What’s the difference between Song of the Year and Record of the Year at the Grammys? And Album of the Year?
The Grammy Awards’ three biggest categories all have similar names, leading to confusion every year. Older music fans might think of “records” as being the same thing as “albums” (such as with vinyl LPs), while younger audiences streaming music will wonder how their favorite tune can win best record, but not best song — or vice versa.
So here’s the 2026 Grammys’ Song of the Year vs. Record of the Year vs. Album of the Year, explained:
- Record of the Year is for the best sound recording of the year. The Grammy goes to the performer, but recipients can include the singer, producers, engineers and other team members that created the recording.
- Song of the Year, on the other hand, is for the best written song and goes to the songwriter(s). The performers sometimes write or co-write their biggest hits, but the songwriter or writers can also be someone else entirely and you may not recognize their names. (For example, Amy Allen is nominated twice this year for co-writing Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild” and the ROSÉ-Bruno Mars hit “APT,” while Jack Antonoff could win if “Manchild” or Kendrick Lamar’s “Luther” wins.)
- Both the Song and Record Grammys are for a single song, while the Album of the Year prize goes to a collection of songs traditionally released on a CD or vinyl record. Album of the Year goes to the performer, producers and engineers of an entire album. For artists that use multiple producers for an album, that can mean lots of people on stage for an acceptance speech.
Artists nominated in one major category will often be nominated in the other categories, but not always. Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter, Lady Gaga and Kendrick Lamar are nominated for all three of the night’s top prizes this year. Chappell Roan is up for Record of the Year for “The Subway,” but not Song of the Year or Album of the Year. Clipse, Leon Thomas, Justin Bieber, and Tyler, The Creator are competing for Album of the Year, but not for Song or Record of the Year.
Here’s a look at the 2026 Grammy nominations for Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year:
Record of the Year
“DtMF,” Bad Bunny — Scotty Dittrich, JULiA LEWiS, Hydra Hitz, La Paciencia, MAG & Tyler Spry, producers; Antonio Caraballo, Josh Gudwin, Roberto Rosado & Tyler Spry, engineers/mixers; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer
“Manchild,” Sabrina Carpenter — Jack Antonoff & Sabrina Carpenter, producers; Jack Antonoff, Bryce Bordone, Jozef Caldwell, Serban Ghenea, Sean Hutchinson, Oli Jacobs, Michael Riddleberger & Laura Sisk, engineers/mixers; Ruairi O’Flaherty, mastering engineer
“Anxiety,” Doechii — Doechii, producer; Jayda Love, engineer/mixer; Nicolas De Porcel, mastering engineer
“WILDFLOWER,” Billie Eilish — FINNEAS, producer; Jon Castelli, Aron Forbes & FINNEAS, engineers/mixers; Dale Becker, mastering engineer
“Abracadabra,” Lady Gaga — Cirkut, Lady Gaga & Andrew Watt, producers; Bryce Bordone, Serban Ghenea & Paul LaMalfa, engineers/mixers; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
“Luther,” Kendrick Lamar With SZA — Jack Antonoff, Scott Bridgeway, M-Tech, roselilah, Sounwave & Kamasi Washington, producers; Jack Antonoff, Ray Charles Brown Jr., Hector Castro, Oli Jacobs, Jack Manning, Sean Matsukawa, Dani Perez, Tony Shepperd, Laura Sisk & Johnathan Turner, engineers/mixers; Ruairi O’Flaherty, mastering engineer
“The Subway,” Chappell Roan — Daniel Nigro, producer; Chris Kaysch, Mitch McCarthy & Daniel Nigro, engineers/mixers; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
“APT.,” ROSÉ, Bruno Mars — Rogét Chahayed, Cirkut, Omer Fedi & Bruno Mars, producers; Bryce Bordone, Serban Ghenea, Charles Moniz & Julian Vasquez, engineers/mixers; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer
Album of the Year
“DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,” Bad Bunny — Big Jay, La Paciencia, MAG & Tainy, producers; Antonio Caraballo, Josh Gudwin, Luis Amed Irizarry & Roberto José Rosado Torres, engineers/mixers; Marco Daniel Borrero, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, Marcos Efrain Masis, Jay Anthony Nuñez & Roberto José Rosado Torres, songwriters; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer
“SWAG,” Justin Bieber — Eddie Benjamin, Justin Bieber, Daniel Chetrit, Dijon, Carter Lang & Dylan Wiggins, producers; Felix Byrne & Josh Gudwin, engineers/mixers; Eddie Benjamin, Justin Bieber, Daniel Chetrit, Dijon Duenas, Tobias Jesso Jr., Carter Lang, Jackson Lee Morgan & Dylan Wiggins, songwriters; Dale Becker, mastering engineer
“Man’s Best Friend,” Sabrina Carpenter — Jack Antonoff, Sabrina Carpenter & John Ryan, producers; Zem Audu, Jack Antonoff, Bryce Bordone, Jozef Caldwell, Serban Ghenea, Jeff Gunnell, David Hart, Mikey Freedom Hart, Sean Hutchinson, Oli Jacobs, Jack Manning, Joey Miller, Michael Riddleberger, John Ryan, Laura Sisk & Evan Smith, engineers/mixers; Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff, Sabrina Carpenter & John Ryan, songwriters; Nathan Dantzler & Ruairi O’Flaherty, mastering engineers
“Let God Sort Em Out,” Clipse, Pusha T & Malice — Pharrell Williams, featured artist; Pharrell Williams, producer; Mike Larson, Manny Marroquin, Rob Ulsh & Pharrell Williams, engineers/mixers; Gene Elliott Thornton Jr., Terrence Thornton & Pharrell Williams, songwriters; Zach Pereyra, mastering engineer
“MAYHEM,” Lady Gaga — Cirkut, Lady Gaga, Gesaffelstein & Andrew Watt, producers; Bryce Bordone, Serban Ghenea & Paul LaMalfa, engineers/mixers; Lady Gaga, Mike Lévy, Michael Polansky, Henry Walter & Andrew Watt, songwriters; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
“GNX,” Kendrick Lamar — Jack Antonoff & Sounwave, producers; Jack Antonoff, Ray Charles Brown Jr., Jozef Caldwell, Oli Jacobs, Jack Manning, Dani Perez, Laura Sisk & Johnathan Turner, engineers/mixers; Jack Antonoff, Matthew Bernard, Scott Bridgeway, Sam Dew, Ink, Kendrick Lamar & Mark Anthony Spears, songwriters; Ruairi O’Flaherty, mastering engineer
“MUTT,” Leon Thomas — Freaky Rob, Peter Lee Johnson, D. Phelps & Leon Thomas, producers; Jean-Marie Horvat, engineer/mixer; Lazaro Andres Camejo, Freaky Rob, Peter Lee Johnson, D. Phelps & Leon Thomas, songwriters; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer
“CHROMAKOPIA,” Tyler, The Creator — Tyler, The Creator, producer; NealHPogue, Tyler Okonma & Vic Wainstein, engineers/mixers; Tyler Okonma, songwriter; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer
Song of the Year
“Abracadabra,” Lady Gaga, Henry Walter & Andrew Watt, songwriters (Lady Gaga)
“Anxiety,” Jaylah Hickmon, songwriter (Doechii)
“APT.,” Amy Allen, Christopher Brody Brown, Rogét Chahayed, Omer Fedi, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Chae Young Park, Theron Thomas & Henry Walter, songwriters (ROSÉ, Bruno Mars)
“DtMF,” Marco Daniel Borrero, Scott Dittrich, Benjamin Falik, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, Hugo René Sención Sanabria, Tyler Thomas Spry & Roberto José Rosado Torres, songwriters (Bad Bunny)
“Golden [From ‘KPop Demon Hunters’]”, EJAE, Park Hong Jun, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo & Mark Sonnenblick, songwriters (HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI)
“luther,” Jack Antonoff, Roshwita Larisha Bacha, Matthew Bernard, Scott Bridgeway, Sam Dew, Ink, Kendrick Lamar, Solána Rowe, Mark Anthony Spears & Kamasi Washington, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar With SZA)
“Manchild,” Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff & Sabrina Carpenter, songwriters (Sabrina Carpenter)
“WILDFLOWER,” Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
*****
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