Another year rolls around, which means another year of musical talent is recognised by the Recording Academy. With 88 categories, there is seemingly an award for everyone. Below is a breakdown of the most prestigious music awards.
The nominations in each category were cut from ten to eight, making it harder for artists to get nominated. Next year’s awards will also see the introduction of three new categories; Best African Music Performance, Best Alternative Jazz Album and Best Pop Dance Recording.
The categories of Producer of the Year, Non-Classical and Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical were moved into the General Field, having previously been under the Production heading.
Leading the nominees with nine nominations is SZA, whose second album SOS released last year. She has been nominated for the Big Three (Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year). Following SZA in second place with seven nominations was Phoebe Bridgers, Serban Ghenea and Victoria Monét.
Third place saw eight artists with six nominations each. These were Jack Antonoff, Jon Batiste, Brandy Clark, Boygenius, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, and Taylor Swift.
Only four other artists received all Big Three nominations: Jon Batiste, Miley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift.
The Best New Artist category honours newcomers to the industry and saw Gracie Abrams, Fred Again, Ice Spice, Jelly Roll, Coco Jones, Noah Kahan, Victoria Monét, and The War and Treaty get nominations.
Morgan Wallen, who rose to international prominence with his song Last Night, was notably absent from the major categories, only receiving one nomination for Best Country Song.
Doja Cat was also somewhat snubbed in the major categories, receiving only three nominations.
The Grammy Awards ceremony is due to take place on 4 February, and promises to be an interesting night, given the variation of nominations.
Emma van Oosterhout is the Editor-in-Chief of Student Independent News for 2025/26. She is studying MA Journalism at University of Galway, and graduated in 2025 with a BA in Global Media and History. She is from Corofin, Co. Galway. Emma was previously a News Editor for the year 2023/24. She has written for SIN since 2023.