Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga lead 2026 Grammy nominations

Music enthusiasts, mark your calendars! The nominations for the 2026 Grammy Awards have just dropped, and it looks like a heavyweight battle is brewing at the top. For the second consecutive year, rapper Kendrick Lamar leads the pack with an impressive nine nods, closely followed by pop icon Lady Gaga, who secured seven nominations for the music industry's most coveted honors.

Both Lamar's critically acclaimed album "GNX" and Gaga's electrifying "MAYHEM" are set to go head-to-head for the prestigious Album of the Year title. Interestingly, despite numerous past nominations in this category, neither artist has yet claimed the top album prize – could this be their year?

The Album of the Year field is packed with diverse talent, also featuring Bad Bunny with his Spanish-language hit "Debí Tirar Más Fotos," Justin Bieber's "Swag," and Sabrina Carpenter's "Man’s Best Friend." Rap fans will be pleased to see three genre entries in this category, including Tyler, the Creator’s "Chromakopia" and the duo Clipse’s "Let God Sort Em Out," alongside Lamar's "GNX."

Conspicuously absent from the Album of the Year race is Taylor Swift, whose record-breaking "The Life of a Showgirl" was released after this year's eligibility window. Swift, who holds an unmatched four Album of the Year wins, will undoubtedly be a force to reckon with in future ceremonies.

Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny is also having an incredible run, landing six nominations, including nods in the highly competitive Record, Song, and Album of the Year categories. This makes him the first Latin artist ever to achieve nominations in all three major categories in a single year, ahead of his anticipated Super Bowl halftime performance.

According to Billboard awards editor Paul Grein, the Album of the Year battle is likely a showdown between Lady Gaga and Kendrick Lamar. Grein, while acknowledging Gaga’s universal appeal, gives the edge to Lamar, speculating he could make history as the first solo male rap artist to win the coveted award.

The Song of the Year category, honoring songwriters, saw a groundbreaking moment with two K-pop entries. "Golden," from the soundtrack of Netflix’s most-watched film, "KPop Demon Hunters," earned three total nominations, while "APT." by Rose and Bruno Mars also secured a spot. Rei Ami, a voice from the fictional "Demon Hunters" group HUNTR/X, expressed genuine surprise, stating, "Never did I imagine this level of success. It’s really hard for all of us to process still."

"APT." further garnered nominations for Record of the Year (awarded to producers and performers) and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Other notable contenders in Record of the Year include Gaga’s "Abracadabra," Lamar and SZA’s collaboration "luther," and Bad Bunny’s "DtMF." Meanwhile, the Best New Artist category introduces exciting talents like Olivia Dean, KATSEYE, Leon Thomas, and Alex Warren, with R&B and soul artist Leon Thomas also receiving an Album of the Year nomination for "Mutt."

The highly anticipated Grammy winners, selected by the approximately 15,000 voting members of the Recording Academy, will be unveiled during a star-studded red-carpet ceremony in Los Angeles on February 1. It promises to be a night of celebration and potential historic wins!