The Grammy nominees of 95 different categories, announced on Nov. 7, 2025, were recognized and awarded on Feb. 1, 2026 at the Crypto.com arena in Los Angeles.
The five previous Grammy Awards have been hosted by Trevor Noah, who is set to host again for the last time this year. Grammy performers such as Sabrina Carpenter and Best New Artist nominees, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Tyler, the creator, Reba McEntire, Lauryn Hill, Clipse and Pharrell Williams were shown on the live broadcast on CBS News and YouTube.
The criteria for Best New Artist nominees are that the artist cannot have more than three albums or 30 tracks and must have released one album or five tracks released within the year. Nominations are considered based on the artistry, popularity and their impacts on the musical landscape The Grammy is awarded solely to artists. For example, Best New Artist 2025, was awarded to Chappell Roan. However, when a group wins, like Macklemore & Ryan Lewis in 2014, the Grammy will be awarded to each member.
The nominees for Best New Artist 2026 are Lola Young, Alex Warren, Leon Thomas, sombr, Addison Rae, The Marias, KATSEYE and Olivia Dean. KATSEYE, Leon Thomas and Lola Young were all nominated for different categories outside of Best New Artist. Chappell Roan, to continue the tradition of last year’s Best New Artist presenting the award the next year, awarded the Grammy to Olivia Dean.
The criteria for Song Of The Year (SOTY) nominations are the same as Album Of The Year (AOTY). Nominations are selected based on song writing. The Grammy is awarded solely to songwriters. For example, “Not Like Us,” the winner of SOTY 2025, was awarded to Kendrick Lamar.
The nominations for SOTY are “WILDFLOWER” by Billie Ellish, “Manchild” by Sabrina Carpenter, “luther” by Kendrick Lamar featuring SZA, “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters” by the fictional girl group HUNTR/X with EJAE as Rumi, Audrey Nuna as Mira and REI AMI as Zoey, “DtMF” (Debí Tirar Más Fotos) by Bad Bunny, “APT.” by ROSÉ featuring Bruno Mars, “Anxiety” by Doechii and “Abracadabra” by Lady Gaga. Carol King awarded the Grammy to Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell for “WILDFLOWER”.
The criteria for Record Of The Year (ROTY) nominations are that the artist must have an original song that has been commercially released within the last year. Nominations are primarily considered based on performance, production and engineering. A Grammy is awarded to all artists, producers and engineers of the winning record. For instance, “Not Like Us,” the winner of ROTY 2025, was awarded to Kendrick Lamar, as the primary artist, Sean Momberger, Mustard & Sounwave; Ray Charles Brown Jr., Johnathan Turner and Nicolas de Porcel as the producers and engineers.
The 2026 nominations for ROTY are “APT.,” “The Subway” by Chappell Roan, “luther,” “Abracadabra”, “WILDFLOWER,” “Anxiety,” “Manchild” and “DtMF.” A 2026 recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Cher, awarded the Grammy to Kendrick Lamar, SZA and the producers and engineers for “luther.”
The criteria for AOTY nominations are that the album must be at least 30 minutes long or be 15 minutes long and have five original songs. Nominations are considered based on the artistry of the entire album. The Grammy is awarded to all artists, producers and engineers featured on the winning album.
The nominations for AOTY are “CHROMAKOPIA” by Tyler, The Creator, “MUTT” by Leon Thomas, “GNX” (Grand National Experimental) by Kendrick Lamar, “MAYHEM” by Lady Gaga, “Let God Sort Em Out” by Clipse, “Man’s Best Friend” by Sabrina Carpenter, “SWAG” by Justin Bieber and “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” by Bad Bunny. Harry Styles awarded the Grammy to Bad Bunny and the producers and engineers for “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS”.
Outside of the general field, other categories can focus on specific artistic elements like spoken or musical comedic content, album covers, music videos, personal essays, interviews and merch. Specific categories include Best Comedy Album, Best Music Video, Best Album Cover and Best Album Notes.
While these categories were not live streamed, every artist’s wins can be found on the Grammy’s website. Nate Bargatze was awarded Best Comedy Album for “Your Friend, Nate Bargatze.” Tyler, The Creator was awarded Best Album Cover for “CHROMAKOPIA.” Doechii was awarded Best Music Video for “Anxiety.” Ashley Kahn and album notes writer Miles Davis were awarded Best Album Notes for “Miles ’55: The Prestige Recordings.”
Grammy’s nominees come from all over the world with Missouri nominees such as Chappell Roan for ROTY and Best Solo Pop performance, SZA for Best Melodic Rap Performance, ROTY, SOTY, Best Traditional R&B Performance and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Sexxy Redd for Best Rap Song and professor of composition at the School of Music, Stefan Freund and faculty member Bill Kalinkos from the University of Mizzou in Alarm Will Sound for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance.
Missouri winners are SZA for ROTY and Best Melodic Rap Performance and Alarm Will Sound for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance. This is the first Grammy nomination and award Alarm Will Sound has received.
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