Grammys 2026: Differences Between Record vs. Album vs. Song of the Year, Explained
The 2026 Grammys are set to kick off soon and, while watching, you may be wondering about the differences between Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year.
We have the full explainer here of the major differences in all three of these categories.
Keep reading to find out the full explanation and see who is nominated this year…
Record of the Year is awarded to both the performer of the song, as well as the recording engineers who took part in the production of the song. The Record of the Year highlights the performance and the production of the song.
Song of the Year, however, is awarded to the writer of the song, not the artist that sings the song.
Album of the Year used to go to the artist, however, now it goes to the artist and producers, sound engineers, mixers, and songwriters.
See the nominees in each category below…
Record of the Year
“DtMF” – Bad Bunny
“Manchild” – Sabrina Carpenter
“Anxiety” – Doechii
“Wildflower” – Billie Eilish
“Abracadabra” – Lady Gaga
“Luther” – Kendrick Lamar With SZA
“The Subway” – Chappell Roan
“APT.” – Rosé, Bruno Mars
Album of the Year
Debí Tirar Más Fotos – Bad Bunny
Swag – Justin Bieber
Man’s Best Friend – Sabrina Carpenter
Let God Sort Em Out – Clipse, Pusha T & Malice
Mayhem – Lady Gaga
GNX – Kendrick Lamar
Mutt – Leon Thomas
Chromakopia – Tyler, the Creator
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 & 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)