The beginning of the new year is all about honoring great artists and stars. Both in Berlin, with the upcoming Fashion Week and the Berlinale, and internationally, with the recently concluded Golden Globe Awards and the legendary upcoming Grammys. The 68th edition of the world’s most important music awards will take place as usual on February 1, 2026 in Los Angeles, at the Crypto.com Arena. The best artists, albums, songs, producers, sound engineers and creative music makers of the year will be honored here.
Year after year, it’s a nerve-wracking wait to see who secures the big Grammys. Comedian Trevor Noah will host the Grammy Awards for the sixth time. The nominations were announced on November 7, 2025 and cover 95 categories. Leading the list of Grammy contenders for the second year in a row with a whopping nine nominations is none other than Kendrick Lamar.
Kendrick Lamar surpasses Lady Gaga’s seven nominations and is represented in all the major categories, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. The rapper is competing with “GNX”, while Lady Gaga is up for the Album of the Year trophy with “Mayhem”. Other nominees in this category are Bad Bunny with the Spanish-language EP “Debí Tirar Más Fotos”, Justin Bieber with “Swag” and Sabrina Carpenter with “Man’s Best Friend”. Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny has a total of six nominations. K-Pop is also prominently represented this year: Two songs make it into the “Song of the Year” category – “Golden” from the soundtrack of the Netflix hit film “KPop Demon Hunters” and “APT.” by Rosé and Bruno Mars.
However, it’s not just the multiple nominees that are causing a stir, but also those who are going away empty-handed this year. Lorde, for example, was completely overlooked with her album “Virgin”, despite critics calling it the bravest work of her career. Fans on social media reacted with great incomprehension. The Weeknd fared similarly: his album “Hurry Up Tomorrow” was also left out despite chart success and record sales.