Grammys 2026 predictions: Who will win, who should win and the Bad Bunny of it all

A twelvemonth aft Beyoncé yet took location a long-overdue grant for medium of the year, music’s royalty volition stitchery Sunday nighttime to find retired what caller justness oregon outrage mightiness beryllium served up during the 68th Grammy Awards.

Kendrick Lamar leads the tract with 9 nominations, followed by Lady Gaga and the producers Cirkut and Jack Antonoff, each of whom person seven, and Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter, Leon Thomas and the signaling technologist Serban Ghenea, each of whom has six. The telecast, acceptable to aerial unrecorded connected CBS from Crypto.com Arena successful downtown Los Angeles, volition beryllium hosted by Trevor Noah (for what helium says is the last time) and volition diagnostic performances by Carpenter, Thomas, Clipse, Pharrell Williams, Addison Rae, Alex Warren, Olivia Dean and others.

Here are my predictions for however the nighttime volition spell down crossed 13 categories — on with the winners I’d prime if I were handing retired the awards.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Bad Bunny, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos”
Justin Bieber, “Swag”
Sabrina Carpenter, “Man’s Best Friend”
Clipse, “Let God Sort Em Out”
Lady Gaga, “Mayhem”
Kendrick Lamar, “GNX”
Leon Thomas, “Mutt”
Tyler, the Creator, “Chromakopia”

Most insiders hold that the Grammys’ apical class amounts to a three-way contention betwixt Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga and Bad Bunny, nary of whom has ever won medium of the year. Lamar and Gaga some person been nominated 4 erstwhile times, which means either could payment from the benignant of “It’s their turn” vigor that helped propulsion Beyoncé to triumph with “Cowboy Carter” aft 4 earlier losses; a triumph for Bad Bunny would people the archetypal clip a Spanish-language LP took medium of the twelvemonth — an charismatic prospect, perhaps, to voters longing to nonstop a connection to President Trump amid his assertive actions with ICE. That said, the Recording Academy ne'er goes excessively agelong without making a prime that baffles everybody, arsenic erstwhile Jon Batiste bushed Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift successful 2022.

Will win: Kendrick Lamar, “GNX”
Should win: Bad Bunny, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos”

RECORD OF THE YEAR

Bad Bunny, “DTMF”
Sabrina Carpenter, “Manchild”
Doechii, “Anxiety”
Billie Eilish, “Wildflower”
Lady Gaga, “Abracadabra”
Kendrick Lamar with SZA, “Luther”
Chappell Roan, “The Subway”
Rosé and Bruno Mars, “Apt.”

Among the nominees, Bruno Mars owns this category: If helium and Rosé triumph with “Apt.” — the archetypal opus by a K-pop enactment to beryllium nominated for grounds of the twelvemonth — he’ll go the lone creator with 4 grounds trophies to his name. (Right present helium and Paul Simon each person three.) Yet with “Luther,” which prominently samples Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn’s rendition of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “If This World Were Mine,” Lamar and SZA person precisely the benignant of intergenerational deed that Grammy voters love. Lamar besides has immoderate momentum aft taking location grounds and opus past twelvemonth with “Not Like Us.” Only 3 different acts person gone backmost to backmost successful grounds of the year: Billie Eilish, U2 and the precocious Roberta Flack.

Will win: Kendrick Lamar with SZA, “Luther”
Should win: Kendrick Lamar with SZA, “Luther”

SONG OF THE YEAR

“Abracadabra,” written by Cirkut, Lady Gaga and Andrew Watt (performed by Lady Gaga)
“Anxiety,” written by Doechii (performed by Doechii)
“Apt.,” written by Amy Allen, Brody Brown, Rogét Chayahed, Cirkut, Omer Fedi, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Rosé and Theron Thomas (performed by Rosé and Bruno Mars)
“DTMF,” written by Bad Bunny, Marco Daniel Borrero, Scott Dittrich, Benjamin Falik, Hugo René Sención Sanabria, Tyler Spry and Roberto José Rosado Torres (performed by Bad Bunny)
“Golden,” written by Ejae and Mark Sonnenblick (performed by Huntr/x)
“Luther,” written by Jack Antonoff, Roshwita Larisha Bacha, Matthew Bernard, Ink, Scott Bridgeway, Sam Dew, Kendrick Lamar, Sounwave, SZA and Kamasi Washington (performed by Kendrick Lamar with SZA)
“Manchild,” written by Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff and Sabrina Carpenter (performed by Sabrina Carpenter)
“Wildflower,” written by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell (performed by Billie Eilish)

As accustomed astatine the Grammys, the nominees for opus of the twelvemonth overlap heavy with those for grounds of the year. (The grounds prize goes to performers and producers, portion the opus prize goes to songwriters). Here, successful spot of Chappell Roan’s “The Subway” is “Golden,” the chart-topping K-pop banger from Netflix’s animated “KPop Demon Hunters.” That summation would look to bode good for “Golden,” which conscionable won a Golden Globe and is nominated for archetypal opus astatine March’s Academy Awards. Don’t number retired Eilish oregon Mars, though — some are two-time victors successful a class nobody’s ever won 3 times.

Will win: “Golden”
Should win: “Golden”

BEST NEW ARTIST

Olivia Dean
Katseye
The Marías
Addison Rae
Sombr
Leon Thomas
Alex Warren
Lola Young

Only Leon Thomas has a 2nd motion successful 1 of the 4 large categories, which tells you thing astir the spot of his enactment among voters compared to that of his chap nominees. Yet Thomas faces stiff contention from Olivia Dean, a young English psyche vocalist successful the mold of erstwhile Grammy faves similar Adele and Amy Winehouse; what’s more, she seemed to highest arsenic a pop-cultural beingness successful December, close arsenic academy members were filling retired their ballots. Also worthy considering: Nine of the past 10 winners successful champion caller creator person been women.

Will win: Olivia Dean
Should win: Addison Rae

BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM

Justin Bieber, “Swag”
Sabrina Carpenter, “Man’s Best Friend”
Miley Cyrus, “Something Beautiful”
Lady Gaga, “Mayhem”
Teddy Swims, “I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2)”

In the past decade, lone 2 LPs — Ed Sheeran’s “÷” and Ariana Grande’s “Sweetener” — person won this grant without besides being nominated for medium of the year. So fig that Miley Cyrus and Teddy Swims are some agelong shots. Among the remaining nominees, “Mayhem” feels likeliest to win, though it’s worthy pointing retired that aft Carpenter’s triumph past twelvemonth with “Short n’ Sweet,” she could go the archetypal creator to transportation popular vocal medium doubly successful a row.

Will win: Lady Gaga, “Mayhem”
Should win: Lady Gaga, “Mayhem”

BEST RAP ALBUM

Clipse, “Let God Sort Em Out”
GloRilla, “Glorious”
JID, “God Does Like Ugly”
Kendrick Lamar, “GNX”
Tyler, the Creator, “Chromakopia”

Lamar has mislaid this grant precisely 1 clip — to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (as though immoderate superior Grammy watcher could forget). The information that 2 of the different nominated LPs — Clipse’s “Let God Sort Em Out” and Tyler, the Creator’s “Chromakopia” — made it into medium of the twelvemonth suggests the contention is astir apt arsenic choky arsenic it’s ever been. I inactive expect Kendrick to prevail.

Will win: Kendrick Lamar, “GNX”
Should win: Kendrick Lamar, “GNX”

BEST CONTEMPORARY COUNTRY ALBUM

Kelsea Ballerini, “Patterns”
Tyler Childers, “Snipe Hunter”
Eric Church, “Evangeline vs. the Machine”
Jelly Roll, “Beautifully Broken”
Miranda Lambert, “Postcards from Texas”

After Beyoncé won the state medium prize past year, the academy divided that grant into two: 1 Grammy for modern state album, different for accepted state album. (The academy insists its determination had thing to bash with complaints from Nashville types astir Beyoncé’s win.) This is the 11th information for Eric Church, who’s ne'er won a Grammy; his “Evangeline” medium is the benignant of ambitious conception portion that voters often admire.

Will win: Eric Church, “Evangeline vs. the Machine”
Should win: Eric Church, “Evangeline vs. the Machine”

BEST TRADITIONAL COUNTRY ALBUM

Charley Crockett, “Dollar a Day”
Lukas Nelson, “American Romance”
Willie Nelson, “Oh What a Beautiful World”
Margo Price, “Hard Headed Woman”
Zach Top, “Ain’t successful It for My Health”

As Lukas Nelson pointed retired to maine a fewer weeks back, nods for him and his dad, Willie, mean the Nelson household has a 40% accidental of winning this category. So excessively does shaper Shooter Jennings, who oversaw the signaling of some Lukas’ “American Romance” and Charley Crockett’s “Dollar a Day” astatine the historical Sunset Sound workplace successful Hollywood.

Will win: Willie Nelson, “Oh What a Beautiful World”
Should win: Zach Top, “Ain’t successful It for My Health”

BEST ROCK ALBUM

Deftones, “Private Music”
Haim, “I Quit”
Linkin Park, “From Zero”
Turnstile, “Never Enough”
Yungblud, “Idols”

Only 1 pistillate oregon female-fronted enactment (in this lawsuit Paramore) has won stone medium successful the past quarter-century — not a large motion for Haim and its underappreciated “I Quit.” To my mind, this class comes down to the reunited Linkin Park versus Yungblud, who apt caught galore an older voter’s oculus with a show-stopping show of Black Sabbath’s “Changes” astatine Ozzy Osbourne’s 2025 farewell concert.

Will win: Yungblud, “Idols”
Should win: Haim, “I Quit”

BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM

Bon Iver, “Sable, Fable”
The Cure, “Songs of a Lost World”
Tyler, the Creator, “Don’t Tap the Glass”
Wet Leg, “Moisturizer”
Hayley Williams, “Ego Death astatine a Bachelorette Party”

The Cure has ne'er won a Grammy, which is evidently dumb (and which astir apt means the set won’t now). Previous wins by Wet Leg and Bon Iver enactment the likelihood successful their favor; Bon Iver’s speech of retiring aft this medium mightiness springiness him a flimsy borderline among voters anxious to observe his full career.

Will win: Bon Iver, “Sable, Fable”
Should win: Bon Iver, “Sable, Fable”

BEST TRADITIONAL POP VOCAL ALBUM

Laila Biali, “Wintersongs”
Jennifer Hudson, “The Gift of Love”
Elton John & Brandi Carlile, “Who Believes successful Angels?”
Lady Gaga, “Harlequin”
Laufey, “A Matter of Time”
Barbra Streisand, “The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume 2”

Would you judge Barbra Streisand has someway mislaid this grant 13 times? Standing successful her mode this twelvemonth are Lady Gaga, who’s antecedently won it doubly for some of her duet albums with the precocious Tony Bennett, and Laufey, who’s built a precise devoted pursuing arsenic a benignant of jazz-adjacent Taylor Swift.

Will win: Lady Gaga, “Harlequin”
Should win: Laufey, “A Matter of Time”

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR

Amy Allen
Edgar Barrera
Jessie Jo Dillon
Tobias Jesso Jr.
Laura Veltz

Amy Allen and Tobias Jesso Jr. some person antecedently won this award, which was handed retired for the archetypal clip successful 2023. Each had capable occurrence past twelvemonth to warrant different win, though Barrera’s enactment with Karol G, Shakira and Juanes mightiness animate voters to admit different worthy talent.

Will win: Amy Allen
Should win: Edgar Barrera

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

Dan Auerbach
Cirkut
Dijon
Blake Mills
Sounwave

Despite his enactment connected 2 medium of the twelvemonth nominees successful “GNX” and “Man’s Best Friend,” Jack Antonoff was weirdly passed implicit for a motion successful this class for the 2nd twelvemonth successful a row. (Perhaps members of the committee that selects nominees for shaper of the twelvemonth are simply trying to dispersed the emotion aft Antonoff’s 3 earlier wins.) Cirkut’s 7 full nominations — for his enactment connected “Mayhem” and “Apt.” — marque him the favorite. But Dijon’s creativity was the astir breathtaking to behold arsenic heard connected Bieber’s “Swag” and his ain medium “Baby.”

Will win: Cirkut
Should win: Dijon