2026 GRAMMYS Nominations: Kendrick Lamar Leads, History Made Across All 95 Categories
Winners will be determined by the Recording Academy’s Voting Members, a peer group composed of music creators.
RMN Stars Music Desk
New Delhi | December 16, 2025
The nominations for the 2026 GRAMMYS have officially been announced across all 95 categories, setting the stage for “Music’s Biggest Night” on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. The 68th Annual GRAMMY Awards will broadcast live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on the CBS Television Network and stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
Key Highlights and Record-Breaking Feats
- Top Nominee: Kendrick Lamar leads the list of nominees with nine total nods. He is followed by Cirkut, Jack Antonoff, and Lady Gaga, who each secured seven nominations.
- Spanish-Language History: Bad Bunny made history as the first Spanish-language artist to be simultaneously nominated in all three General Field categories: Album Of The Year (DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS), Record Of The Year (“DtMF”), and Song Of The Year (“DtMF”). If DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS wins Album Of The Year, it would be the first all-Spanish-language album to win that prestigious award.
- K-Pop Milestones: K-pop artists achieved multiple nominations in the General Field: ROSÉ (with Bruno Mars) earned nominations for Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year for “APT.,” marking the first time a K-pop artist has been nominated for Record Of The Year. Both “APT.” and HUNTR/X’s “Golden” are the first songs by K-pop artists to be nominated for Song Of The Year.
- New Categories: This year introduced two new GRAMMY Categories: Best Traditional Country Album and Best Album Cover. The Best Traditional Country Album category features a notable first, with Willie Nelson nominated alongside his son, Lukas Nelson.
- Rap Category Overlap: For the first time, three albums are simultaneously nominated for both Album Of The Year and Best Rap Album: Let God Sort Em Out (Clipse, Pusha T & Malice), GNX (Kendrick Lamar), and CHROMAKOPIA (Tyler, The Creator).
- The Dalai Lama Nominated: A surprising first-time nominee is the Dalai Lama, whose recording Meditations: The Reflections Of His Holiness The Dalai Lama earned a nomination for Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording.
- Album Of The Year Stakes: The Album Of The Year category is highly competitive, featuring nominees Bad Bunny, Justin Bieber, Sabrina Carpenter, Clipse, Pusha T & Malice, Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar, Leon Thomas, and Tyler, The Creator. Notably, the winner of this award will be a first-time victor in the category.
Winners will be determined by the Recording Academy’s Voting Members, a peer group composed of music creators.
