After the first round of voting took place from Oct. 3 to 15, 2025, the annual GRAMMY nominations were announced on live.grammy.com and the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel on Nov. 7, 2025, marking the start of the 68th GRAMMYS.
The official awards ceremony will take place at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Feb. 1, 2026 and will broadcast live on CBS Television Network and on demand on Paramount+.
To be eligible for nominations, professionals must have creative or technical credits on at least six commercially released tracks including vocalists, musicians, songwriters, producers, engineers, composers and qualified music professionals.
The winners of these awards will be recognized as the standout artists and music creators of the year, determined by the members of The Recording Academy, a body of more than 11,000 industry professionals.
“I think it is interesting to see what is most popular,” FHS junior Hazel Neustaetter said. “There are some [nominees] that I know that I am rooting for.”
The 2026 GRAMMY Awards will include two new categories: Best Traditional Country Album — for albums containing over 75% play time of new traditional country recordings — and Best Album Cover.
The livestream announced nominees like Chappell Roan, Doechii, Sabrina Carpenter, Tyler, the Creator and more for all 95 GRAMMY categories. This year, many artists were nominated for multiple awards. Kendrick Lamar received the most nominations with nine, Lady Gaga, Jack Antonoff and Cirkut received seven and Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter and Leon Thomas received six.
Artists are competing for the four most prestigious awards, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist. These categories are often called the “Big Four” because they are the most anticipated and competitive categories, and are open to all genres of music.
“I am not that excited about the selections this year,” FHS junior Carsten Spies said. “But [I am anticipating] Album of the Year because it is the one that everyone pays attention to.”
Many nominees shared their reactions online after the livestream reveal, expressing their gratitude for their nomination.
However, the public response to the 2026 GRAMMY nominations has been a mixed bag, some celebrating the successes and firsts of some artists while others express their disappointment towards overlooked artists and alleged biases.
“I am going to be rooting for The Marías because I listen to their music a lot and I like their album Submarine,” Neustaetter said. “But I am not rooting for Sombr because I think his music is a little annoying.”
While many surprises and disappointments came with the announcement of the nominees, fans continue to root and support their favorites from afar when the ceremony is finally held.
