Henry Russell Walter, better known as Cirkut, has won the Producer of the Year, Non-Classical award at the 2026 Grammys. The producer—who assisted on Lady Gaga’s Mayhem and the Weeknd’s Hurry Up Tomorrow—took the prize ahead of five-time nominee and one-time winner Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, who released an album last year, in addition to his production for the likes of Miles Kane and Hermanos Gutiérrez; Dijon, who supplemented Baby with work on Justin Bieber’s Swag; three-time nominee Blake Mills, whose recent credits include Perfume Genius, Japanese Breakfast, and Lucy Dacus; and Sounwave, the co-producer of Kendrick Lamar’s GNX.
“Thank you so much,” said Cirkut, while accepting the trophy. “Receiving this from Jimmy Jam, it doesn’t get better than that… Once upon a time I was a kid making beats in his bedroom in Canada and now I’m here.”
At last year’s Grammys, Dan Nigro, the Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan collaborator, took custody of a category that had, for three years, been the exclusive domain of Jack Antonoff, who won in 2022, ’23, and ’24, for work that encompassed records by Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, and too many more.
See the full winners list and follow along with all of Pitchfork’s coverage of the 2026 Grammys.
