Key Points
- Best Rap and R&B races feature Kendrick Lamar, Tyler, Doechii, and GloRilla. Voters weigh albums, songs, and performances across stacked shortlists.
- Pop and progressive R&B sets include Bieber, Sabrina, Gaga, and FLO. Each field highlights big releases and steady fan momentum.
- Visual media and African performance rounds widen global reach this year. Soundtracks and Afrobeats titles line the ballot confidently.
Kendrick Lamar, Tyler, The Creator, Doechii, GloRilla, and more headline this year’s ballots. The images above list every nominee across the shown Grammy categories for 2026.
Cardi B lands in major rap performance rounds thanks to “Outside”. For more context on her nomination journey, see our earlier coverage: Cardi B Grammy nomination reflection.
Rap categories
Best Rap Album features Clipse’s Let God Sort Em Out, GloRilla’s GLORIOUS, and JID’s God Does Like Ugly. Kendrick Lamar’s GNX and Tyler, The Creator’s CHROMAKOPIA complete the competitive five.
Best Rap Performance lists Cardi B’s “Outside” and Doechii’s “Anxiety” among the picks. Clipse’s “Chains & Whips” joins Kendrick’s “tv off” and Tyler’s “Darling, I”.
Best Rap Song repeats several heavy titles with new writer credits in focus. Doechii’s “Anxiety” competes with GloRilla’s “TGIF” and Kendrick’s “tv off”. Tyler’s “Sticky” and Clipse’s “The Birds Don’t Sing” round out the list.
Two long-running rap storylines colour the season around these names. For added background on related scenes, read this piece: SZA view on Kendrick feud.
R&B and pop fields
Best Traditional R&B Performance includes Durand Bernarr’s “Here We Are” and Lalah Hathaway’s “Uptown”. Ledisi’s “Love You Too”, SZA’s “Crybaby”, and Leon Thomas’s “Vibes Don’t Lie” are also in.
Best R&B Performance spotlights Justin Bieber’s “YUKON” and Chris Brown’s “It Depends”. Kehlani’s “Folded”, Leon Thomas’s “MUTT” (Tiny Desk), and Summer Walker’s “Heart of a Woman” join them.
Best R&B Song nominates Kehlani’s “Folded” and Summer Walker’s “Heart of a Woman”. Chris Brown’s “It Depends”, Durand Bernarr’s “Overqualified”, and Leon Thomas’s “YES IT IS” appear.
Best R&B Album lists GIVĒON’s BELOVED and Coco Jones’s Why Not More?. Ledisi’s The Crown, Teyana Taylor’s Escape Room, and Leon Thomas’s MUTT complete the lineup.
Best Progressive R&B Album features Durand Bernarr’s BLOOM and Brightness Bilal’s Adjust. Destin Conrad’s LOVE ON DIGITAL, FLO’s Access All Areas, and Come as You Are by Terrace Martin and Kenyon Dixon are in.
Best Melodic Rap Performance honours Fridayy and Meek Mill’s “Proud of Me”. JID’s “Wholeheartedly”, Kendrick with SZA on “luther”, and “WeMaj” by Terrace Martin and Kenyon Dixon featuring Rapsody follow. PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drake close the set with “Somebody Loves Me”.
Best Pop Vocal Album carries Justin Bieber’s SWAG and Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend. Miley Cyrus’s Something Beautiful, Lady Gaga’s MAYHEM, and Teddy Swims’ I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2) are nominated.
Beyond core genres, several categories widen the field this season. Best Music Video includes Sade’s “Young Lion”, Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild”, and Clipse’s “So Be It”. Doechii’s “Anxiety” and OK Go’s “Love” complete the nominees.
In Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, A Complete Unknown appears alongside F1: The Album. KPop Demon Hunters, Sinners, and Wicked also compete for the trophy.
Best Song Written for Visual Media lists “As Alive As You Need Me To Be” from TRON: Ares. “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters, and “I Lied to You” from Sinners also feature strongly. “Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late, “Pale, Pale Moon”, and “Sinners” complete the writing slate.
Best African Music Performance celebrates Burna Boy’s “Love” and Davido with Omah Lay on “With You”. Eddy Kenzo and Mehran Matin’s “Hope & Love”, Ayra Starr with Wizkid on “Gimme Dat”, and Tyla’s “PUSH 2 START” close a vibrant category.
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