Kendrick Lamar leads 2026 Grammys with 9 nods, Lady Gaga and K-Pop add fire

Kendrick Lamar is running the 2026 Grammy Awards, leading the pack with nine nominations announced Friday. From record, song, and album of the year—marking the third time he’s swept all three at once—to pop duo/group performance, melodic rap, rap song, and rap album, Lamar is everywhere. Add two more nods in rap performance, and you’ve got a straight-up domination.

Riding the waves of last year’s blockbuster “GNX”, Lamar has 22 career Grammys and 66 nominations. “GNX” is his fifth consecutive album to get an album of the year nod—no one else has done that. If it wins, it’ll be his first in the category, and only the third rap album ever to snag the top prize, after Lauryn Hill in 1999 and Outkast in 2004.

Close on his heels are Lady Gaga, Jack Antonoff, and Cirkut, each with seven noms. Gaga hits record, song, and album of the year for the first time simultaneously. Antonoff is flexing twice in the big three thanks to his work with Lamar and Sabrina Carpenter, and is up for rap song too. Cirkut doubles up on record and song of the year for Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra” and Rosé & Bruno Mars’ “APT”, plus album of the year and best dance pop recording.

This year, the album of the year category is stacked: Lamar’s “GNX”, Carpenter’s “Man’s Best Friend”, Bad Bunny’s “Debí Tirar Más Fotos”, Justin Bieber, Pusha T & Clipse, Leon Thomas, Tyler, the Creator—and yes, it’s the first time three albums double as rap album and album of the year nods. Bad Bunny also makes history as only the second all-Spanish album nominated for the top prize.

Meanwhile, Rosé of BLACKPINK fame is the first K-pop artist ever up for record of the year, and fresh faces like Tate McRae, Zara Larsson, PinkPantheress, JID, and even Timothée Chalamet score their first noms.

The 2026 Grammys air Feb. 1 live on CBS and Paramount+ from Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles.

With inputs from Associated Press