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Music’s brightest stars took over the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 1st for the show-stopping 68th Annual Grammy Awards.
Darren Criss of Glee fame and his wife Mia Swier kicked off the red carpet in style. He wore a gray lace suit with a cream-colored shirt as she had on a pink-and-gold gown from Pamella Roland.
FKA twigs wore a beige gown that looked torn as twigs were sewn onto the thin fabric.
Keltie Knight was gorgeous in a long gold gown that flashed her legs as she added nude heels.
Gesaffelstein pulled a Kim Kardashian by covering his face with a black mask.
Lola Young brought a casual vibe with a sweat outfit that had a dog and duck print. She is nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance.
The ceremony, widely considered to be ‘Music’s Biggest Night,’ is being broadcasted live on CBS and will also be available to stream on Paramount+ starting at 5pm PT / 8pm ET.
Former host of The Daily Show and comedian Trevor Noah returns as host for the sixth consecutive year.
Nominations were announced in November, with 22-time Grammy winning rapper Kendrick Lamar leading the pack with nine nods.
Music’s brightest stars took over the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 1st for the show-stopping 68th Annual Grammy Awards. Darren Criss of Glee fame and his wife kicked off the red carpet in style
He wore a gray lace suit and she had on a pink-and-gold gown from Pamella Roland
A cream-colored satin bow hung in front of his suit as he painted his nails blue
Lady Gaga comes in close second with seven nominations, along with Taylor Swift’s longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff and renown pop producer Cirkut.
Sabrina Carpenter, whose 2025 album Man’s Best Friend snagged six nominations, will be among the A-list musical acts to perform during the three-hour show.
Gaga, Justin Bieber and K-pop sensation Rosé will also take the stage.
This year, the Recording Academy introduced two brand new categories: Best Traditional Country Album and Best Album Cover.
The new country category will distinguish between ‘contemporary’ and ‘traditional’ country music – formally splitting the Best Country Album into two – following Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter sweep at the 2025 ceremony.
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‘The Academy’s top priority is to represent the music people that we serve each year,’ said Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. of the changes back in June.
‘That entails listening carefully to our members to make sure our rules and guidelines reflect today’s music and allow us to accurately recognize as many deserving creators as possible.’
Only recordings commercially released in the United States between August 31, 2024 through August 30, 2025 were eligible for 2026 nominations.
The final round of Grammy voting, which determined its winners, took place from December 12, 2025 to January 5, 2026.
‘The Grammy Awards are our opportunity to honor the people who make this community so vibrant and this year’s nominees remind us of the incredible talent that is driving music forward,’ said Mason Jr. in a statement.
FKA Twigs ore a beige gown that looked torn as twigs were sewn on top
Keltie Knight was gorgeous in a long gold gown that flashed her legs as she added nude heels
Music legend Joni Mitchell was literally dazzling on the red carpet
Punk-rock band Linkin Park made their grand entrance to the ceremony
Gesaffelstein pulled a Kim Kardashian by covering his face with a black mask
‘From emerging talent to influential icons, these nominees reflect today’s broad and diverse musical landscape, and I am excited to celebrate them in the coming weeks ahead.’
The 2026 Album Of The Year category is stacked, with Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga and Sabrina Carpenter and among the big names who will go head-to-head.
Lamar’s latest album GNX is his fifth consecutive studio album to be nominated for Album Of The Year, something no other artist has ever done. If GNX wins, it will be Lamar’s first-ever win in the category.
The rapper is also up for Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year for his single Luther featuring SZA – marking the third time Lamar has had simultaneous nominations in the ‘big three’ categories.
The Compton-born hitmaker will also compete for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Melodic Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Album.
Justin Bieber is also set to make his long-awaited return to the Grammy Awards stage.
The 31-year-old pop superstar has been confirmed as a performer at the 2026 Grammys, marking his first appearance at music’s biggest night in four years.
Lola Young brought a casual vibe with a sweat outfit that had a dog and duck print. She is nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance
Folk singer Jesse Welles was among the artists celebrating music’s biggest night
Bieber last performed at the ceremony in 2022, when he delivered a crowd-pleasing rendition of Peaches alongside Giveon and Daniel Caesar.
At this year’s ceremony, Bieber is nominated for four awards, including Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for Swag, Best Pop Solo Performance for Daisies, and Best R&B Performance for Yukon.
The Canadian star has earned 23 Grammy nominations throughout his career and has taken home two wins.
Adding an extra layer of intrigue to Grammy night, Bieber’s ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez is also expected to be in attendance.
Gomez and her husband, producer Benny Blanco, are nominated for their track Bluest Flame, placing the former couple under the same roof at one of the industry’s most high-profile events.
Bieber, meanwhile, will most likely attend the ceremony with his wife, Hailey Bieber, who has been a constant presence throughout his recent career resurgence.
2025 was a comeback year for Bieber, who released his album SWAG following a years-long musical hiatus due to health issues.
Lady Gaga’s album MAYHEM is up for Album Of The Year, while her hit track Abracadabra is nominated for Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year. This is a career first for Gaga as she’s never previously had nominations in all three categories simultaneously.
The NY-born, LA-based singer could also score potential wins in the categories for Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Dance Pop Recording and Traditional Pop Vocal album, the only nod for her Harlequin album.
Rocker-turned-producer Jack Antonoff’s work with Lamar and pop princess Sabrina Carpenter sees him nominated the Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year and Song Of The Year categories twice.
He produced Carpenter’s follow-up to Grammy-winning album Short N’ Sweet, titled Man’s Best Friend, including the album’s title track.
Antonoff produced GNX, featuring the nominated song Luther, with Lamar. His work with Lamar landed him his first-ever Best Rap Song nom for Tv Off featuring Lefty Gunplay.
Antonoff will face off against fellow producer Cirkut, who also earned seven nominations for producing Lady Gaga’s album MAYHEM.
Taylor Swift’s longtime collaborator/producer Jack Antonoff is nominated for seven awards for his work with Sabrina Carpenter and Kendrick Lamar; Swift and Antonoff seen in 2024
He is also the musical mind behind Rosé and Bruno Mars’s hit single APT.
Because of the success of Gaga’s Abracadabra, MAYHEM’s lead single, and Rosé’s collaboration with Mars, Cirkut is up for Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year twice at the 2026 ceremony.
In addition to Gaga’s MAYHEM and Lamar’s GNX, the album of the year category is rounded out by Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend, Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos, Bieber’s SWAG, Clipse, Pusha T & Malice’s Let God Sort Em Out, Leon Thomas’s MUTT and Tyler, the Creator’s Chromakopia.
This is the first time three albums have been up for both Best Rap Album and Album Of The Year: GNX, Let God Sort Em Out and Chromakopia.
Additionally, Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos is only the second time an all-Spanish language album has been nominated for the top prize.
Bad Bunny, Carpenter, Leon Thomas and Serban Ghenea all boast six nominations.
Meanwhile, producer Andrew Watt, Clipse, rapper Doechii, Sounwave, SZA, Turnstile and Tyler, the Creator have five each.
Global girl group Katseye, Olivia Dean, The Marias, Addison Rae, Sombr, Thomas, Alex Warren and Lola Young will duke it out in the Best New Artist category this year.
The Record Of The Year category is made up of Bad Bunny – DtMF, Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild, Doechii – Anxiety, Billie Eilish – Wildflower, Lady Gaga – Abracadabra, Lamar and SZA’ – luther,’ Chappell Roan – The Subway and Rosé and Mars – APT.
Fans were confused to see Eilish’s Wildflower among the nominees as it was released ahead of the Grammy eligibility window on her 2024 album Hit Me Hard And Soft.
However, there is a Recording Academy rule that allows albums released during the previous ceremony’s eligibility period to be considered, ‘provided the same tracks were not entered the previous year and the album did not win a Grammy,’ with a few exceptions.
Tate McRae will compete for Best New Artist; seen in 2025
Justin Bieber’s comeback album SWAG earned four nominations, including Album Of The Year; seen in 2021
Missing from the list of nominees is Taylor Swift, who earned the top prize last year. Her latest album The Life Of A Showgirl missed the 2026 cutoff; seen in 2025
By that rule, Wildflower, which was not previously entered, is eligible for the 2026 ceremony.
Last of the ‘big four’ categories is Song Of The Year. The honor recognizes songwriters, which sometimes includes the actual performer, behind the year’s biggest tracks.
The nominees for Song Of The Year are nearly identical to those up for Record Of The Year.
The only different is Chappell Roan’s The Subway has been replaced by Golden from the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack.
Singers, composers, producers and musicians alike will compete across 95 categories.
The 2026 roster features a number of first-time nominees, including Tate McRae, Zara Larsson and PinkPantheress.
Billionaire Taylor Swift, who is known for dominating the Grammys stage, is noticeably absent from the list of nominees despite releasing an album last year.
Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl is the highly anticipated follow-up to her 2024 album The Tortured Poets Department, which won Album Of The Year at last year’s Grammys ceremony.
Swift missed making the cut for 2026 by two months as The Life of a Showgirl was released on October 3, 2025, which happens to be her soon-to-be-husband Travis Kelce’s birthday.
