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This year's Song Of The Year nominees capture the multitude of experiences we've had over the past 12 months, from celebration to nostalgia to heartbreak.
Lady Gaga and ROSÉ & Bruno Mars offered party-starting bangers with "Abracadabra" and "APT," and KPop Demon Hunter's record-breaking "Golden" landed at the top of everyone's summer playlists.
Sabrina Carpenter provided an anthem against emotionally unavailable men on her Man's Best Friend lead single, "Manchild," while Billie Eilish reflected on the complex dynamic of dating your friend's ex on "WILDFLOWER." On the other hand, Kendrick Lamar & SZA offered a sultry soundtrack to an epic romance with "luther."
Meanwhile, Bad Bunny and Doechii provided connective sentiments; where Bad Bunny's "DtMF" shares the regret of taking the past for granted, Doechii's "Anxiety" normalizes the stress we feel in a tense society.
With compelling melodies or relatable lyrics, each of these tracks remind us that we aren't alone in any of life's most pivotal moments — and that is exactly what Song Of The Year celebrates annually. Below, discover the eight nominees for the 2026 GRAMMYS and how they defined the past year.
Lady Gaga — "Abracadabra"
Lady Gaga, Henry Walter & Andrew Watt, songwriters
After Lady Gaga's The Fame and Born This Way created a touchstone for dark pop, Little Monsters soon saw a departure from the sound with her subsequent albums, including Joanne (Americana), Chromatica (house) and Love for Sale (jazz). With "Abracadabra," she made the anticipated homecoming to her roots.
The MAYHEM lead single is a true homage to her debut. Much like her earliest instrumentation, it boasts a bass-driven beat, decorated by pulsing synths. The song's hypnotic chorus — "Abracadabra, amor-ooh-na-na/ Abracadabra, morta-ooh-gaga" — is reminiscent of the iconic hook of "Bad Romance." And the music video revives her gothic surrealism with elaborate costumes and theatrical choreography.
Where much of the current musical climate borrows and fuses elements of country and rock, "Abracadabra" embodies Gaga's distinctive interpretation of pop's enduring appeal from 2009 to 2025. The track is also nominated in the Record Of The Year Category.
Doechii — "Anxiety"
Jaylah Hickmon, songwriter
In 2019, Doechii flipped Gotye & Kimbra's GRAMMY-winning single, "Somebody That I Used to Know," into a riveting expression of "Anxiety" on her YouTube channel. Following a viral resurface earlier this year, she dropped an official version, and it's become the anthem she never expected.
Over the iconic xylophone-led instrumental, Doechii confronts her paranoia and nerves: "Anxiety, keep on tryin' me/ I feel it quietly, tryna silence/ Anxiety, shake it off of me/ Somebody's watching me, it's my anxiety." She later challenges the source — the current political state — in its second verse, as she hums, "No limits, no borders/ What's in that new world order?/ Marco Polo/ Negro run from po-po." The track is also nominated for Record Of The Year.
Since the song's release, Doechii has continued to be outspoken about activism and her concern with society beyond her music. Along with denouncing ICE raids, transphobic attacks and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in her BET Awards speech, the GRAMMY-winning rapper launched Anxiety Is Watching Me, a resource hub designed to support individuals struggling with mental health issues.
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars — "APT."
Amy Allen, Christopher Brody Brown, Rogét Chahayed, Omer Fedi, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Chae Young Park, Theron Thomas & Henry Walter, songwriters
Forget beer pong and kings cup. In her viral single, BLACKPINK's ROSÉ teams up with Bruno Mars to introduce you to a quintessential Korean drinking game: Apartment. The upbeat, indie rock-inspired track spotlights the classic chant — "Apteu, apteu," the duo cheers in the chorus — as they traverse the cheeky anticipation of a potential rendezvous.
For ROSÉ, one of the driving forces for the song was to share a slice of her upbringing: "Korean culture is, I would say, one of the most fun cultures out there. To be able to show that to the world, it's like a personal excitement for me," she revealed in her Paper Magazine cover.
While Bruno Mars' rock influence and a sample of Toni Basil's "Mickey" guide the song's production, ROSÉ's K-pop flair is found within its quippy, repetitive hook, reminiscent of PSY's "Gangnam Style." The track received a simultaneous nomination for Record Of The Year.
Bad Bunny — "DtMF"
Marco Daniel Borrero, Scott Dittrich, Benjamin Falik, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, Hugo René Sención Sanabria, Tyler Thomas Spry & Roberto José Rosado Torres, songwriters
You've probably seen fans use Bad Bunny's "DtMF" to soundtrack heartfelt pictures from their past on TikTok. Maybe you saw someone recreate the single's lawn chair album art to immortalize a special moment. Or, you might have watched someone cry over the song's nostalgia-tinged grief: "I should've taken more pictures when I had you/ I should've given you more kisses and hugs whenever I could/ I hope my people never move away/ And if I get drunk today, I hope they help me out," he croons in Spanish.
At its core, "DtMF" is an expression of Bad Bunny's Puerto Rican heritage. As listeners score their own history with the track, its messaging blurs the line between individual and collective memory in our universal experiences of life. Much like the rest of its respective album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, "DtMF"turns personal nostalgia into something equally sacred and communal. "DtMF" is also nominated for Record Of The Year.
HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna & REI AMI — "Golden" [From KPop Demon Hunters]
EJAE & Mark Sonnenblick, songwriters
In less than six months, KPop Demon Hunters has become Netflix's most-watched title of all time, rivaling the success of Disney juggernauts like Encanto and Frozen. With its infusion of traditional Korean culture and plurilingual soundtrack, it heralds a surge in the hallyu movement. Spearheading its impact is "Golden," an inspirational track about the fictional girl group HUNTR/X's determination to make their voices heard.
"I'm done hidin', now I'm shinin'/ Like I'm born to be/ We dreamin' hard, we came so far/ Now I believe/ We're going up, up, up, it's our moment/ You know together we're glowing/ Gonna be, gonna be golden," they sing.
But the grit of the trio isn't only present in the song's empowering lyricism. At its climax, EJAE reaches an impressive A5 as her character, Rumi, reveals her half-demon bloodline. It's a clear representation of the sacrifice the characters are willing to make to bring their dreams to fruition. This moment is everything "Golden" represents, an explosive hallelujah that turns struggle into triumph.
Kendrick Lamar & SZA — "luther"
Jack Antonoff, Roshwita Larisha Bacha, Matthew Bernard, Scott Bridgeway, Sam Dew, Ink, Kendrick Lamar, Solána Rowe, Mark Anthony Spears & Kamasi Washington, songwriters
Mirroring the vocal musings of Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn, Kendrick Lamar and SZA's "If This World Were Mine"-sampled single, "luther," takes listeners on a melodic journey of intimacy, commitment and vulnerability.
"If this world was mine, I'd take your dreams and make 'em multiple/ If this world was mine, I'd take your enemies in front of God/ Introduce 'em to that light, hit them strictly with that fire," Lamar promises.
SZA's response is just as devoted: "If it was up to me/ I wouldn't give these nobodies no sympathy/ I'd take away the pain, I'd give you everything."
"Luther" underscores Lamar's versatility as a storyteller and producer. Juxtaposed next to the ferocity of his 2025 Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year winner, "Not Like Us," this collaboration showcases something much more tender, full of yearning and profoundly human in its portrayal of love. "Luther" is also nominated for Record Of The Year at this year’s GRAMMYS.
Sabrina Carpenter — "Manchild"
Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff & Sabrina Carpenter, songwriters
In 2024, Sabrina Carpenter offered a warning to any potential suitor: "If you don't wanna cry to my music, don't make me hate you prolifically." Fast forward to a year later, and the Short n' Sweet songstress is waving her white flag to questionable men in the cathartically honest "Manchild."
"Manchild, why you always come a-running to me?/ F— my life, won't you let an innocent woman be?" She questions in the song's infectious, country-twanged chorus. "Never heard of self-care/ Half your brain just ain't there."
As the opening number to Carpenter's Man's Best Friend, "Manchild" sets the tone for her blasé mindset toward romance in the album's later tracks. Men will be men, as she contemplates on the bridge, but it doesn't have to stop her from pursuing having fun and achieving pleasure. The song is also nominated for Record Of The Year.
Billie Eilish — "WILDFLOWER"
Billie Eilish O'Connell & Finneas O'Connell, songwriters
In the shadows of Billie Eilish's twinkling 2025 Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year nominee, "BIRDS OF A FEATHER," lives a more harrowing, introspective counterpart in "WILDFLOWER." In the moody song, Eilish navigates the guilt of dating a friend's ex while feeling haunted by the ghost of his former flame.
"I see her in the back of my mind all the time/ Like a fever, like I'm burning alive, like a sign/ Did I cross the line?" Eilish candidly admits. "Well, good things don't last/ And life moves so fast/ I'd never ask who was better/ 'Cause she couldn't be/ More different from me/ Happy and free in leather."
The track is a trademark of Eilish's signature sound, from her ethereal vocals to its soothing fusion of acoustic guitars and lo-fi beats. Its lyricism is arguably her most self-aware to date, as she acknowledges her own shortcomings in love and the ways her insecurity can even be self-destructive. "WILDFLOWER" is also nominated in the Record Of The Year Category.