The Snubs and Surprises of the 2026 Grammy Nominations

The Grammy nominations are here, and with it the realization we have no great pop juggernauts like we did last year. No Charli, no Beyoncé, and no Taylor. Still, there’s a lot of Lady Gaga and Sabrina Carpenter and even a good showing for Justin Bieber — but the big narrative of this year’s noms is the enthusiasm for this past year in rap: Kendrick, Bad Bunny, Clipse, and yes … even Drake. Four of the eight nominees for Album of the Year come from full- or part-time rappers. Beyond AOTY, perhaps the most thrilling category this year is Best New Artist, which boasts new favorites like Addison Rae, KATSEYE, and Lola Young over a certain Sally lover. Before the Academy decides to officially annoy everyone with its winners, let’s review this year’s snubs and surprises.

SURPRISE: Rap’s AOTY takeover.

Yes, four of the eight nominees for Album of the Year this year — Kendrick Lamar’s GNX, Clipse’s Let God Sort Em Out, Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos, and Tyler the Creator’s Chromakopia — come from full- or part-time rappers. That’s half! This category has long been maddeningly even-handed. Even in years where hip-hop took top honors, like 1999’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill win or OutKast’s Speakerboxx/The Love Below coup in 2004, they were one of, like, two in the pen. The closest we’ve ever gotten to this level of saturation was 2018, when Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, and Childish Gambino were all nominated. But that was pointedly not the rapping Gambino. This is history, right?! The Grammys tacitly acknowledge that the year in pop blockbusters outside of Lady Gaga and Sabrina Carpenter left a bit to be desired, right? — Craig Jenkins

SNUB: The Weeknd did all that … for nothing.

Despite his album Hurry Up Tomorrow debuting at No. 1 along with a movie of the same title that no one should ever talk about ever again, the Weeknd, a.k.a. Abel Tesfaye, got shut out of this year’s Grammys. Damn, and right after he finally squashed the beef with them too. This most recent album announced — maybe? — the potential end of his “Weeknd” persona. Maybe the Grammys will like Tesfaye’s next character more. — Fran Hoepfner

SURPRISE: What, you thought Wicked wouldn’t show up here too?

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande will take any and all opportunities to show up in coordinated outfits, and why would the Grammys be any different? The two snagged a nomination in Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Defying Gravity,” where they sit weirdly beside KATSEYE, Huntr/x, ROSÉ and Bruno Mars, and SZA and Kendrick Lamar (that’s a lot of caps lock). It’s hard to imagine that a song from 20 years ago — despite people holding space for the lyrics — can topple the momentum of the KPop Demon Hunters, but they might as well milk this Wicked thing for all it’s worth. — F.H.

SNUB & SURPRISE: Addison Rae doesn’t miss.

Addison Rae’s rise through the pop machine has been both left and right of the Grammys’ typically stodgy purview — she made it big as a personality on TikTok, then got a music career by playing into the underground. But while Addison was wrongly snubbed for an Album of the Year nomination, she still managed to score a well-earned Best New Artist nomination, showing that, sometimes, the Grammys are paying attention. — Jason P. Frank

SURPRISE: It could be Justin Bieber’s year.

For an artist who spent the first half of the year beefing with paparazzi, his team, and possibly also his long-suffering wife, Bieber might actually, really, finally be back. SWAG, the first of his two albums out this year, is all over the Grammy nominations, racking up nods in Album of the Year, Best R&B Performance, and Best Pop Vocal Album. It’d be one thing if the love were only on Bieber, but Dijon (who produced) and Tobias Jesso Jr. (who co-wrote many of the songs) also got nominations in their respective categories. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences officially clocked that he was standing on business. Bieber has won two Grammys before, as recently as 2021, but SWAG felt like a full-on reintroduction of the artist. What could be a better way to kick off his Coachella headlining set than a big Grammy win? — F.H.

SNUB: Ravyn Lenae isn’t a Best New Artist.

R&B crooner Ravyn Lenae scored her first top-ten hit this year with “Love Me Not,” a throwback doo-wop jam that you’d think would make the Grammys smile. It was a breakthrough moment for a star who’s been critically acclaimed since her first album Hypnos and who has been a bubbling-under presence for years. Instead, the Grammys snubbed Lenae in the Best New Artist category, opting to nominate her contemporary Olivia Dean. Wasn’t there space for multiple R&B girls? — J.P.F.

SNUB: Role Model didn’t make Best New Artist.

Role Model — a.k.a. Tucker Pillsbury — is a one-time white rapper who now goes viral every other day on TikTok for bringing out a new celeb during performances of his hit song “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out” (including most recently Niall Horan and Lewis Capaldi, though we’re still hung up on Charli XCX cameoing during Role Model’s SNL appearance). It feels like he’s everywhere but the Best New Artist category, which may be an accurate assessment of where his music is at, especially compared to more promising acts like Addison Rae and Lola Young. If the category were called “Best New Charming Guy Who’s Around,” he’d be a shoo-in. — F.H.

SURPRISE: Clipse have a shot at Album of the Year.

The Clipse comeback was a hip-hop head’s dream come true. Virginia’s Thornton brothers left on a sour note in the late aughts during a middling run of too-slick singles and a cataclysmic drug bust in the inner circle. Younger bro Pusha T’s yearslong con to drag elder brother Malice back into the game paid off so outrageously this year that the Vatican invited the coke-rap vets to perform. (We are still learning what the spoils of an American pope will be.) The work allowing for this and a shock Album of the Year nom, Let God Sort Em Out, documents a family reinforcing its bonds during tragedy, siblings weathering the loss of their parents and the dissolution of the crew, often in the coldest, rudest terms they could think of. It’s a heartwarming story under all the threats and bluster, the kind of adult-rap reckoning favored by the Grammys who love to hype a latter-day Nas album. — C.J.

SNUB (if you weren’t paying attention): Taylor Swift who?

The Life of a Showgirl came out October 3, two months after the 2026 Grammy eligibility period ended on August 30, a month earlier than usual. Save your tears for next year, when we’ll see if her latest album can still own the nominations as per tradition. — Zoë Haylock

SNUB: Jack Antonoff isn’t nominated for Producer of the Year.

He’s undeniably had another remarkable year. Is his snub here a result of Grammys-voter fatigue in the face of Antonoff’s constant wins? Or does it reflect the establishment’s assessment of his quality? We don’t know, but it’s strange to suddenly see the guy who has the third-most nominations this year with seven not get nominated in Producer of the Year. — J.P.F.

SURPRISE: Dijon is nominated for Producer of the Year.

Dijon has been changing mainstream music from the shadows, encouraging folk and pop stars in his orbit to embrace weedier, less pristine sound and vocal performances. His sophomore album, Baby!, is massive and inimitable, and his work in the margins on Justin Bieber and Bon Iver songs didn’t go unnoticed, since — gag — he’s up for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical. This is pop-overlord territory; recently, the trophy has gone to engineers behind Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, and Chappell Roan albums. But with Jack Antonoff, who has won three times in a row, out of the picture for some reason, it’s nice to see a fresh face whose influence you can literally feel in the acoustic-campfire R&B wave of the last few years. Note that if Bieber topples critical and commercial giants with an Album of the Year win for SWAG, Dijon also claims one. Always put chips on the Grammys going with the delightfully chaotic option, if it’s on the table. — C.J.

SURPRISE: KATSEYE is up for two awards.

Much of the fan speculation and manifestation surrounding KATSEYE’s Grammy chances centered on the Best New Artist category. There’s no denying that members Lara, Manon, Yoonchae, Daniela, Megan, and Sophia have broken into the public consciousness. Less than a year and a half after dropping their debut single “Debut,” HYBE and Geffen Records’ global girl group has more than 33 million monthly Spotify listeners, a Lollapalooza performance, and a viral jeans ad that didn’t spark any eugenics controversies under their belts. Leaving them out of the conversation would’ve been a gnarly oversight. But it felt less certain that the Academy would recognize any one track from KATSEYE’s burgeoning discography this soon, and “Gabriela” is definitely the underdog of the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance nominees. Voters could have anyone else they wanted to, but the girls are begging you … — Jennifer Zhan

SURPRISE: Who told the Grammys about Zara Larsson?

I love Midnight Sun, by Zara Larsson. My friends love Midnight Sun, by Zara Larsson. But it never felt like the kind of song that the Grammys would love. The Swedish pop star made one of the year’s best but undersung — until today — pop albums. Larsson got her first Grammy nomination (despite having been nominated for and winning several “Grammis” — the Swedish equivalent) for Best Dance Pop Recording. Good for Zara, though here’s hoping tickets to see her at MSG this December don’t skyrocket. — F.H.

SNUB: Lorde is no longer the “Favourite Daughter.”

With her first two albums, Lorde was a surefire Grammys favorite. She won Song of the Year in 2014 for “Royals” and scored a surprise Album of the Year nomination for Melodrama in 2018. But with Solar Power and now Virgin, she’s found herself completely shut out. For Solar Power, that wasn’t much of a shock — that album was not well received — but Virgin was seen by many as a return to form and was bolstered by a very well-received tour. Sadly, there was no space for her in either the main categories or the down-the-line spots. She certainly should have at least gotten a Best Music Video nomination for “Man of the Year,” no? Maybe Lorde is destined to become more and more niche, but Virgin remains great. — J.P.F.

SNUB: No moonbeam, ice cream, or taking off your blue jeans.

He can do as many backflips and bring out Brian May as often as he wants, but Benson Boone — who got three nominations just last year, including Best New Artist — turns up blank for his lackluster American Heart. Maybe this is just a me problem. — F.H.