The biggest night in music is officially upon us, and the 2026 Grammy nominations have delivered a highly competitive field across all 86 categories. Forget squinting at the long list, we’ve got the highlights you need to know, from the leading contenders to the essential album cuts.

Lady Gaga is dominating the ballot, securing AOTY for ‘Mayhem’, plus major nods for Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year with “Abracadabra.” She faces stiff competition from Kendrick Lamar, whose album ‘GNX’ is also in the running for AOTY. Lamar also appears in the Pop categories, including a Pop Duo nomination with SZA for “30 for 30.”

Sabrina Carpenter had a big day, landing five total nominations, including Album Of The Year (‘Man’s Best Friend’) and a triple threat nomination across Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance for “Manchild.”

Bad Bunny secured three key nominations, including a nod for Album Of The Year with ‘Debí Tirar Más Fotos.’

Justin Bieber is also a key player, recognized for Album Of The Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for ‘Swag.’

We’re thrilled to see our own BeatRoute alums making waves across the categories. Lola Young pulled in nominations for Best New Artist and Best Pop Solo Performance (“Messy”). She is joined in the Best New Artist race by the talented Olivia Dean. Chappell Roan also received a nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance for her song, “The Subway.”

The pop categories are full of exciting duets, most notably Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande for “Defying Gravity” and the huge collaboration “APT.” by Rosé and Bruno Mars. Meanwhile, the Best Dance/Electronic Album category showcases work from FKA twigs (‘EUSEXUA’) and PinkPantheress (‘Fancy That’).

Read the complete list of nominees here.