Grammy Noms Snubs & Surprises: Justin Bieber Spreads ‘Swag’ Magic, Country Music Shut Out of Top Categories, and Much More

The 2026 Grammy nominations are finally here, with some notable breakthroughs and reigning hot streaks from artists including Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Leon Thomas, Justin Bieber, Tyler, the Creator, SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and many more.

As with every year, there are plenty of surprises and just as many snubs among the nominees. Clipse and Justin Bieber were unexpected success stories in the top categories, while Leon Thomas capped off his rocket ride to stardom over the past year with six nominations. But what about the snubs? Variety ticks down the nominees list to break down what was expected — and what wasn’t.

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SURPRISE: Bieber spreads the “Swag” magic. Justin Bieber made an unexpected comeback earlier this year with “Swag,” a more subdued record that teetered between pop and R&B. And wouldn’t you know it, that’s exactly how his nominations played out for the 2026 Grammy Awards. Bieber scooped up four nominations this go-around, with “Swag” included in album of the year and best pop vocal album, where he’ll square off with Sabrina Carpenter, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga and Teddy Swims. “Daisies” is up for best pop solo performance, while “Yukon” slots into best R&B performance against Chris Brown’s “It Depends,” Kehlani’s “Folded,” Leon Thomas’ “Mutt (Live from NPR’s Tiny Desk)” and Summer Walker’s “Heart of a Woman.” Not bad for Biebs, who was previously nominated for 23 Grammys and won two.

SNUB: After all of that, the Weeknd gets zero nominations. The Weeknd has certainly been through it with the Recording Academy over the past few years, and it certainly seems like healed wounds may be reopened following this morning’s nominations reveal. The singer declared a boycott of the Grammys in 2021 and accused the institution of being corrupt in its nomination process, but all seemed put to rest after he gave a surprise performance at the ceremony earlier this year. So it comes as a major shock that the Weeknd was snubbed for his submissions, which were pretty far-reaching. “Hurry Up Tomorrow” was contending for album of the year, while “Timeless” was up for record and song of the year and various songs including “Cry for Me” and “Baptized in Fear” were submitted across genres.

SURPRISE: Clipse’s reunion bears fruit. It was widely forecasted that Kendrick Lamar, Clipse and Tyler, the Creator would rack up the most nominations out of the hip-hop community. And they did, with Lamar getting nine — the most of anyone this year — and Tyler getting five. And Clipse matched their energy with five nominations for “Let God Sort Em Out” and its various tracks. They secured nods in best rap performance for “Chains & Whips,” best rap song for “The Birds Don’t Sing,” best rap album and best music video for “So Be It.” But the most notable nomination came outside the genre categories, as the project secured a coveted spot in album of the year, where the Thornton brothers join Lamar, Tyler and others in the category.

SNUB: Alex Warren only got one nomination, and it wasn’t for “Ordinary.” Widely predicted as a contender in the top and genre categories, Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” is nowhere to be found on the nominees list. The song was easily one of the biggest hits of the year, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for 10 non-consecutive weeks and breaking the record for longest-running number one on the Pop Airplay chart with 16 non-consecutive weeks. But Warren is strictly relegated to the best new artist category, where he’ll vie for the trophy against Lola Young, Katseye and Leon Thomas. “Ordinary” was viewed as a shoo-in for at least the pop categories, if only because it should have garnered the conservative vote or simply based on its ubiquity. But as it stands, “Ordinary” getting shut out is a head-scratcher.

SNUB: Half the best new artist nominees are not nominated elsewhere. Alex Warren isn’t the only one who got a single nomination, and only in the BNA category. Olivia Dean, Addison Rae, Sombr and the Marias were all included in best new artist — a tremendous accomplishment in its own right — yet it’s certainly a snub that they were left out of all other categories. Granted, some may be holding out to do a big Grammy push next year, yet it’s perplexing that some of the buzziest artists of the year didn’t manage to pick up nods elsewhere. That probably shouldn’t come as a surprise for the Grammys, which nominated Benson Boone, Teddy Swims and Khruangbin in the category earlier this year but didn’t feature them in other areas.

SNUB-ISH: “Golden” scooping up lots of nods (with one key category missing). “KPop Demon Hunters” is arguably one of the biggest success stories in music this year, and Huntr/x’s breakout hit “Golden” was expected to nab the lot of nominations. And it certainly did, as “Golden” landed in song of the year, best pop duo/group performance and best song written for visual media. Elsewhere, the “KPop Demon Hunters” soundtrack was nominated in best compilation soundtrack for visual media. But it was a miss that it wasn’t included in record of the year, a nomination they were largely forecasted to receive. It would have made history, too, as Huntr/x would have become the first K-pop group to get a nod in that category. But when you consider that some Academy members may not take the music as seriously as others — perhaps because it’s based around a fictional group in an animated film, or simply because it’s about as pure pop as it gets — it’s still a win for “KPop Demon Hunters” that it picked up four noms.

SNUB: Country music shut out of the big four. Does the Grammys have a country music problem when it comes to the big four? Since 2020, only two songs — Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” and Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” — were nominated in the top categories. Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” won for album of the year earlier this year, yet it’s the sole country-inspired record to make it into that category (even though Beyoncé herself said “this ain’t a Country album”). This year, there are a total of zero country artists in the big four. Morgan Wallen and Zach Bryan would have been clear nominees in record and song of the year, as well as album of the year, so it’s no surprise that their names are absent from the ballot, considering that they pointedly did not submit. But that doesn’t explain the lack of country artists elsewhere, particularly best new artist, where Zach Top, Megan Moroney, Jessie Murph and Ella Langley were all predicted to be in the running.

SURPRISE: Leon Thomas racks up nominations across the board. Leon Thomas has been a songwriting beast behind the scenes for years, so it’s a long-game success story that he had his breakthrough this year with his album “Mutt” and its respective singles. The R&B singer nabbed six nominations for album of the year, best new artist, best R&B performance (“Mutt (Live from NPR’s Tiny Desk)”), best traditional R&B performance (“Vibes Don’t Lie”), best R&B song (“Yes It Is”) and best R&B album. Thomas could easily end up one of Grammy night’s biggest surprise winners.