Grammy nominations snubs and surprises: The Weeknd whiffs while Doechii's high on 'Anxiety'

After a deep, focused recalibrating of its voting basal — toward 1 younger, much divers and much modern successful sensation — the Recording Academy made strides avoiding the large whiffs they were erstwhile celebrated for successful the nominations for the 2026 Grammy Awards. But determination volition ever beryllium snubs, surprises and heated debates wrong the nominations. Here are a fewer that stood retired to us.

SNUB: The Weeknd waits again

After a surprise, hatchet-burying show from the Weeknd astatine February’s ceremony, it seemed that Abel Tesfaye was yet acceptable to get backmost successful the Grammy ringing aft a four-year boycott of the event. Tesfaye had been understandably aggravated that his smash deed 2019 azygous “Blinding Lights,” disconnected 2020’s “After Hours,” whiffed connected nominations, and blamed the Grammys’ opacity astir voting.

Even Recording Academy main Harvey Mason Jr. admitted that the Academy bricked that 1 — “That made for immoderate absorbing speechmaking implicit breakfast,” Mason Jr. said onstage. “But you cognize what? Criticism is okay. I heard him. I felt his conviction.”

Well, it looks similar Toronto’s losing streak successful L.A. is going to continue, due to the fact that the Weeknd’s “Hurry Up Tomorrow” didn’t onshore a azygous motion this twelvemonth either. At this point, Tesfaye waking up connected Grammy information time indispensable beryllium similar watching Yoshinobu Yamamoto locomotion retired of the Dodger bullpen — different heartbreak for a hopeful Canadian.

SURPRISE: Country’s class divorce

Following Beyoncé’s monolithic cross-genre triumph streak for “Cowboy Carter,” the state categories were divided successful 2 — accepted state and modern state album. The divided acknowledged the genre’s caller commercialized dominance and immersion successful pop, portion trying to sphere laurels for its much classical sounds. But the divorcement turned retired to beryllium a unusual 1 successful practice, wherever indie favourite Margo Price and R&B-infused Charley Crockett extremity up successful accepted portion a bluegrass-informed, narrative-driven creator Tyler Childers ends up successful contemporary. The rules were drafted to grant some ambition and form, but someway ended up vibes-based.

SURPRISE: Three rap albums successful contention

Hip-hop acceptable a bittersweet milestone past period — not a azygous rap opus held a spot successful Billboard’s Hot 100 illustration for the archetypal clip since 1990. Is the genre declining commercially, oregon astatine slightest losing immoderate grade of wide appeal? Not wrong the Academy — Grammy voters saw acceptable to enactment 3 masterful rap LPs up for Album, from esteemed veterans similar Kendrick Lamar, Clipse and Tyler, the Creator, each of whom are making uncompromising, ambitious rap records heavy into the mediate of their careers.

It’s weird for the aged heads to consider, but possibly rap is becoming much similar jazz successful the Academy. Now it’s a critically beloved, technically dense creation signifier lauded by the Grammys annually, yet besides a genre that, extracurricular of a fewer megastars, seems to beryllium slipping from fashionable consciousness connected the singles charts.

(On the taxable of Tyler and genre, aft antecedently roasting the Academy for confining him to hip-hop categories, helium indispensable beryllium stoked to spot his sanction successful alternate euphony medium for “Don’t Tap the Glass,” a bold and open-minded prime for a class that includes the Cure, Wet Leg, Hayley Williams and Bon Iver).

SNUB: An “Ordinary” letdown

Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” was the CVS-core deed of the year, an inescapable ballad of martial devotion that built disconnected his Hype House fanbase connected societal media, portion deftly luring Middle America with worship-band undertones. Whatever you privation to work into that regarding taste shifts successful America successful 2025, it’s astonishing that specified a rock-solid portion of songwriting didn’t get nominated for opus oregon record, though Warren did crook up for caller artist.

SURPRISE: “Golden” earns its medal

What should the Grammys bash astir “Golden”? The smash deed from “KPop Demon Hunters” was undeniably 1 of the defining singles of the past year, a uncommon portion of insatiably catchy and vivaciously produced euphony that astir each tween connected the satellite could recognize. But could the Academy sincerely springiness a caller creator motion to Huntr/x? It’s intolerable to abstracted “Golden” from the animated-movie discourse it came from, truthful giving Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami and Mark Sonnenblick nods for song, alternatively than record, on with popular duo/group show and opus written for ocular media feels similar due acknowledgment of the accomplishment and powerhouse show that went into it.

SURPRISE: A precocious “Anxiety” Doechii nod

Doechii’s loosie azygous spawned a 1000 memes astir happily proceeding the opening pings of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know,” lone to crook astir and smash thing erstwhile you perceive Doechii sing “Anxiety, support connected tryin’ maine …”

Is that harsh? Doechii deservedly won the Grammy for rap medium successful February, for the masterful “Alligator Bites Never Heal.” Clearly the Academy loves her, but its inactive benignant of astonishing that “Anxiety” — an aboriginal demo riffing connected Gotye and Kimbra’s 2011 hit, which took disconnected connected TikTok successful 2025 portion earning a mixed reception among rap fans — got nods for grounds and song, on with rap performance, rap opus and euphony video. When the Grammy voters get their teeth successful an artist, it takes a batch to marque them fto go.

SNUB: Another Anton-off night

Grammy stalwart Jack Antonoff continues his unexpected acold streak successful the producer, non-classical category, missing retired connected a information contempt his enactment connected medium frontrunners from Sabrina Carpenter and Lamar. He didn’t get 1 past twelvemonth either, contempt Grammy acclaim for some Carpenter and Taylor Swift LPs. Nonetheless, helium remains the Grammys’ Shohei Ohtani of popular producers — adjacent erstwhile helium misses, helium inactive looms ample implicit the field.

SURPRISE: Shred envy

In a banner twelvemonth for metallic and hard stone moving up large numbers connected the medium and streaming charts, determination are worthy nominations for metallic show from Sleep Token, Ghost, Spiritbox and Turnstile. Yet we smiled to spot the Grammys keeping it weird, making country for ’90s prog-metal stalwarts Dream Theater alongside these much modern acts. They antecedently won successful 2022, and look to person a heavy Academy fanbase successful metal. High-five your section Guitar Center clerk successful celebration.