NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Not like us? More like him: leads the 2026 nominations, announced Friday.
The rapper is up for nine trophies at February鈥檚 ceremony: record, song and album of the year 鈥� marking the third time he鈥檚 had simultaneous nominations in those big categories 鈥� as well as pop duo/group performance, melodic rap performance, rap song and rap album. He鈥檚 also nominated twice in the rap performance category.
Lamar, who is riding the success of last year鈥檚 has 22 Grammy career wins and 66 nominations. 鈥淕NX鈥� is his fifth consecutive studio album to be nominated for album of the year, something no other artist has ever done. If it wins, it will be his first win in the category. And it will be only the third rap album to win the top prize, following Outkast in 2004 for 鈥淪peakerboxxx/The Love Below鈥� and Lauryn Hill in 1999 for 鈥淭he Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.鈥�
Jack Antonoff and Canadian record producer/songwriter Cirkut follow Lamar with seven nominations each.
Lady Gaga is up for song, record and 鈥� her first time receiving nominations in all three categories simultaneously. She could also score potential wins in the pop solo performance, pop vocal album, dance pop recording and traditional pop vocal album categories.
is nominated in the record, album and song of the year categories twice, for his work with Lamar and Sabrina Carpenter. He鈥檚 also nominated for rap song for the first time. That鈥檚 for 鈥渢v off鈥� 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鈥檚 record of most career wins in the category, with four.
That鈥檚 not all. Cirkut is up for both record and song of the year, twice 鈥� for Lady Gaga鈥檚 鈥淎bracadabra鈥� and Ros茅 and Bruno Mars鈥� 鈥淎PT.鈥� 鈥� as well as album of the year and best dance pop recording.
In addition to Lady Gaga鈥檚 鈥淢ayhem鈥� and Lamar鈥檚 鈥淕NX,鈥� the album of the year category is rounded out by Bad Bunny鈥檚 鈥淒eb铆 Tirar M谩s Fotos,鈥� Justin Bieber鈥檚 鈥淪wag,鈥� Clipse, Pusha T & Malice鈥檚 鈥淟et God Sort Em Out,鈥� Leon Thomas鈥� 鈥淢utt鈥� and
This is the first time three albums have been up for both rap album and album of the year: 鈥淕NX,鈥� 鈥淟et God Sort Em Out鈥� and 鈥淐hromakopia.鈥�
Additionally, 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 鈥� in 2023, for Harry Styles鈥� 鈥淗arry鈥檚 House鈥� 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, Olivia Dean, The Marias, Addison Rae, sombr, Alex Warren and Lola Young will all go head-to-head.
The record of the year category is made up of Bad Bunny鈥檚 鈥淒tMF,鈥� Carpenter鈥檚 鈥淢anchild,鈥� Doechii鈥檚 鈥淎nxiety,鈥� Billie Eilish鈥檚 鈥淲ildflower,鈥� Lady Gaga鈥檚 鈥淎bracadabra,鈥� Lamar and SZA鈥檚 鈥渓uther,鈥� Chappell Roan鈥檚 鈥淭he Subway鈥� and Ros茅 and Bruno Mars鈥� 鈥淎PT.鈥�
Ros茅, 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 鈥淲ildflower鈥� was released on her spring 2024 album, ahead of the eligibility window. However, there is that allows albums released during the previous ceremony鈥檚 eligibility period to be considered, 鈥減rovided the same tracks were not entered the previous year and the album did not win a Grammy,鈥� with a few exceptions. By that rule, Eilish鈥檚 鈥淲ildflower鈥� 鈥� which was not previously entered 鈥� is eligible.
Song of the year 鈥� an award for a track鈥檚 songwriters, which sometimes include the performer but not always 鈥� is made up of an almost identical list to record of the year, except Roan is replaced by 鈥淕olden鈥� from
鈥淭he Grammy Awards are our opportunity to honor the people who make this community so vibrant and this year鈥檚 nominees remind us of the incredible talent that is driving music forward,鈥� said Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. in a statement. 鈥淔rom emerging talent to influential icons, these nominees reflect today鈥檚 broad and diverse musical landscape, and I am excited to celebrate them in the coming weeks ahead.鈥�
There are a number of first-time nominees as well this year, including Tate McRae, , PinkPantheress, JID and Timoth茅e Chalamet. .
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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