Kendrick Lamar leads 2026 Grammy nominations, followed by Lady Gaga, Jack Antonoff and Cirkut

Kendrick Lamar already has 22 Grammys and more could be coming his way as the rapper leads the 2026 Grammy Award nominations, which were announced Friday.

Lamar is up for nine trophies at February’s ceremony: record, song and album of the year — marking the third time he has had simultaneous nominations in those big categories — as well as pop duo/group performance, melodic rap performance, rap song and rap album. He is also nominated twice in the rap performance category.

Last year’s blockbuster "GNX" is his fifth consecutive studio album to be nominated for album of the year, something no other artist has ever done. If it wins, it will be his first win in the category. And it will be only the third rap album to win the top prize, following Outkast in 2004 for "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" and Lauryn Hill in 1999 for "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill."

Lady Gaga, Jack Antonoff and Canadian record producer/songwriter Cirkut follow Lamar with seven nominations each.

Lady Gaga is up for song, record and album of the year — her first time receiving nominations in all three categories simultaneously. She could also score potential wins in the pop solo performance, pop vocal album, dance pop recording and traditional pop vocal album categories.

Antonoff is nominated in the record, album and song of the year categories twice, for his work with Lamar and Sabrina Carpenter. He is also nominated for rap song for the first time. That’s for "tv off" with Lamar, featuring Lefty Gunplay.

Antonoff and Cirkut are this year’s leading producers. However, Antonoff will not face off with Cirkut in the producer of the year, non-Classical category — though he has won it three times before.

Cirkut is also up for both record and song of the year, twice — for Lady Gaga’s "Abracadabra" and Rosé and Bruno Mars’ "APT." — as well as album of the year and best dance pop recording.

In addition to Lady 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," Justin Bieber’s "Swag," Clipse, Pusha T & Malice’s "Let God Sort Em Out," Leon Thomas’ "Mutt" and Tyler, the Creator’s "Chromakopia."

This is the first time three albums have been up for both rap album and album of the year: "GNX," "Let God Sort Em Out" and "Chromakopia."

Carpenter, Bad Bunny, Leon Thomas and Serban Ghenea all boast six nominations. Andrew Watt, Clipse, Doechii, Sounwave, SZA, Turnstile and Tyler, the Creator have five each.

Only recordings commercially released in the United States from Aug. 31, 2024, through Aug. 30, 2025, were eligible for nominations. The final round of Grammy voting, which determines its winners, will take place Dec. 12 through Jan. 5.

In the best new artist category, global girl group Katseye, Olivia Dean, The Marias, Addison Rae, sombr, Leon Thomas, Alex Warren and Lola Young will all go head-to-head.

The record of the year category is made up of Bad Bunny’s "DtMF," Carpenter’s "Manchild," Doechii’s "Anxiety," Billie Eilish’s "Wildflower," Lady Gaga’s "Abracadabra," Lamar and SZA’s "luther," Chappell Roan’s "The Subway" and Rosé and Bruno Mars’ "APT."

Rosé, perhaps best known as one-fourth of the juggernaut girl group BLACKPINK, is the first K-pop artist to receive a nomination in the record of the year field.

Song of the year — an award for a track’s songwriters, which sometimes include the performer but not always — is made up of an almost identical list to record of the year, except Roan is replaced by "Golden" from the "KPop Demon Hunters" soundtrack.

The 2026 Grammy Awards will air Feb. 1 live on CBS and Paramount+ from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.