Are you confused about what a Sombr is? Are you forever forgetting the difference between Song of the Year and Record of the Year? Who are these people, and where\u2019s Taylor Swift?<\/p>\n
The 2026 Grammy Awards are on Sunday night, and music\u2019s biggest night always spawns plenty of water-cooler chatter among the pop-culturally savvy and your most pretentious friend who won\u2019t shut up about his speakers.<\/p>\n
In comparison to its more staid awards show counterparts, the Grammys are zanier and more bombastic. It\u2019s where Jennifer Lopez infamously showed up on the red carpet in her barely there green Versace dress,<\/a> where Nicki Minaj sort of took part in an exorcism<\/a> and where Adele seemed genuinely upset<\/a> that she beat Beyonc\u00e9. Even if you\u2019re not immersed in the goings-on of artists and new music, you\u2019ll still be able to hold your own with your coolest coworkers on Monday morning with our small talk guide.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s start with the basics: There are dozens of awards up for grabs at the Grammys, which are voted on by members of the Recording Academy. The four major ones are: Best New Artist, Song of the Year (which goes to songwriters), Record of the Year (which goes to producers of a song) and Album of the Year, which is considered the night\u2019s biggest honor and often generates the most controversy. Remember how massive it was when Beyonc\u00e9 finally won for Cowboy Carter in 2025?<\/p>\n Unlike other shows that focus on celebrity banter and speeches, the Grammys are all about performances. According to producer Ben Winston, there will be at least 18 or 19<\/a> of them.<\/p>\n Now, let\u2019s talk about what\u2019s actually going to happen.<\/p>\n Conversation starter: Who\u2019s going to win \u2014 and who should win \u2014\u00a0the night\u2019s biggest prize?<\/p>\n Many<\/a> are predicting Bad Bunny\u2019s DeBI\u0301 TiRAR Ma\u0301S FOToS will win Album of the Year, which would make it the first all-Spanish album<\/a> to claim the category. It would be a massive victory for the artist as he prepares to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show<\/a> next week. Bad Bunny, who\u2019s also a budding actor, knows people don\u2019t always understand his lyrics<\/a>, but he doesn\u2019t mind. After all, he\u2019s the biggest global artist of the last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Others<\/a> predict it could finally be Kendrick Lamar\u2019s year. He won five last year for the song \u201cNot Like Us\u201d alone, but he has still never nabbed Album of the Year. Never forget the time that Macklemore won over<\/a> Kendrick Lamar\u2019s critically acclaimed good kid, m.A.A.d city, and then posted his text apology to him. It\u2019s time to correct this wrong, and GNX is really good.<\/p>\n Hot take: You\u2019ll have more fun if you root for the underdogs\u00a0<\/p>\n There\u2019s no denying that Bruno Mars is the favorite child of the Recording Academy with 16 wins across his career. Spread the wealth, y\u2019all! Another victory would feel villainous. Mars\u2019s collaboration with Ros\u00e9, \u201cApt.,\u201d is up for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year, after it dominated streaming in 2025<\/a>. It seems Mars\u2019s power is only growing \u2014 he won big last year, both at the Grammys and on the charts, and he\u2019s poised to continue his reign with new music in 2026. I love my short prince of pop, but give someone else a second to shine!<\/p>\n For the sake of the narrative, which is more important to pop stardom than you\u2019d think, I say it would be way more interesting if the artist who has made a magnificent return to her over-the-top pop superstar persona was rewarded for her efforts. \u201cAbracadabra\u201d<\/a> rejuvenated vibes in a way we so desperately need, and Lady Gaga should be honored for overcoming health struggles to make her return to high-energy freak behavior (let us not forget when she showed up to the 2011 Grammys entombed inside a giant egg<\/a>, only hatching for her performance). Technically, she won a Grammy in 2025 for \u201cDie with a Smile,\u201d but that was a collaboration with \u2014 you guessed it \u2014\u00a0 Mars! Get back to Vegas, Bruno, it\u2019s Mother Monster\u2019s time to shine.<\/p>\n Whether the song from KPop Demon Hunters wins any of its categories or goes home empty-handed, \u201cGolden\u201d already made its mark as the most shocking nominee<\/a>. Yes, the biggest banger from the most popular movie of 2025 \u2014 aimed at children, mind you \u2014\u00a0is actually genuinely good. It\u2019s also fantastic that it\u2019s a\u00a0 K-pop song<\/a>, cementing the genre\u2019s status and staying power in the U.S.<\/p>\n Hold your own: Keep an eye out for Sabrina (and dozens of other performances)<\/p>\n Even if Sabrina Carpenter\u2019s six Grammy nominations don\u2019t yield a win, I predict that she\u2019ll steal the show. The pint-sized pop star is allergic to delivering anything other than an iconic performance. At last year\u2019s ceremony, she warmed up the stage with a vaudeville-style mashup,<\/a> and over the summer, she brought the house down at the VMAs<\/a> by spotlighting drag queens and channeling Britney Spears. Don\u2019t get me started on all her viral tour moments<\/a>. She was born for this.<\/p>\n Justin Bieber, who\u2019s up for four awards, is set for his first major public performance in four years<\/a>, after scrapping his tour in 2022. Since then, he\u2019s had a kid, split with his manager, fought very publicly with his wife and generally made fans worried about him. One of his decade-old songs is currently charting on Spotify,<\/a> so if he successfully pulls off this performance, I\u2019ll officially declare the 2016 Renaissance<\/a> valid.<\/p>\n The Grammys have been slow to announce other performers, but we\u2019re expecting infectious choreography<\/a> and borderline nonsensical lyrics <\/a>from girl group Katseye \u2014 remember their viral jeans ad<\/a>? Also in the announced line-up<\/a>: All eight of the Best New Artist nominees, including Addison Rae, Alex Warren, Leon Thomas, Olivia Dean, Sombr and Lola Young. Pharrell will be there for some reason.<\/p>\n Impress your coworkers: You\u2019re going to start having to take TikTok singers seriously<\/p>\n Best New Artist will be among the most-watched categories of the evening because of the way it can help a budding singer build momentum. Sometimes they\u2019re a bit of a flop \u2014 has anyone heard from Alessia Cara or Victoria Monet recently? No? Sorry! But in years past, the Grammys have bestowed the honor upon Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa and Olivia Rodrigo, which arguably helped catapult them to superstardom.<\/p>\n This year, many were shocked to see the likes of Alex Warren and Addison Rae among the nominees \u2014 they\u2019re both TikTok stars who were part of the infamous content creation collective known as the Hype House. They used their fame to build something deeper and more meaningful for themselves<\/a>: a music career. Warren snagged the unofficial honor of Song of the Summer<\/a> for his secular praise music<\/a> bop \u201cOrdinary,\u201d and Rae went from flop to pop star by embracing irony, Britney Spears-esque vocals and strong visuals.<\/p>\n Still, they probably won\u2019t win. That honor will probably go to Olivia Dean or Leon Thomas. Yes, I\u2019ll explain who they are.<\/p>\n So, wait, who are all these people?<\/p>\n You\u2019re going to be seeing a lot of faces you don\u2019t recognize. Don\u2019t panic. You\u2019ve probably heard most of them on the radio.<\/p>\n Olivia Dean: This jazzy lady performed on SNL last year, but you undoubtedly have heard her song \u201cMan I Need\u201d at the grocery store or blaring from the speakers<\/a> of a buggy sliding around in the snow. It is honestly becoming unavoidable.<\/p>\n Leon Thomas: You\u2019ve also definitely heard the semi-annoying song \u201cMutt,\u201d which is heinously catchy, but Thomas is more likable than that \u2014 he starred in the kids\u2019 show Victorious with Ariana Grande, and it\u2019d be lovely to see another Nickelodeon standout go mainstream, even if it is roughly a decade late. He\u2019s the second most-nominated artist<\/a> of the night!<\/p>\n Sombr: The floppy-haired Gen Z-er got himself into trouble this year for beefing with a fan<\/a>, but don\u2019t let his youthful follies distract from his musical prowess.<\/p>\n Lola Young: The mullet-sporting Brit is responsible for another inescapable song, \u201cMessy,\u201d but she\u2019s got a lot of good ones. It\u2019s nice to see someone with a thick accent and a unique sense of style taking the stage \u2014 and she\u2019s just now returning to performing after a rough year<\/a>. If you see her, root for her.<\/p>\n And where is Taylor Swift?\u00a0<\/p>\n Swift didn\u2019t release an album during the eligibility period for this year\u2019s Grammys \u2014 The Life of a Showgirl will get its turn in 2027. She has not yet been announced as a performer or a presenter, so we might not see her at all.<\/p>\n What\u2019s different for Swift this year, though, is that her fianc\u00e9e, Travis Kelce, will actually be free on Sunday night because the Chiefs didn\u2019t make it to the Super Bowl for the first time since they got together. Is a Grammys red carpet debut in order, or are they saving that for wedlock?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Are you confused about what a Sombr is? 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