Who: Kendrick Lamar leads the pack; also prominent are Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny and Sabrina Carpenter. When: nominations for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards were released on Nov. 7, 2025, ahead of the Feb. 1, 2026 ceremony. Where: the awards will take place at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. What and result: Lamar earned the most nods with nine; Lady Gaga received seven, and Carpenter, Bad Bunny and Leon Thomas received six each, positioning rap and cross-genre projects at the center of this year’s ballot.
Key Takeaways
- Kendrick Lamar is the top nominee with nine nominations, driven largely by his album GNX and the collaborative track “Luther” (with SZA).
- Lady Gaga received seven nominations, most linked to her album Mayhem, while Sabrina Carpenter, Bad Bunny and Leon Thomas each picked up six nods.
- Three rap albums—GNX, Tyler, the Creator’s Chromakopia and Clipse’s Let God Sort Em Out—are all nominated for album of the year, a notable rarity for the category.
- Bad Bunny is nominated in each of the major all-genre categories for Debí Tirar Más Fotos, weeks before headlining the Super Bowl halftime show with an all‑Spanish set.
- Nearly 23,000 entries were submitted across 95 categories for this Grammy cycle, and voting will be conducted by roughly 15,000 Recording Academy members beginning in January.
- The ceremony will be broadcast on CBS and Paramount+ for the last time before the broadcast rights move to Disney platforms in 2027.
- The academy split best country album into contemporary and traditional categories this year, expanding the field and drawing industry attention to genre boundaries.
Background
The Grammys’ eligibility window for this round covered releases from Aug. 31, 2024, through Aug. 30, 2025, restoring a full 52-week period after two shortened cycles. That timeline excluded late releases such as Taylor Swift’s recent concert album, which fell outside the window. Over decades the Recording Academy has adjusted rules and category structures to reflect genre shifts and industry feedback; the addition of songwriter- and producer-focused awards in recent years is part of that evolution.
Rap’s relationship with the Grammys has long been fraught, with the genre historically underrepresented in top categories despite its commercial dominance. The presence of three rap albums on the album-of-the-year ballot marks a visible change in recognition, reflecting both creative milestones and the academy’s expanded ballot rules that now allow more nominees in major categories. Simultaneously, commercial hits and streaming phenomena have influenced nomination patterns, prompting debate about how awards reconcile artistic merit and mass appeal.
Main Event
The nominations list released on Nov. 7 shows Lamar at the summit with nine nominations, many tied to his album GNX and the single “Luther” (featuring SZA). Lady Gaga’s seven nods center on Mayhem and its lead tracks, and Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend and the song “Manchild” earned her multiple high-profile placements. Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos is up across the top all-genre categories, signaling broad academy support for his blend of plena, reggaeton and trap.
Album of the year contenders include GNX, Chromakopia, Let God Sort Em Out, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, Mayhem, Man’s Best Friend, Swag (Justin Bieber) and Mutt (Leon Thomas). The nominees show a mix of established superstars, long-awaited returns and emerging breakout acts. Record and song of the year categories largely overlap this year, with a set of seven songs—by Carpenter, Gaga, Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish, Doechii, Lamar (with SZA) and Rosé with Bruno Mars—nominated in both.
Best new artist nominees reflect streaming-driven breakouts and industry-made projects: Alex Warren, Sombr, Addison Rae, Katseye, Leon Thomas, Olivia Dean, the Marías and Lola Young are all on the ballot. In pop and rap album fields, the nominations paired veterans with newer names, while rock and country categories showed a deliberate mix of legacy acts and contemporary figures—an attempt by the academy to represent stylistic breadth.
Analysis & Implications
The prominence of rap and Latin-leaning records on the ballot underscores shifts in the cultural map of mainstream music. Kendrick Lamar’s nine nominations reaffirm his critical and academy standing after recent wins; the presence of multiple rap LPs for album of the year signals institutional acceptance that could influence voter behavior in future cycles. For artists like Bad Bunny, simultaneous Super Bowl visibility and Grammy recognition could amplify the commercial and cultural payoff of awards season.
The split of the best country album into contemporary and traditional categories reflects internal industry pressure to recognize stylistic subgroups within country music. That change follows ongoing conversations about genre boundaries—most recently intensified by Beyoncé’s 2023 country success—and could open space for both Nashville mainstays and crossover artists. Yet the division also stirred controversy, because major commercial players such as Morgan Wallen declined to submit work and remain politically and commercially prominent despite past controversies.
For the Recording Academy, the nominations test reforms aimed at broadening participation and legitimacy. The 23,000 submissions and roughly 15,000 eligible voters make the process quantitatively robust, but questions remain about representativeness and how voters weigh commercial success against craft. The outcome of major categories could either cement recent shifts in recognition or prompt renewed scrutiny depending on how voters balance genre diversity with established award conventions.
Comparison & Data
| Artist | Nominations | Notable Album |
|---|---|---|
| Kendrick Lamar | 9 | GNX |
| Lady Gaga | 7 | Mayhem |
| Sabrina Carpenter | 6 | Man’s Best Friend |
| Bad Bunny | 6 | Debí Tirar Más Fotos |
| Leon Thomas | 6 | Mutt |
The table above summarizes the top individual nomination counts and lead albums. These figures show how concentrated nominations are among a small group of artists: the top five account for a significant share of nominations in major categories. Historically, the Grammys expanded ballot sizes in recent years, which has allowed a broader cross-section of albums to surface in top categories; this year’s balance between veteran acts and new entrants reflects that broader slate.
Reactions & Quotes
Industry officials and artists responded quickly to the nominations, highlighting both celebration and debate about categories and representation.
“The community of people making country music in all different subgenres came to us with a proposal and said they wanted more variety in how their music is honored.”
Harvey Mason Jr., Recording Academy (quoted in trade coverage)
“Nearly 23,000 entries were submitted for 95 categories, and the winners will be chosen by about 15,000 voting members, underscoring the scale of this year’s process.”
Recording Academy / public statements
Unconfirmed
- Whether changes to category definitions will materially increase nominations for underrepresented creators in future cycles remains to be seen; long-term effects are not yet verifiable.
- The impact of this year’s nominations on Grammy viewership and the awards’ broader cultural relevance is uncertain until post-ceremony ratings and industry responses are published.
- Any behind-the-scenes campaigning or voting blocs influencing specific category outcomes has not been substantiated by independent evidence in public sources.
Bottom Line
The 2026 Grammy nominations position rap and cross-genre work prominently, with Kendrick Lamar leading the field and Bad Bunny bridging awards recognition and major live-stage visibility at the Super Bowl. Category changes, such as the split in country album awards, reflect the academy’s ongoing attempt to accommodate stylistic diversity—but those moves also invite debate about fairness and genre gatekeeping.
Voting by roughly 15,000 academy members in January will decide winners, and outcomes could either reinforce the academy’s recent broader recognition patterns or reignite questions about how the Grammys measure artistic merit versus commercial success. For artists and industry watchers, the nominations map the cultural terrain for early 2026 and set expectations for awards-season narratives.