The Grammy Awards remain one of the most influential institutions in the music industry, shaping narratives around artistic merit, cultural impact, and commercial success. Each year, the categories offer a snapshot of where the industry believes music is heading. While these awards often spark celebration, they also invite scrutiny, debate, and reflection. Below, KLSU’s coverage highlights the triumphs of the 2026 Grammys.
The Big Four
Album of the Year
Album of the Year is the last award given out at the Grammys, and it is often considered the most prestigious. It is an award given out to recognize excellence in all parts of an album’s creation. This includes the featured artist, guest artists, producers, mixers, masters, songwriters, and more.
Nominations included Bad Bunny’s “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,” Justin Bieber’s “SWAG,” Sabrina Carpenter’s “Man’s Best Friend,”,” Lady Gaga’s “MAYHEM,” Kendrick Lamar’s “GNX,” Leon Thomas’s “MUTT” ,Tyler, The Creator’s “Chromakopia,”and hip-hop duo Clipse’s “Let God Sort Em Out
Previously, our music writers had predicted that “GNX” would take home the win. It seemed like a safe bet due to the sheer amount of victories Kendrick Lamar experienced in 2025 and this being his seventh time nominated for the award. In a welcoming turn of events, however, Bad Bunny’s “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” was the victor.
This is Bad Bunny’s second Album of the Year nomination, but his first win. “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” could very well be Bad Bunny’s best work to date. With this album, we see Bad Bunny incorporating more traditional sounds of his home country of Puerto Rico. It breezes by despite its 62-minute runtime, and with so many diverse styles, there is something for everyone to love. Bad Bunny winning this award was inevitable and it is just in time for his headlining Super Bowl LX performance this weekend.
Record of the Year
Record of the Year is one of the four most anticipated awards presented at the Grammys each year. The award represents the hard work of artists and their teams, and is described as the “best overall achievement” on a single or track. This year the Grammy nominations included Bad Bunny’s “DtMF”, Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild”, Billie Eilish’s “WILDFLOWER”, Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra”, Kendrick Lamar & SZA’s “Luther”, Chappel Roan’s “The Subway”, and ROSÉ & Bruno Mars’s “APT”.
Previously, KLSU music writers predicted that “Abracadabra” by Lady Gaga would win since she has been nominated for the category four separate times. However, each Grammy ceremony is independent of the others, so it wasn’t a big surprise when “Luther” by Kendrick Lamar (feat. SZA) won the award.
Kendrick’s tribute to Luther Vandross and his illustrious career snagged the win. As excited as Kendrick, SZA, and their teams were, the award’s announcement came with slight complications. Cher, who presented the Grammy to Kendrick and his team, mistakenly announced Luther Vandross as the winner. Vandross, who passed away in 2005, would have quite enjoyed the sentiment. This moment has since gone viral, appearing in major news outlets across the country. Despite the mishap, our winners graciously accepted the award and thanked those who assisted in creating the track and helped keep the ceremony afloat.
Song of the Year
In November, KLSU’s music writers predicted that “Golden” by the fictional trio HUNTRX from “KPop Demon Hunters” would win Song of the Year, in part due to how popular the Netflix film was, but also for the fact that the Grammys could’ve made history by allowing it to become the first K-Pop song to win the category.
“WILDFLOWER” by Billie Eilish took the crown instead, gaining quite a bit of public backlash and confusion. Other nominees included Bad Bunny’s “DTMF,” Doechii’s “Anxiety,” Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “luther,” Rose and Bruno Mars’ “APT,” and Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild.” Each of these nominees was also up for Record of the Year.
The Song of the Year award was created to recognize outstanding songwriting in the music industry. This category differs from Record of the Year, which recognizes the artist, producer, recording engineer, mixer, and mastering engineer for best overall achievement on a single or track, per the Grammy website.
“WILDFLOWER” was written by Eilish with the help of her brother Phineas O’Connell. The song was originally released in May of 2024 on her album HIT ME HARD AND SOFT. Eilish rereleased the song as a single in February of 2025, making it eligible for the 2026 Grammys.
In 2024, Eilish told Apple Music, “It’s like a girl code song, it’s like a breaking girl code thing. I love that song… It’s such a tortured over-thinky song.”
“WILDFLOWER” is the most-streamed song off her HIT ME HARD AND SOFT album, gaining 1 billion streams on Spotify in two months. And with it, this win brings Eilish to the double-digit club, with 10 Grammy awards.
Best New Artist
The 2026 Grammy Awards presented one of the most competitive and stylistically diverse groups of nominees for the Best New Artist category. The featured artists showcased the evolving landscape of modern music, representing a class defined by international reach and digital-age discovery. Nominees included breakout artist Leon Thomas, British singer-songwriter Olivia Dean, global pop group KATSEYE, indie-pop favorites The Marias, viral star Addison Rae, rising singer Sombr, singer-songwriter Alex Warren, and British vocalist Lola Young.
Previously, Olivia Dean was presented as a strong contender for the award, as she has earned high praise and recognition in recent months. Evidently, the Recording Academy agreed and named her Best New Artist at the 2026 Grammy Awards. Dean’s victory caps off a breakthrough year fueled by the success of her acclaimed album The Art of Loving. Throughout the past year, Dean has built a reputation for her sharp songwriting and growing cultural footprint that resonated with so many. The Art of Loving served as a defining statement for Dean, showcasing her ability to blend musical influences while maintaining a distinctive sound of her own.
Regardless of the outcome, this year’s nominees demonstrated that the next generation of music is increasingly boundaryless — shaped by cross-genre experimentation, international collaboration, and direct fan engagement. Collectively, the nominees reflect how artists now build careers through global streaming audiences, social media virality, and genre fluidity. Dean’s win ultimately represents that future coming into focus.
Our Staff Favorites
Best Album Cover
The category of Best Album Cover is regarded as one of the more fun and subjective categories, often chosen based on a plethora of visual elements. This year was the return of the highly regarded category and featured Bad Bunny’s “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,” Djo’s “The Crux,” Perfume Genius’s “Glory,” Tyler, The Creator’s “Chromakopia,” and Wet Leg’s “Moisturizer.”
The covers range in meaning and visual complexity, and all would be deserving of the Grammy. However, the cover that held the most personal meaning was “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” by Bad Bunny. This album cover is representative of nostalgia, grief, community, and regret. It comes from something as simple as two white lawn chairs, but it symbolizes the camaraderie and happy memories associated with many cultures, specifically, Puerto Rican culture. Despite this prediction, Bad Bunny did not take home the award.
Instead, it went to the undeniably stunning cover for Tyler, The Creator’s “Chromakopia.” The cover features a black and white gradient and depicts Tyler, The Creator wearing a face-shielding mask. This album delves into Tyler’s journey of fighting insecurities, uncovering his true self, and his past. The mask acts as one of Tyler’s defense mechanisms that helps achieve his goal of separating his on-stage and off-stage lives. Though somewhat visually tame, the meaning behind the mask is brilliant and well deserving of the award.
Best Pop Vocal Album
Prior to the award show, us music writers hoped that Lady Gaga would take home Record of the Year with “Abracadabra”. She did not end up winning this category, instead losing to “luther” by Kendrick Lamar and SZA. There is no shame in this loss; there were a lot of heavy hitters in that section, and “luther” is no exception.
Luckily for Gaga and any of the Little Monsters out there, she did receive the award for Best Pop Vocal Album. This win is, in fact, her second in this category, with her first being for “The Fame Monster” in 2011. Gaga now joins three other women in being tied for the most rewarded person in this category. Gaga, Kelly Clarkson, Adele, and Taylor Swift have all won two awards for Best Pop Vocal Album.
“Mayhem” is a record that deserves its flowers through and through. It is an album that is a hugely successful return to form for Gaga. While not being completely bogged down in nostalgia and used ideas, this album revitalizes her past sound while providing something unique for old and new fans alike. It will be exciting to see what happens next.
Best Dance Pop Recording
Best Dance Pop Recording was introduced as a Grammy category back in 2024, as the academy felt it was necessary to differentiate between the overlapping fields of pop and dance pop. This distinction has allowed for more diversity among Grammy-nominated tracks.
This year’s nominees for Best Dance Pop Recording include Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra,” PinkPantheress’s “Illegal,” Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco’s “Bluest Flame,” Tate McRae’s “Just Keep Watching,” and Zara Larsson’s “Midnight Sun.”
KLSU writers originally predicted that “Midnight Sun” by Zara Larsson would earn the Grammy, though some regarded it as the dark horse in the lineup. This prediction was truthfully based on personal taste and Zara Larsson’s vocal ability and strategic rebranding in recent months.
Ultimately, Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra” won the category, marking her 16th Grammy win. Despite any initial disappointment in Zara Larson’s loss, Lady Gaga’s win was earnestly awarded. “Abracadabra’s” win celebrates the track that many have admired since its surprise debut during Gaga’s Super Bowl performance last year.
Songwriter of the Year
Songwriter of the Year is a fairly new award. Introduced in 2023, this award recognizes “the written excellence, profession and art of songwriting honoring the most prolific non-performing and non-producing songwriters for their body of new work released during an eligibility year,” according to the Grammy website.
When creating this award, Grammy Chair of the Songwriters & Composers Wing Evan Bogart said, “I wanted to find a way for songwriters to have a seat at the table and be honored for their contributions to music — and not only their contributions to creating songs, but to the entire musical landscape.”
This year’s nominees included Amy Allen, Edgar Barrera, Jessie Jo Dillon, Tobias Jesso Jr., and Laura Veltz. This is each candidate’s 2nd or third time being nominated for the award.
Amy Allen received the award at this year’s 68th Grammys ceremony, marking her second win in this category. Last year, she was named the first woman to receive Songwriter of the Year, and this year she became the first person to win the award twice. She was nominated due to her work on Sabrina Carpenter’s album Short N Sweet, “APT” by ROSÉ and Bruno Mars, and for co-writing with Tate McRae on her album So Close to What.
“To the labels out there, all songwriters should be receiving points,” said Allen when giving her acceptance speech. “We will continue to fight the good fight.”
Allen now has three Grammys under her belt, the third coming from her work on Harry’s House, which won Album of the Year in 2023.
The 2026 Grammys showcased meaningful progress in global representation and songwriter recognition, but they also revealed familiar shortcomings—safe choices, legacy favoritism, and blurred eligibility lines. While the night celebrated excellence, it also reinforced the need for the Recording Academy to continue evolving if it hopes to accurately reflect the rapidly changing music landscape.
