The Biggest Snubs and Surprises of the 2026 Grammy Nominations

The nominations for the 2026 Grammy Awards were announced this morning, amping up our excitement for the upcoming ceremony in February. With nine nods, Kendrick Lamar was the most nominated artist this year, followed by Lady Gaga, who earned seven, and then Bad Bunny, who got six. As for our Best New Artist contenders, who’ll compete to follow in Chappell Roan’s footsteps, rising stars like Olivia Dean, Addison Rae, Katseye, and Lola Young are in the running.

But who didn’t show up in the list this year? And who unexpectedly squeezed their way in? We round up the biggest snubs and surprises of the Grammy nominations below.

---

Surprise: Timothée Chalamet is now a Grammy nominee.

“Timothée Chalamet has clearly come a long way since his early days performing as Timmy Tim. The Oscar-nominated actor and proud Barb has earned his first-ever Grammy nomination for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media for the A Complete Unknown soundtrack, in which he portrays Bob Dylan. The category is stacked—he’s up against the soundtracks for F1 The Album, Kpop Demon Hunters, Sinners, and Wicked.”—Juliana Ukiomogbe, contributor

Snub: Lorde didn’t get a single nomination.

“Despite coming back with Virgin, an album of bangers and introspective tracks this summer, Lorde was shut out of the major Grammy categories this year. Even as a Lorde fan, I’ll admit the project didn’t break into the mainstream conversation for long, and that its tracks might’ve been overshadowed by more viral singles from other artists, but is that enough reason to write off the air-tight songwriting and production on this project? Didn’t the ethereal closing track ‘David,’ which had TikTokkers filming videos in dramatic strobe lights, get enough attention? When it comes to Lorde’s snubs, I’ll quote the singer herself: ‘What was that?’”—Erica Gonzales, deputy editor, culture

Snub: Ravyn Lenae is missing from the Best New Artist—and all categories.

“After Ravyn Lenae earned her first-ever entry on the Billboard Hot 100 with her song ‘Love Me Not’ in April, fans thought she’d be a shoo-in for Best New Artist. But alas, she didn’t earn a single nomination. Had she received a nod this morning, it would—rather surprisingly—have been Lenae’s first time competing at the Grammys after years of delivering critically-acclaimed projects like Bird’s Eye, HYPNOS, and Crush.”—JU

Snub: Role Model isn’t up for Best New Artist.

“Tucker Pillsbury, the singer-songwriter known as Role Model, exploded this year. He’s been all over TikTok, going viral every time he invites a famous friend onstage while he performs ‘Sally, When the Wine Runs Out.’ Plus, his folk-tinged pop music has seemed to reach every corner of the country. He also has an army of prominent supporters, from Charli XCX to Reneé Rapp, but that does not always equal a Grammy nomination.”—Samuel Maude, content strategy manager

Surprise: The nominations look similar to last year’s.

“Many of the major musical players from the 2025 Grammy Awards are having another go at the 2026 ceremony. Lady Gaga, who won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance with Bruno Mars last year for ‘Die With a Smile,’ is now nominated for Mayhem, ‘Abracadabra,’ and more. Doechii, who had a triumphant Grammys in February, is back in the race for ‘Anxiety,’ and Sabrina Carpenter returns with Man’s Best Friend, the fast follow-up to her Grammy-winning Short n’ Sweet. Even Chappell Roan and Billie Eilish snuck in nominations, despite having no album releases in 2025.”—SM

Snub: Miley Cyrus’s Something Beautiful is left out of the major categories.

“Even though Miley Cyrus got some love in the Best Pop Vocal Album category for Something Beautiful, the project received no nominations for Album, Record, or Song of the Year. This comes after Cyrus achieved wild acclaim for her last project, Endless Summer Vacation and its massive single, ‘Flowers.’ Cyrus also did not receive a nomination for the accompanying Something Beautiful short film, which was 55 minutes of high fashion.”—SM

Snub: Voters left Ariana Grande’s Brighter Days Ahead in the dark.

“After Eternal Sunshine walked away with zero awards at last year’s Grammys, Ariana Grande gave it another go with a deluxe version, Eternal Sunshine: Brighter Days Ahead. While a nod in any of the major categories was a long shot, it’s a shock Grande was left off the list for Best Music Film after she created a short film based on the new tracks. She even nabbed the MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year for the project, making it seem as if Grammy voters were left in the ‘Twilight Zone.’”—SM

Surprise: “Defying Gravity” is competing in a pop category.

“Although Brighter Days Ahead was snubbed, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are unlimited as a pair. After the first Wicked film got some Oscar nods last year, it has entered the 2026 Grammys race too. And not in predictable categories for visual media or musical theater; ‘Defying Gravity’ is up for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. It’ll compete against other traditional pop hits like ‘Gabriela’ by KATSEYE, ‘APT.’ by ROSÉ and Bruno Mars, ‘30 For 30’ by SZA and Kendrick Lamar, and, of course, ‘Golden’ from KPop Demon Hunters, performed by HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI.”—EG

Surprise: Swag is up for Album of the Year.

“In case it wasn’t clocking to you, Justin Bieber stood on business this year. After making a long-awaited return to music with his surprise album Swag (and its follow-up Swag II), Bieber snagged two album nominations, Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album, and nods for Best R&B Performance for ‘Yukon’ and Best Pop Solo Performance for ‘Daisies.’ Even though Bieber minimally promoted the albums and announced them by surprise, that was still enough to make an impression on voters.”—JU

Snub: The Weeknd’s Recent Grammys love wasn’t reciprocated.

“The Weeknd and the Grammy Awards have a textbook definition of a love-hate relationship. After his hit album After Hours received no nominations, the Weeknd spoke out against the process, boycotting future ceremonies and swearing off music’s biggest night. Then, last year, he shocked the world when he performed two tracks from his album Hurry Up Tomorrow on the broadcast. It seemed like the beef had been squashed, and nominations for the project were inevitable. That wasn’t the case, as The Weeknd has no nominations to brag about this year. Perhaps these two lovers just weren’t meant to be.”—SM

Snub: Tate McRae was so close to getting more nods.

“After a showstopping performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, a career-defining world tour, and mainstream commercial success, pop’s newest princess seemed to become a Grammy contender for her project, So Close to What. However, the album was completely left off the list, receiving no nominations in the major or pop categories. She did receive a single nod in Best Dance Pop Recording for ‘Just Keep Watching,’ her electric track from F1: The Movie.”—SM

Snub: Gracie Abrams’s “That’s So True” was so overlooked.

“This past year, Abrams had her biggest song yet with ‘That’s So True’ from The Secret of Us (Deluxe). The track has a bridge that makes you want to scream, and while many did, the sound apparently did not reach Grammy voters’ ears. ‘That’s So True’ received no nominations despite its notable success.”—SM

The 68th Grammy Awards will take place on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026.