Nigerian stars Ayra Starr, Burna Boy, and Davido blaze the trail in the Best African Music Performance category as the Grammys celebrate another landmark year for Afrobeats.
Ayra Starr, Burna Boy, Davido Secure Nominations for the 2026 Grammy Awards
The nominations for the 2026 Grammy Awards were announced on November 7, 2025, via a livestream on the official Grammys YouTube channel. Angelique Kidjo, CeCe Winans, Sam Smith, Karol G, and Sabrina Carpenter were among the artistes who helped unveil this year’s contenders as the world counts down to music’s biggest night.
Nigerian artistry shone brightly in the Best African Music Performance category, with Ayra Starr, Burna Boy, and Davido among those nominated. As predicted by The Nollywood Reporter, Nigerians dominated the lineup—five out of the eight nominees hail from the country. Burna Boy’s “Love”, Davido and Omah Lay’s “With You”, and Ayra Starr and Wizkid’s “Gimme Dat” will compete against Tyla’s “PUSH 2 START” from South Africa and Eddy Kenzo and Mehran Matin’s “Hope & Love” from Uganda for the coveted award.
Burna Boy leads the African nominees this year with two nods, including Best Global Music Album for his eighth studio project No Sign of Weakness. This brings his career total to thirteen Grammy nominations, with one win in 2021 for Twice As Tall in the same category.
Across the general field, American rapper Kendrick Lamar emerges as the most nominated artiste this year with nine nods. He earns recognition in three of the Big Four categories: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year. His chart-topping single “Luther,” featuring SZA, is up for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year, while his sixth studio album GNX contends for Album of the Year. Despite five nominations, Lamar has yet to secure a win in this top category. His overall Grammy tally is now 66 nominations and 22 wins.
Pop icon Lady Gaga follows closely with seven nominations, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “Abracadabra” and Album of the Year for Mayhem. Similar to Lamar, this marks her fifth nomination for Album of the Year without a win so far. Gaga’s Grammy total now stands at 45 nominations and 14 wins.
Producers Cirkut and Jack Antonoff also received seven nominations each this year. Like Lamar and Gaga, both are represented in the Big Three categories, earning production credits on some of the year’s biggest hits. Cirkut is recognized for his work on “Abracadabra” and Mayhem, as well as Rose and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” He also earns an individual nomination for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical.
Antonoff, who faces Cirkut in the same category, holds production credits on nominated projects such as Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild,” Man’s Best Friend, “Luther,” and GNX.
The 2026 Grammy Awards will take place on February 1, 2026, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. A host for the ceremony is yet to be announced.
View the full list of 2026 Grammy nominees here.