NEW YORK (AP) — In a remarkable achievement, Kendrick Lamar has emerged as the frontrunner for the 2026 Grammy Awards, unveiled on Friday.
The acclaimed rapper is contending for nine awards at the upcoming February event, including the prestigious record, song, and album of the year categories. This marks the third instance Lamar has been nominated in all three major categories simultaneously. His nominations extend to pop duo/group performance, melodic rap performance, rap song, and rap album, with two nods in the rap performance category as well.
Lamar’s current acclaim is fueled by his successful album “GNX,” released last year. Accumulating 22 Grammy wins out of 66 nominations throughout his career, Lamar’s “GNX” marks his fifth consecutive studio album to receive an album of the year nomination—a feat unmatched by any other artist. Should he secure the win, it would be his first in this category and the third time a rap album takes home the top honor, joining Outkast’s “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below” in 2004 and Lauryn Hill’s “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” in 1999.
Following Lamar, Lady Gaga, Jack Antonoff, and Canadian producer/songwriter Cirkut each garnered seven nominations.
For the first time, Lady Gaga finds herself nominated simultaneously for song, record, and album of the year. She is also in the running for accolades in pop solo performance, pop vocal album, dance pop recording, and traditional pop vocal album categories.
Antonoff, meanwhile, has dual nominations in the record, album, and song of the year categories, recognizing his collaborations with Lamar and Sabrina Carpenter. Notably, he is also nominated for rap song for the first time with “tv off,” a collaboration with Lamar featuring Lefty Gunplay.
Antonoff and Cirkut will face off in the producer of the year, non-Classical category. If Antonoff wins, he will tie Babyface’s record of most career wins in the category, with four.
That’s not all. Cirkut is up for both record and song of the year, twice — for Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra” and Rosé and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” — as well as album of the year and best dance pop recording.
In addition to Lady Gaga’s “Mayhem” and Lamar’s “GNX,” the album of the year category is rounded out by Carpenter’s “Man’s Best Friend,” Bad Bunny’s “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” Justin Bieber’s “Swag,” Clipse, Pusha T & Malice’s “Let God Sort Em Out,” Leon Thomas’ “Mutt” and Tyler, the Creator’s “Chromakopia.”
This is the first time three albums have been up for both rap album and album of the year: “GNX,” “Let God Sort Em Out” and “Chromakopia.”
Additionally, Bad Bunny’s “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” is only the second time an all-Spanish language album has been nominated for the top prize. The first was also a Bad Bunny release — in 2023, for “Un Verano Sin Ti.” Harry Styles’ “Harry’s House” won that year.
Carpenter, Bad Bunny, Leon Thomas and Serban Ghenea all boast six nominations. Andrew Watt, Clipse, Doechii, Sounwave, SZA, Turnstile and Tyler, the Creator have five each.
Only recordings commercially released in the U.S. between Aug. 31, 2024 through Aug. 30, 2025 were eligible for nominations. The final round of Grammy voting, which determines its winners, will take place Dec. 12 through Jan. 5.
In the best new artist category, global girl group Katseye, Olivia Dean, The Marias, Addison Rae, sombr, Leon Thomas, Alex Warren and Lola Young will all go head-to-head.
The record of the year category is made up of Bad Bunny’s “DtMF,” Carpenter’s “Manchild,” Doechii’s “Anxiety,” Billie Eilish’s “Wildflower,” Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra,” Lamar and SZA’s “luther,” Chappell Roan’s “The Subway” and Rosé and Bruno Mars’ “APT.”
Rosé, perhaps best known as one-fourth of the juggernaut girl group BLACKPINK, is the first K-pop artist to ever receive a nomination in the record of the year field.
Some may be surprised to see Eilish included in the bunch, as “Wildflower” was released on her spring 2024 album, “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” ahead of the eligibility window. However, there is a Recording Academy rule that allows albums released during the previous ceremony’s eligibility period to be considered, “provided the same tracks were not entered the previous year and the album did not win a Grammy,” with a few exceptions. By that rule, Eilish’s “Wildflower” — which was not previously entered — is eligible.
Song of the year — an award for a track’s songwriters, which sometimes include the performer but not always — is made up of an almost identical list to record of the year, except Roan is replaced by “Golden” from the “KPop Demon Hunters” soundtrack.
“The Grammy Awards are our opportunity to honor the people who make this community so vibrant and this year’s nominees remind us of the incredible talent that is driving music forward,” said Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. in a statement. “From emerging talent to influential icons, these nominees reflect today’s broad and diverse musical landscape, and I am excited to celebrate them in the coming weeks ahead.”
There are a number of first-time nominees as well this year, including Tate McRae, Zara Larsson, PinkPantheress, JID and Timothée Chalamet. You read that correctly.
The 2026 Grammy Awards will air Feb. 1 live on CBS and Paramount+ from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
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