This week the nominations for the next 68th Grammy Awards dropped — and the list is buzzing with major-pop-culture names dominating the field. Here’s a quick rundown of the headliners and what their presence signals.
- Kendrick Lamar leads the charge with nine nominations, including everything from Album of the Year to Song of the Year.
- Lady Gaga is right behind with seven nominations, marking another high-profile return to prominence.
- Bad Bunny picked up six nominations, and notably becomes the first Spanish-language artist nominated in all three of the “big” Grammy categories (Album, Record, Song) in the same year.
- Other big names: Sabrina Carpenter also has six nods; Justin Bieber appears in key categories; and artists like Tyler, the Creator, Billie Eilish and Rosé show up in surprising ways.
What this means
- The mainstream-pop powerhouses are back in force — the ceremony isn’t solely underground/indie or genre-niche anymore. The “big budget stars doing big budget albums” are front and center.
- Genre-blurring is real. Pop, Rap, Latin, Alternative all collide. Bad Bunny’s run in pop/major categories, Rosé’s K-pop connection, Tyler’s cross-genre push—these are signs the Recording Academy is embracing musical hybridity.
- This means: pop superstars matter. Their nominations elevate attention, chart impact, streaming strategy, radio spins — and the narrative around them becomes content gold.
