Image via The Recording Academy

The nominees for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards have arrived. The Recording Academy’s assessment of the most influential music of 2025 stays true to popular discourse, highlighting the artists who have dominated the charts and high-profile stages since the last cycle. This year, Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny, Leon Thomas, Sabrina Carpenter, Clipse, Turnstile, SZA, Doechii and Tyler, The Creator have all earned several nods for their respective media moments, while some surprises and historic possibilities will add intrigue to the 2026 ceremony. Read on for the complete list of nominees.

Lamar is the undisputed favorite for next year’s awards with a commanding nine nominations. After taking home Song and Record of the Year at the 67th ceremony for “Not Like Us,” the hip-hop icon’s sixth studio album GNX earned a nod for Album of the Year, while his SZA duet “Luther” is up for Song and Record of the Year again. This marks Lamar’s sixth nomination for Album of the Year, and if he wins, he’ll be only the third hip-hop artist to receive the top prize, following Outkast for Speakerboxxx/The Love Below in 2004 and Lauryn Hill for The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in 1999.

Lamar is trailed by Gaga, whose seven nominations include Album, Record and Song of the Year for Mayhem and “Abracadabra,” and Bad Bunny, whose six include Album, Record and Song of the Rear for DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS and “DtMF.” Gaga has been nominated for Album of the Year four times without a win, while Bad Bunny’s second nod for the award is also the second for any all Spanish-language album.

2026’s Big Four nominations (Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Best New Artist) are a bit more eclectic than 2025’s domination by Lamar, Carpenter, Charli XCX and Billie Eilish, but Carpenter and Eilish are still a force ot be reckoned with; the former is up for Album, Record and Song of the Year (among six others) for Man’s Best Friend and “Manchild.” Eillish is up for Record and Song of the Year for “Wildflower,” which appeared on her early 2024 album Hit Me Hard and Soft, due to a rule that allows albums released in the previous eligibility period to be considered, “provided the same tracks were not entered the previous year and the album did not win a Grammy.”

The Best New Artist candidates are Olivia Dean, KATSEYE, The Marías, Addison Rae, sombr, Alex Warren, Lola Young and rising R&B star Leon Thomas, who is nominated for five other awards, including Album of the Year for Mutt. The other nominees for the top category are Justin Bieber (Swag), Tyler, the Creator (Chromakopia) and powerhouse hip-hop duo Clipse, whose 16-year reunion album Let God Sort Em Out and its singles courted five nominations.

The Marías are the only band nominated for any of the Big Four awards, which is no surprise, and it isn’t to say that there aren’t some exciting moments for acts with guitars in the genre categories, including the five nominations for Baltimore-based hardcore outfit Turnstile.

Other Relix favorite artists nominated this year include Billy Strings, Elton John & Brandi Carlile, Bon Iver, Tame Impala, Sierra Hull, Lalah Hathaway, Tyler Childers, Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Buddy Guy, Jason Isbell, Molly Tuttle, Haim, The Cure, Mavis Staples, Margo Price, I’m With Her, Jesse Welles, Terrace Martin and Kenyon Dixon, Dan Auerbach, Deftones, Shakti, Nine Inch Nails, Robert Randolph, Joe Bonamassa, Dijon, Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson, Blake Mills, Hayley Williams, Charley Crockett, Kehlani, Angélique Kidjo, Jon Batiste, Larkin Poe, Ghost, Wet Leg, Ledisi, Saul Williams and Carlos Niño, Chappell Roan, Southern Avenue, Amyl and The Sniffers, Laufey, Rubén Blades, Burna Boy, FKA twigs, PinkPantheress, George Strait and Chris Stapleton, Kaytranada, Mad Skillz and both Willie and Lukas Nelson, who will compete in the new Best Traditional Country Album category.

Visit grammy.com for the complete list of nominees for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards.