, although Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz previously won Best Pop Collaboration for their 2005 hit Feel Good Inc.

Sabrina CarpenterShe, who won two Grammy Awards last year, received six more nominations for the 2026 ceremony, including best album, best pop album and song of the year for her country-pop album “Manchild.”

Alex Warrenwhose devotional love song Ordinary is the most popular single of the year in the UK, received a best new artist nod but was otherwise overlooked.

And elsewhere, actor Timothée Chalamet He was nominated for Best Compilation Original Score for his album of Bob Dylan songs from the biographical film A Complete Unknown.

and The Dalai Lama It is against the autobiography of Milli Vanilli Fab Morvanamong others, on the shortlist for best audiobook.

British stars Olivia Dean and Lola Young They follow in the footsteps of Adele and Amy Winehouse with nominations in the Best New Artist category, where they will compete against influential American pop star Addison Rae and international girl group Katsi.

Young’s song “Messy” is also nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance.

Isle of Wight indie band Wet leg They compete for Best Alternative Album (for Moisturizer) and Best Alternative Song (Mangetout) – both of which they previously won at the 2023 ceremony.

They are also nominated for Best Album Cover, a newly created category for 2025.

Treatment They will receive two awards after releasing their first new album in 16 years, while… Cynthia Erivo She also has two nominations including one for Defying Gravity, her raunchy duet with Ariana Grande.

Alternative pop artists FKA twigs and PinkPantheress They will go head-to-head for Best Dance Album; While Doncaster was born Youngblood It received his first ever Grammy Award nominations – for Best Rock Album (Idols), Best Rock Song (Zombie), and Best Rock Performance.

The latter catches up with his live rendition of Black Sabbath’s Changes at Ozzy Osbourne’s farewell concert in Birmingham this summer. Fittingly, Osbourne’s wife Sharon and son Jack revealed his nominations.

Sir Elton John and Brandi CarlileThe collaboration Who Believes in Angels received a nomination for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

Girls group Flo, Dance works Disclosure and Fred againmetal group Sleep symbolRapper Skepta And a pop star opinion Among the other British names to be featured on the shortlists.

But Grammy favorites Coldplay have been frozen out this year, with no nominations for their 10th album Moon Music. Many critics predicted that they would make the tender song’s best shortlist All my love.

• Kendrick Lamar – Nine
• lady gaga – Seven
• Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter, Leon Thomas – Six

This is the first time since 2006 that Taylor Swift is not eligible for a Grammy Award.

The star’s last album The Life of a Showgirl was released in Octobermissing the dividing point for nominations.

To qualify, a song or album must be released between August 31, 2024 and August 30, 2025.

So The Life of a Showgirl will be eligible for the 2027 ceremony, and it seems certain to secure Swift her eighth nomination for Album of the Year.

Nearly 23,000 entries have been submitted for the 2026 Grammy Awards.

The largest field was for Song of the Year, which included 1,015 entries.

The least entered category was Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, with just 48 entries.

Once the submitted applications are examined and verified, the voting members take over. Nearly 15,000 musicians, critics and music industry professionals cast votes to determine the finalists.

After the shortlist is published, the final round of voting will take place between December 12 and January 5.

Winners will be announced at a star-studded ceremony in Los Angeles on February 1, 2026.