The Weeknd made a triumphant return to the Grammys stage earlier this year after a public feud with the Recording Academy, in which he boycotted the awards organization after a 2021 snub that led to him calling the Grammys “corrupt” and urging “transparency.” Introducing The Weeknd’s performance, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. addressed his “vocal criticism.”
“Over the past few years, we’ve listened, we’ve acted, and we’ve changed,” he said, pointing to Recording Academy membership changes, saying the group now “reflects the entire music community for now and for future generations.”
“There’s still work to be done, but I firmly believe we’re on the right path,” he said, adding that The Weeknd has “seen the work that the Academy has put in.”
For all the drama, this resolution was rewarded Friday with no nominations for the 2026 Grammys for The Weeknd’s latest release Hurry Up Tomorrow, which was competing for an album of the year nod while his Playboi Carti collab “Timeless” was up for record of the year.
Also high on the snub list this year is Alex Warren. The Atlantic-signed act did receive a nomination in the best new artist category, though his massive hit “Ordinary,” which spent 10 weeks atop the Hot 100 this year, failed to score a single nomination both in the general field and in the genre categories.
Speaking of best new artist, there was a notable lack of country artists this year despite strong contenders from the likes of Ella Langley, Zach Top and Megan Moroney. Both Langley and Moroney’s albums Still Hungover and Am I Okay? garnered radio success. This year, Langley was the biggest winner at the Academy of Country Music Awards while Moroney made history at the MTV Video Music Awards by winning the first-ever best country award for her song “Am I Okay?” Top is nominated for three Grammys – best traditional country album for Ain’t in It for My Health, best country solo performance and best country song for “I Never Lie” — but not for best new artist.
Lorde made a high-profile return to music with her latest album, Virgin, released over the summer. But, despite a fervent fanbase and a major concert tour, she failed to receive any nominations for her most recent work.
Other artists who were surprisingly shut out include Reneé Rapp and Benson Boone. Tate McRae, despite her intense promotion of her 2025 album So Close to What and expert predictions that she might snag a record of the year spot for “Sports Car,” only scored one nod, in best dance pop recording for “Just Keep Watching” from the movie F1. That same category also features a surprise solo nominee: newly married couple Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco, who are nominated for “Bluest Flame” from their joint album. And after winning her first Grammys, including for record of the year, with her last album, Miley Cyrus’ Something Beautiful only landed one nod, for best pop vocal album. Even the Something Beautiful visual companion wasn’t recognized.
Gracie Abrams landed two Grammy nominations in the past, including one for best new artist, but she surprisingly missed out on song and record of the year nods for “That’s So True.”
Another Grammy favorite, Ariana Grande, didn’t have an entirely new album eligible this year, but she was eligible for the new songs off of the deluxe versions of her early 2024 release Eternal Sunshine, but none of these additional tracks scored nods. Grande, however, was nominated in the best pop duo/group performance with her Wicked costar Cynthia Erivo for “Defying Gravity” from the movie version of the Broadway musical.
Wicked, the second part of which titled Wicked: For Good comes out later this month, wasn’t the only movie to see one of its songs land nominations outside of the visual media categories where film and TV songs and soundtracks are usually confined. KPop Demon Hunters had a strong showing with this year’s Grammy nominations, with its “Golden” landing a big four nod for song of the year and a spot alongside “Defying Gravity” in the pop duo/group performance category.
Another Hollywood surprise among this year’s nods was Timothée Chalamet scoring a nomination for best compilation soundtrack for visual media for his performance in A Complete Unknown. He’s got stiff competition with KPop Demon Hunters, Sinners, Wicked and F1, but the nomination still gives him a shot at a Grammy before an Oscar.
Tyler, The Creator’s Don’t Tap the Glass scored a surprise nod in the alternative category alongside more rock-leaning acts like Wet Leg and The Cure. Nearly six years ago, after Tyler won his first-ever Grammy with Igor for best rap album, the artist had called winning in the rap category a “backhanded compliment” as he felt the album was more akin to pop. Years later, Tyler’s now getting his flowers in other genres, too.
Another Grammys surprise included the strong performance for hardcore band Turnstile, who have been building momentum recently with their acclaimed latest album Never Enough and propulsive live shows. The group earned four Grammy nominations in the past but never as many for one album, and the five nods they received this year makes them among this year’s most nominated acts.
Ethan Millman and Lexy Perez contributed to this story.
