Music fans around the world are tuning in as the 2026 Grammy Award nominations are set to be announced today, promising one of the most competitive and unpredictable lineups in years.
The nominees will be revealed during a livestream at 11 a.m. Eastern (8 a.m. Pacific) on the Grammy website and the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel. A star-studded lineup will unveil this year’s contenders, including Gayle King, Lizzo, Karol G, Sam Smith, Sabrina Carpenter, Brandi Carlile, Jon Batiste, CeCe Winans, Mumford & Sons, and many others.
This year’s eligibility window covers recordings released between August 31, 2024, and August 30, 2025 — which means some of the industry’s biggest names, like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and Adele, will be absent from the list due to release timing. Swift’s latest project, The Life of a Showgirl, fell outside the eligibility period.
Still, the race for Album of the Year is wide open, with strong contenders expected from Kendrick Lamar (GNX), Lady Gaga (Mayhem), and Bad Bunny (Debí Tirar Más Fotos) — all of whom could take home the top prize for the first time.
Pop star Sabrina Carpenter is also generating major buzz with her album Man’s Best Friend, which just made the cutoff and could see nominations in multiple categories. The record’s controversial cover art — featuring Carpenter kneeling on the ground while being pulled by the hair — has even inspired the Grammys’ new Best Album Cover category debuting this year.
Another notable change for 2026 comes in the country music field. Following Beyoncé’s groundbreaking wins at the 2025 Grammys for Cowboy Carter, including Best Country Album, the Recording Academy has split the category into two: Best Traditional Country Album and Best Contemporary Country Album — a move seen as an effort to better represent the genre’s growing diversity.
The 2026 Grammy Awards ceremony will take place February 1, 2026, airing live from Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on CBS and Paramount+.
With major shakeups, fresh categories, and an unusually open field, this year’s nominations are set to spark excitement — and debate — across the music world.