Grammy nominations: Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga and everything you need to know

Among the nominees for the 68th Grammy Awards announced Friday morning were a slate of Latinx artists, with Bad Bunny leading the way with six and making Grammys history in the process.

The Puerto Rican singer became the first Spanish-language artist to earn nominations in several top categories for his critically acclaimed album, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” including record of the year, album of the year and song of the year.

Ever since the ascent of BTS, the Grammys have been K-pop-curious, but not typically in its marquee categories. This year marks a notable change — several acts with roots in K-pop have major-category nominations, which suggests the Academy has embraced the genre as a staple part of pop music.

First off, while the success of “KPop Demon Hunters” and its flagship soundtrack single, “Golden,” might need a qualifier for being a piece of film music for a fictional band, the tune’s nomination for song is a milestone. It caps a huge year for the animated ladies of Huntr/x — they also scored nods in pop duo/group performance, remixed recording and song written for visual media. Whatever comes next for the human artists Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami and “Golden” co-songwriter Mark Sonnenblick, it’s part of a big moment for K-pop in the Grammys’ top categories.

Kendrick Lamar notched the most Grammy nominations, but he’s not the only one who could be going home with multiple awards when the ceremony returns to L.A. in February.

Behind Lamar, Lady Gaga, producer-songwriter Jack Antonoff and producer Cirkut earned seven nominations apiece.

Here’s who received the most nominations this year:

• Kendrick Lamar (9)
• Cirkut (7)
• Jack Antonoff (7)
• Lady Gaga (7)
• Bad Bunny (6)
• Leon Thomas (6)
• Sabrina Carpenter (6)
• Serban Ghenea (6)
• Andrew Watt (5)
• Clipse, Pusha T and Malice (5)
• Doechii (5)
• Sounwave (5)
• SZA (5)
• Turnstile (5)
• Tyler, the Creator (5)

Singer Leon Thomas is up for six Grammys, but one of those nominations is for a very intimate gig.

Thomas’ nomination in the best R&B performance category is for his rendition of “Mutt” at NPR’s Tiny Desk.

In recent years, NPR’s popular concert series, which is as likely to feature up-and-coming artists as it is legends, has become a popular stop for artists who end up on the road to the Grammys.

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One reason the Grammys’ top categories include more K-pop, hip-hop, and Latin pop than usual this year?

No Adele, no Beyoncé, no Taylor Swift.

For the first time since the 45th Grammys in 2003, none of those three longtime Grammy faves are nominated for next year’s show, which left more room near the top of the ballot for the likes of Bad Bunny, Rosé, Doechii and the songwriters behind “KPop Demon Hunters.”

To be clear, the Recording Academy is hardly giving the cold shoulder to the pop superstars.

Swift’s blockbuster “The Life of a Showgirl” came out in early October, after the eligibility window for the 68th Grammys had closed.

And Beyoncé hasn’t gotten around to releasing Vol. 3 in the proposed trilogy that’s already given us “Renaissance” and “Cowboy Carter.”

As for Adele, it’s anyone’s guess when she’ll have the follow-up to 2021’s “30.” She’s said she plans to be away for “an incredibly long time” following the conclusion of her hit Las Vegas residency last year.

For the second consecutive year, Kendrick Lamar has scored more Grammy nominations than anyone else in the field.

On Friday, he received nine more nominations, bringing his total to 66, including nods for record of the year, album of the year and song of the year.

Here’s everything Lamar is nominated for:

• Record of the year: “Luther” with SZA
• Album of the year: “GNX”
• Song of the year: “Luther” with SZA
• Best pop duo/group performance: “30 For 30” by SZA with Kendrick Lamar
• Best rap performance: “Chains & Whips” by Clipse, Pusha T and Malice featuring Kendrick Lamar and Pharrell Williams
• Best rap performance: “TV Off” featuring Lefty Gunplay
• Best melodic rap performance: “Luther” with SZA
• Best rap song: “TV Off” featuring Lefty Gunplay
• Best rap album: “GNX”

Going into February’s ceremony, Lamar already has 22 Grammy wins, including picking up song of the year and record of the year at the 2025 Grammys for “Not Like Us.”

After a deep, focused recalibrating of its voting base — toward one younger, more diverse and more contemporary in taste — the Recording Academy made strides avoiding the big whiffs they were once famous for in the nominations for the 2026 Grammy Awards. But there will always be snubs, surprises and heated debates within the nominations. Here are a few that stood out to us.

SNUB: The Weeknd waits again

Kendrick Lamar and Lady Gaga will face off for album of the year at the 68th Grammy Awards, a first-time showdown between two megastars of modern music who’ve separately been nominated four previous times without winning the Recording Academy’s most prestigious prize.

As announced Friday morning by the academy, Lamar leads nominees for next year’s ceremony with nine nods in all, followed by Gaga and the producers Cirkut and Jack Antonoff, each of whom has seven nominations, and Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter and Leon Thomas, each of whom has six. Other top nominees include rappers Doechii, Clipse and Tyler, the Creator as well as producers Sounwave and Andrew Watt, rock band Turnstile and recording engineer Serban Ghenea.

If you’re following along with the livestream on YouTube, it’s impossible to read all of the comments from fans advocating for their favorites.

As always, there are K-pop listeners clamoring for BTS, who have been on hiatus while the members complete military service and work on solo projects.

As for artists who have released music lately, I’m seeing a lot of love for Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar and Blackpink in the comments.

While we await the Grammy nominations this morning, how about a round of Grammys trivia?

Q: Who holds the record for the most Grammy nominations?

A: It’s Beyoncé! Last year she earned 11 nominations, bringing her total to 99. She was previously tied with husband Jay-Z for the most Grammy nods with 88.

Going into the 2025 Grammys, she already held the title for most Grammy wins with 32. She picked up three more to bring her total to 35, including the long-overdue album of the year statuette.

For the first time in Grammy Award history, Latin Grammy voting members were invited to join the Recording Academy as part of its 2025 new member class. But will it make a difference in advancing the most popular Latin music artists to general categories?

News of this inclusion follows efforts by the Recording Academy to diversify its electorate. Of the 3,800 professionals and music creators accepted into the new 2025 class, 50% are 39 or younger, 58% are people of color and 35% identify as women.

As we await this year’s nominations, take a look through the first 66 years of Grammys history and what won record of the year in this story from January.

What makes a record of the year? At the Grammy Awards, it can be a stunning performance or an ingenious production, a glimpse into the future or a glance at the past, a worldwide smash or an obscurity by a longtime fave. Ahead of Sunday’s 67th Grammys, here’s a ranked list of all 66 songs that have won record of the year since the Recording Academy’s first ceremony in 1959. Arranged from worst to best, the rundown includes expert commentary from half a dozen previous winners: Sheryl Crow, Toto’s Steve Lukather, producer Mark Ronson, Michael McDonald, Chic’s Nile Rodgers and Charles Kelley of the country trio Lady A.

The Grammy Awards are returning next February with two additional categories.

The 68th awards, scheduled for Feb. 1 at Crypto.com Arena, will now include prizes for album cover and traditional country album. The previous country album category has been renamed contemporary country album.

This summer, Netflix’s animated hit “KPop Demon Hunters” might have created the most popular K-pop girl group in America. And seemingly the only people unaware of that distinction are its members.

“Is that what it is?,” asks Rei Ami, who with fellow artists Ejae and Audrey Nuna forms the film’s fictional trio Huntr/x. “Is that what it’s being labeled as?”

To get it out of the way: No, Taylor Swift’s name will not dominate nominations for the 68th Grammy Awards when they’re announced Friday morning. Because it came out in early October, the pop superstar’s mega-blockbuster “The Life of a Showgirl” wasn’t eligible for consideration for next year’s ceremony (whose window ran from Aug. 31, 2024, to Aug. 30, 2025). So you’ll have to wait until next fall to see the Recording Academy bestow Swift with her eighth nomination for album of the year, as indeed it’s sure to do. For now, here are our bets for who’s likely to show up in the Grammys’ Top 4 categories, with potential honorees listed in alphabetical order. Music’s most prestigious awards show will take place Feb. 1 at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

If you’re already counting down to February’s Grammy Awards, here’s something to hold you over — the nominations announcement is just around the corner.

This Friday, the Recording Academy, joined by a handful of familiar faces (and voices), will announce the nominees for music’s biggest night in a livestream.