African artists earn spotlight in 2026 Grammy nominations

In the Best African Music Performance category, Nigerian artists lead the field with Burna Boy’s ‘Love’ joined by Davido and Omah Lay’s ‘With You’, and Ayra Starr and Wizkid’s ‘Gimme Dat’. Uganda’s Eddy Kenzo and Mehran Matin earn recognition for ‘Hope & Love’, while South Africa’s Tyla completes the line-up with ‘Push 2 Start’.

Beninese legend Angélique Kidjo earns a nomination for Best Global Music Performance with ‘Jerusalema’, continuing her long-standing presence at the GRAMMYs. Burna Boy, who has been a consistent contender in recent years, receives another nod in the Best Global Music Album category for No Sign of Weakness, marking his 11th career nomination. He is joined by Senegalese icon Youssou N’Dour, whose album Éclairer le monde (Light the World) has also been recognised for its global impact.

Nigerian-American artist Shaboozey bridges genres with two nominations in the country categories. His song ‘Good News’ is up for Best Country Solo Performance, while ‘Amen’, featuring Jelly Roll, is nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.

This year’s nominations underscore the expanding influence of African and African-rooted sounds on the global stage, as artists from the continent and its diaspora continue to shape the direction of contemporary popular music.

Best African Music Performance

• ‘Love’ — Burna Boy
• ‘With You’ — Davido Featuring Omah Lay
• ‘Hope & Love’ — Eddy Kenzo & Mehran Matin
• ‘Gimme Dat’ — Ayra Starr Featuring Wizkid
• ‘Push 2 Start’ — Tyla

Best Global Music Album

• Sounds Of Kumbha — Siddhant Bhatia
• No Sign of Weakness — Burna Boy
• Éclairer le monde – Light the World — Youssou N’Dour
• Mind Explosion (50th Anniversary Tour Live) — Shakti
• Chapter III: We Return to Light — Anoushka Shankar Featuring Alam Khan & Sarathy Korwar
• Caetano e Bethânia Ao Vivo — Caetano Veloso and Maria Bethânia

Best Global Music Performance

• ‘JERUSALEMA’ — Angélique Kidjo
• ‘EoO’ — Bad Bunny
• ‘Cantando en el Camino’ — Ciro Hurtado
• ‘Inmigrante Y Que?’ — Yeisy Rojas
• ‘Shrini’s Dream (Live)’ — Shakti
• ‘Daybreak’ — Anoushka Shankar Featuring Alam Khan & Sarathy Korwar

Best Country Solo Performance

• Tyler Childers
• Shaboozey
• Chris Stapleton
• Zach Top
• Lainey Wilson

Best Global Music Album

• Eclairer le monde - Light the World – Youssou N'Dour
• No Sign of Weakness – Burna Boy
• Sounds Of Kumbha – Siddhant Bhatia
• Mind Explosion [50th Anniversary Tour Live] – Shakti
• Chapter III: We Return To Light – Anoushka Shankar Featuring Alam Khan & Sarathy Korwar
• Caetano e Bethânia Ao Vivo – Caetano Veloso And Maria Bethânia

Record of the Year

• ‘DtMF’ – Bad Bunny
• ‘Manchild’ – Sabrina Carpenter
• ‘Anxiety’ – Doechii
• ‘Wildflower’ – Billie Eilish
• ‘Abracadabra’ – Lady Gaga
• ‘Luther’ – Kendrick Lamar With SZA
• ‘The Subway’ – Chappell Roan
• ‘APT.’ – Rosé, Bruno Mars

Album of the Year

• Debí Tirar Más Fotos – Bad Bunny
• Swag – Justin Bieber
• Man’s Best Friend – Sabrina Carpenter
• Let God Sort Em Out – Clipse, Pusha T & Malice
• Mayhem – Lady Gaga
• GNX – Kendrick Lamar
• Mutt – Leon Thomas
• Chromakopia – Tyler, the Creator

Song of the Year

• ‘Abracadabra’ – Lady Gaga, Henry Walter & Andrew Watt, songwriters (Lady Gaga)
• ‘Anxiety’ – Jaylah Hickmon, songwriter (Doechii)
• ‘APT.’ – Amy Allen, Christopher Brody Brown, Rogét Chahayed, Omer Fedi, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Chae Young Park, Theron Thomas & Henry Walter, songwriters (Rosé, Bruno Mars)
• ‘DtMF’ – Marco Daniel Borrero, Scott Dittrich, Benjamin Falik, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, Hugo René Sención Sanabria, Tyler Thomas Spry & Roberto José Rosado Torres, songwriters (Bad Bunny)
• ‘Golden [From “KPop Demon Hunters”]’ – EJAE & Mark Sonnenblick, songwriters (HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami)
• ‘Luther’ – Jack Antonoff, Roshwita Larisha Bacha, Matthew Bernard, Scott Bridgeway, Sam Dew, Ink, Kendrick Lamar, Solána Rowe, Mark Anthony Spears & Kamasi Washington, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar With SZA)
• ‘Manchild’ – Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff & Sabrina Carpenter, songwriters (Sabrina Carpenter)
• ‘Wildflower’ – Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)

Best New Artist

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

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical

• Dan Auerbach
• Cirkut
• Dijon
• Blake Mills
• Sounwave

Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical

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

Best Pop Solo Performance

• ‘Daisies’ — Justin Bieber
• ‘Manchild’ — Sabrina Carpenter
• ‘Disease’ — Lady Gaga
• ‘The Subway’ — Chappell Roan
• ‘Messy’ — Lola Young

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

• ‘Defying Gravity’ – Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande
• ‘Golden [From “KPop Demon Hunters”]’ – HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami
• ‘Gabriela’ – Katseye
• ‘APT.’ – Rosé, Bruno Mars
• ‘30 for 30’ – SZA With Kendrick Lamar

View the full list of nominees here.