The 2026 Grammy Award nominations are about be announced. Here's what to know

The 2026 Grammy Award nominations are almost here. And the competition will be stiff.

Nominees will be announced during a video livestream on the Grammy website and the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel on Friday at 8 a.m. PT and 11 a.m. ET.

A host of talent is on deck to announce the nominees, including Gayle King, Doechii, Karol G, Lizzo, Mumford & Sons, Nicole Scherzinger, Sabrina Carpenter, Sam Smith, Angélique Kidjo, Brandi Carlile, CeCe Winans, David Foster, Jon Batiste, Little Big Town, Masaki Koike and last year’s best new artist winner, Chappell Roan.

Only recordings commercially released in the U.S. between Aug. 31, 2024, through Aug. 30, 2025, are eligible for nominations, so don’t expect to see Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” included. But do expect to see Carpenter’s “Man’s Best Friend” among the nominees; it was released just under the wire on Aug. 29.

That might have a little something to do with the new addition of a stand-alone category for best album cover. Carpenter sparked considerable discourse when its artwork was revealed; it shows the pop star kneeling on the ground in a dog-like pose while an unseen person pulls her by the hair.

There are plenty of unknowns going into the nomination announcements, too. The most obvious contenders for album of the year did not release new full-lengths within the eligibility window — artists like Swift, Beyoncé and Adele. But there have been a few heavy hitters, like Kendrick Lamar’s “GNX,” Lady Gaga’s “Mayhem” and Bad Bunny’s “Debí Tirar Más Fotos.” If any of them took home the top prize, it would be for the first time.

Perhaps most mysterious of all is a change made to the best country album category. Following Beyoncé’s historic win of best album and best country album at the 2025 Grammy Awards for “Cowboy Carter,” the latter category has been divided into two, with the creation of a best traditional country album category. The existing best country album category has been renamed best contemporary country album.

The 2026 Grammy Awards will air Feb. 1 live on CBS and Paramount+ from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

Below, the full list of 2026 Grammy Award nominations, updating live.

Record of the Year

Album of the Year

Song of the Year

“Abracadabra” – Lady Gaga, Henry Walter & Andrew Watt, songwriters (Lady Gaga)
“Anxiety” – Jaylah Hickmon, songwriter (Doechii)
“APT.” – Amy Allen, Christopher Brody Brown, Rogét Chahayed, Omer Fedi, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Chae Young Park, Theron Thomas & Henry Walter, songwriters (Rosé, Bruno Mars)
“DtMF” – Marco Daniel Borrero, Scott Dittrich, Benjamin Falik, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, Hugo René Sención Sanabria, Tyler Thomas Spry & Roberto José Rosado Torres, songwriters (Bad Bunny)
“Golden [From “KPop Demon Hunters”]” – EJAE & Mark Sonnenblick, songwriters (HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami)
“Luther” – Jack Antonoff, Roshwita Larisha Bacha, Matthew Bernard, Scott Bridgeway, Sam Dew, Ink, Kendrick Lamar, Solána Rowe, Mark Anthony Spears & Kamasi Washington, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar With SZA)
“Manchild” – Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff & Sabrina Carpenter, songwriters (Sabrina Carpenter)
“Wildflower” – Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)

Best New Artist

Olivia Dean
Katseye
The Marias
Addison Rae
Sombr
Leon Thomas
Alex Warren
Lola Young

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical

Dan Auerbach
Cirkut
Dijon
Blake Mills
Sounwave

Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical

Amy Allen
Edgar Barrera
Jessie Jo Dillon
Tobias Jesso Jr.
Laura Veltz

Best Pop Solo Performance

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

Best Pop Vocal Album

Swag – Justin Bieber
Man’s Best Friend – Sabrina Carpenter
Something Beautiful – Miley Cyrus
Mayhem – Lady Gaga
I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2) – Teddy Swims

Best Dance/Electronic Recording

Best Dance Pop Recording

Best Dance/Electronic Album

Best Remixed Recording

Best Rock Performance

Best Metal Performance

“Night Terror” — Dream Theater
“Lachryma” — Ghost
“Emergence” — Sleep Token
“Soft Spine” —Spiritbox
“Birds” — Turnstile

Best Rock Song

Best Rock Album

Private Music — Deftones
I Quit — Haim
From Zero — Linkin Park
Never Enough — Turnstile
Idols — Yungblud

Best Alternative Music Performance

Best Alternative Music Album

Best R&B Performance

Best Traditional R&B Performance

Best R&B Song

Best Progressive R&B Album

Best R&B Album

Beloved— Giveon
Why Not More? — Coco Jones
The Crown — Ledisi
Escape Room — Teyana Taylor
Mutt — Leon Thomas

Best Rap Performance

Best Melodic Rap Performance

Best Rap Song

Best Rap Album

Let God Sort Em Out – Clipse, Pusha T & Malice
Glorious – GloRilla
God Does Like Ugly – JID
GNX – Kendrick Lamar
Chromakopia – Tyler, the Creator

Best Spoken Word Poetry Album

A Hurricane in Heels: healed people don’t act like that (partially recorded live @City Winery & other places) — Queen Sheba
Black Shaman — Marc Marcel
Pages — Omari Hardwick & Anthony Hamilton
Saul Williams meets Carlos Niño & Friends at Treepeople — Saul Williams, Carlos Niño & Friends
Words for Days Vol. 1 — Mad Skillz

Best Country Solo Performance

Best Country Duo/Group Performance

Best Country Song

Best Contemporary Country Album

Patterns — Kelsea Ballerini
Snipe Hunter — Tyler Childers
Evangeline vs. the Machine — Eric Church
Beautifully Broken — Jelly Roll
Postcards From Texas — Miranda Lambert

Best Traditional Country Album

Dollar a Day — Charley Crockett
American Romance — Lukas Nelson
Oh What a Beautiful World — Willie Nelson
Hard Headed Woman — Margo Price
Ain’t in It for My Health — Zach Top

Best American Roots Performance

Best Americana Performance

Best American Roots Song

Best Americana Album

Best Bluegrass Album

Best Traditional Blues Album

Best Contemporary Blues Album

Best Folk Album

Best Regional Roots Music Album

Best Latin Pop Album

Best Música Urbana Album

DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS — Bad Bunny
Mixteip — J Balvin
FERXXO VOL X: Sagrado — Feid
NAIKI — Nicki Nicole
EUB DELUXE — Trueno
SINFÓNICO (En Vivo) —Yandel

Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album

Best Música Mexicana Album (including Tejano)

MALA MÍA — Fuerza Regida, Grupo Frontera
Y Lo Que Viene — Grupo Frontera
Sin Rodeos — Paola Jara
Palabra De To’s (Seca) — Carín León
Bobby Pulido & Friends Una Tuya Y Una Mía – Por La Puerta Grande (En Vivo) — Bobby Pulido

Best Tropical Latin Album

Best Global Music Performance

Best African Music Performance

Best Global Music Album

Best Reggae Album

Best New Age, Ambient Or Chant Album

Best Album Cover

Best Recording Package

Best Album Notes

Best Historical Album

Best Jazz Performance

Best Jazz Vocal Album

Best Jazz Instrumental Album

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album

Best Latin Jazz Album

Best Alternative Jazz Album

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

Best Contemporary Instrumental Album

Best Musical Theater Album

Buena Vista Social Club

Death Becomes Her

Gypsy

Just In Time

Maybe Happy Ending

Best Gospel Performance/Song

“Do It Again” — Kirk Franklin; Kirk Franklin, songwriter
“Church” — Tasha Cobbs Leonard, John Legend; Anthony S. Brown, Brunes Charles, Annatoria Chitapa, Kenneth Leonard, Jr., Tasha Cobbs Leonard & Jonas Myrin, songwriters
“Still (Live)” — Jonathan McReynolds & Jamal Roberts; Britney Delagraentiss, Jonathan McReynolds, David Lamar Outing III, Orlando Joel Palmer & Terrell Demetrius
Wilson, songwriters
“Amen” — Pastor Mike Jr.; Adia Andrews, Michael McClure Jr., David Lamar Outing II & Terrell Anthony Pettus, songwriters
“Come Jesus Come” — Cece Winans Featuring Shirley Caesar

Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song

Best Gospel Album

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album

Best Roots Gospel Album

Best Children’s Music Album

Best Comedy Album

Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording

Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media

Best Score Soundtrack Album for Visual Media

Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media

Best Song Written for Visual Media

Best Music Video