The nominees for the 2026 Grammy Award for Song of the Year have been announced. Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, and Sabrina Carpenter are all nominated for the second year running, as are Kendrick Lamar and Bruno Mars for their respective collaborations with SZA and Rosé. Rounding out the category are Bad Bunny, Doechii, and the songwriters behind the KPop Demon Hunters hit “Golden.” See all of the 2026 Grammy nominations here.
After “Not Like Us” swept every category in which it was nominated at the 2025 Grammys (including Song of the Year), Lamar is eyeing back-to-back wins with his SZA duet “Luther.” Mars has also become a hot commodity, appearing among last year’s nominees on Lady Gaga’s “Die With a Smile” and this year alongside Rosé on “Apt.,” from the Blackpink member’s solo debut, Rosie. Lady Gaga herself is recognized for her Mayhem single “Abracadabra.”
Eilish, meanwhile, extends a now-three-year streak of Song of the Year nominations, which began with “What Was I Made For?”, her contribution to the Barbie soundtrack, and continued with the single “Birds of a Feather” from her 2024 album, Hit Me Hard and Soft. Eilish’s 2026 entry, “Wildflower” also appears on Hit Me Hard and Soft—which came out out in March 2024, outside of this year’s eligibility window—but was re-released as a single earlier this year.
Carpenter shares both of her Song of the Year nods to date—for “Please Please Please” at the 2025 Grammys and now for “Manchild,” the lead single from Man’s Best Friend—with co-writer Jack Antonoff. Both first-time nominees in the category, Bad Bunny is nominated for the title track off his album Debí Tirar Más Fotos, and Doechii for her one-off single “Anxiety,” which features a prominent sample of 2013 Record of the Year winner Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know.”
At the 2025 Grammys, the Song of the Year category included Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ’Em,” Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!,” Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso,” and others. Lamar’s “Not Like Us” beat out the competition, making it the Compton rapper’s fifth victory of the night for the Drake diss track, following his wins for Record of the Year, Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance, and Best Music Video.
The 2026 Grammy Awards will air live, on Sunday, February 1, 2026, from Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena. Follow along with all of Pitchfork’s coverage of the 2026 Grammy Awards, and revisit “Who Should Be Nominated at the 2026 Grammy Awards.”
Song of the Year
Bad Bunny – DTMF
Billie Eilish – Wildflower
Doechii – Anxiety
Huntr/x – Golden
Kendrick Lamar & SZA – Luther
Lady Gaga – Abracadabra
Rosé & Bruno Mars – Apt.
Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild
