LOS ANGELES — The music industry’s most prestigious honors, the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, are set to take place this Sunday in Los Angeles, with the Recording Academy revealing a diverse slate of contenders across major categories. Rap visionary Kendrick Lamar dominates this year’s nominations with an impressive nine recognitions, establishing him as the frontrunner for music’s highest accolades.
Following closely behind is pop icon Lady Gaga with seven nominations, while three artists—global sensation Bad Bunny, pop phenomenon Sabrina Carpenter, and R&B virtuoso Leon Thomas—are tied with six nominations each, demonstrating the breadth of musical excellence recognized this year.
The coveted Album of the Year category features an eclectic mix of works, including Bad Bunny’s ‘Debi Tirar Mas Fotos,’ Justin Bieber’s ‘Swag,’ Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Man’s Best Friend,’ the collaborative effort ‘Let God Sort Em Out’ by Clipse (Pusha T & Malice), Lady Gaga’s ‘Mayhem,’ Kendrick Lamar’s ‘GNX,’ Leon Thomas’s ‘Mutt,’ and Tyler, The Creator’s ‘Chromakopia.’
In the Record of the Year category, which honors overall performance on a track, contenders span from Bad Bunny’s ‘DtMF’ to Billie Eilish’s ‘Wildflower,’ Lady Gaga’s ‘Abracadabra,’ and the collaborative ‘luther’ by Kendrick Lamar with SZA.
The Song of the Year award, recognizing outstanding songwriting, features compositions from Lady Gaga’s ‘Abracadabra’ (written with Henry Walter & Andrew Watt) to the complex collaborative effort behind Rose and Bruno Mars’s ‘APT.,’ which involved nine songwriters including Amy Allen, Christopher Brody Brown, and Bruno Mars himself.
The Best New Artist category showcases emerging talent including Olivia Dean, global girl group KATSEYE, The Marias, Addison Rae, sombr, Leon Thomas, Alex Warren, and Lola Young.
Additional notable categories include Best Pop Solo Performance featuring Justin Bieber’s ‘Daisies’ and Lady Gaga’s ‘Disease,’ Best Pop Duo/Group Performance with Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande’s ‘Defying Gravity,’ and Best Rap Album contenders including GloRilla’s ‘Glorious’ and JID’s ‘God Does Like Ugly.’
The international music scene receives recognition in the Best Global Music Album category, featuring works from Siddhant Bhatia’s ‘Sounds Of Kumbha’ to Burna Boy’s ‘No Sign of Weakness’ and Youssou N’Dour’s ‘Eclairer le monde – Light the World.’