Kendrick leads with nine, Lady Gaga follows with seven, and K-pop and Latin pop notch high.
The nominations for the 2026 Grammy Awards are out, and they’re shaking up what “music’s biggest night” looks like. Leading is Kendrick Lamar with nine nominations for GNX, followed closely by Lady Gaga’s Mayhem with seven.
The 68th Grammys will air on February 1, 2026, live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, broadcast on CBS, and will stream live and on demand on Paramount+. For now, all eyes are on the nominees.
Rap takes the lead this year
Lamar’s GNX dominates the major categories, joined by Tyler, the Creator’s Chromakopia and Clipse’s comeback album Let God Sort ’Em Out. It’s rare to see three rap albums in the Album of the Year race, a milestone for a genre often sidelined by pop and rock.
Bad Bunny scored six nominations, including Album, Record, and Song of the Year for Debí Tirar Más Fotos (“I Should’ve Taken More Photos”), underscoring how Latin music continues to shape the mainstream.
And while pop stars usually dominate headlines, this year’s nominations show the Academy’s attention shifting back to artists with deeper catalogs and more experimental work.\
The pop girls keep it competitive
Lady Gaga’s Mayhem is a full return to form. Theatrical, high-concept, and pretty much impossible to ignore. Her single “Abracadabra” earned nominations in both Record and Song of the Year, while Mayhem itself is up for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album.
Sabrina Carpenter is having her defining pop star moment with Man’s Best Friend, sweeping multiple top categories. The pop slate captures every era and edge of the genre: Justin Bieber’s Swag marks a surprisingly strong comeback with major pop nods, a reminder that his chart presence hasn’t faded. Billie Eilish (Wildflower), Doechii (Anxiety), and Chappell Roan (The Subway) round out a lineup that’s as introspective as it is playful.
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And while Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl didn’t make the cut (it was released on October 3, 2025, after the August 30 eligibility deadline) she still made headlines, spotted alongside Carpenter in New York days before the nominations were announced.
Korean acts take the spotlight
BLACKPINK’s Rosé just made Grammy history. Her collaboration with Bruno Mars, “APT.,” earned three major nominations: Record, Song, and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance—making her the first K-pop artist ever nominated for Record of the Year, and the first female K-pop soloist with multiple Big Four nods. The track’s producer, Cirkut, also landed a nomination for Producer of the Year.
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Meanwhile, “Golden,” the breakout track from Netflix’s animated KPop Demon Hunters, scored three nominations: Song of the Year, Best Song Written for Visual Media, and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, while the film’s soundtrack is up for Best Compilation Soundtrack.
HYBE’s girl group Katseye also broke through with two nominations: Best New Artist and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Gabriela.”
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New categories and new voices
This year introduces two new Grammy categories: Best Album Cover and Best Traditional Country Album, splitting the former Best Country Album into traditional and contemporary divisions, a move that follows the debate sparked by Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter win last year. The Recording Academy says the change aims to honor more variety in country music, reflecting ongoing conversations about race, genre, and authenticity.
Among the fresh faces making waves is British singer-songwriter Olivia Dean, whose neo-soul sound earned her a Best New Artist nomination. She’s joined by Addison Rae, Leon Thomas, The Marías, and Katseye.
Snubs, shifts, and what’s next
Morgan Wallen’s absence is one of this year’s biggest talking points. The country superstar reportedly chose not to submit his chart-topping I’m the Problem for consideration confirmed by his representatives in August 2025, despite the record spending 11 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 since its May release.
Wallen, who previously earned two nominations (both for his feature on Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help”), offered no public explanation, but his decision places him alongside artists such as Drake, The Weeknd, Frank Ocean, and Zach Bryan, all of whom have at times boycotted the Grammys over concerns about the nomination process and voting body.
Final voting runs from December 12, 2025 to January 5, 2026, and the countdown is on for what could be one of the most unpredictable Grammys in years.
See the official full list of nominees here.
