In brief
The 2026 Grammy Awards promise to be a spectacular night in Los Angeles, featuring stars like Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, and Bad Bunny competing for top honors. With 95 awards to be presented, all eyes are on the album of the year category, where groundbreaking artists vie for recognition. Political expressions through music are also anticipated. Viewers can catch the action live, starting with the premiere ceremony followed by the main event.
At the ripe old age of 67, the Grammy Awards are still considered music's biggest night.
This year's ceremony takes place in LA on Sunday, with everyone from Harry Styles to Chaka Khan due to attend.
Kendrick Lamar tops the nominations with nine nods, most of them for his sixth album, GNX. He was the main winner at last year's ceremony, too, winning both record and song of the year for his scorching diss track, Not Like Us.
Other contenders include Lady Gaga, with seven nominations, along with Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter and Leon Thomas, who have six each.
In total, there are 95 awards, distributed over a mind-boggling eight hours. Alongside banner categories like album of the year, we'll find out who had the best album artwork, and who's made the best ambient, new age or chant album.
1) Who's going to win album of the year?
Most insiders agree that there's a three-way race for the night's biggest prize - with Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar and Lady Gaga the presumed favorites.
None of them have ever won before, despite multiple nominations, and there are good reasons to think they're the front-runners. Gaga is a Grammy darling, with 14 wins from 45 nominations. Her seventh album, Mayhem, is a triumphant return to the maximalist pop that made her famous.
Like Beyoncé last year, voters might feel she's put in the work to earn the top title. Lamar is in a similar position. He’s the only artist with album of the year nominations for five consecutive releases, and his album GNX is a tour de force. Giving him the prize would also go some way to correcting the Grammys' rap problem.
But Bad Bunny is the presumptive front-runner; a win for him would mark the first win for a Spanish language album.
2) Milli Vanilli Redemption?
Pop duo Milli Vanilli were stripped of their Grammy Award for best new artist in 1990. Thirty-six years later, Morvan is nominated for best audiobook for his memoir.
3) Can Olivia Dean win best new artist?
Olivia Dean is considered a front-runner, having enjoyed a successful year with her album, The Art Of Loving.
4) Other Big Prizes
Record of the year is fiercely contested with Sabrina Carpenter and Lady Gaga among the standout contenders.
5) Notable Nominees
Barbra Streisand could correct a historic wrong while Haim aims to become the first all-female band to win best rock album.
6) Political Expressions?
With significant political events surrounding the music scene, artists are expected to make bold statements during performance.
7) How to Watch
The Grammy Awards are set to commence with the premiere ceremony at 12:30 in Los Angeles / 20:30 London on Sunday.
