Every year, the Grammys roll around with a handful of albums and artists to nominate for the most “prestigious” award in music. And every year—especially when it comes to rap—they manage to get it wrong. From giving Macklemore & Ryan Lewis a Grammy over Kanye West, Jay-Z, Drake, and Kendrick Lamar, to inviting Mac Miller’s family to the awards ceremony for what now seems like a performative gesture, the Grammys have made more than their share of highly questionable decisions. And of course, 2026’s choices were no different.
While the playing field was actually pretty even this time around, there were some people that didn’t make the cut that definitely should have. Below, we look at and discuss some of the biggest snubs for 2026 Grammy nominations.
Playboi Carti Didn’t Get a Single Grammy Nomination
More than a few things made us say “What the f***?” when the 2026 Grammy nominees came out on Nov 7th. The biggest, however, was the absence of one of the highest-streamed rap albums released this year, Playboi Carti’s I AM MUSIC. A few weeks ago, we predicted that Carti would rack up the nominations, with chances for Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song, and even Song of the Year. Obviously, that turned out to be far from the case.
The I AM MUSIC snub is egregious in several ways. Firstly, Carti’s album did 384 MILLION streams in its first week, setting the second-largest streaming week in Spotify history (behind Taylor Swift). It also did 139M of those in a single day.
I AM MUSIC was a spectacle in terms of social media engagement and cultural interest as well, with random brands, sports teams, and whoever else getting in on the fun. No exaggeration, Carti had basketball teams posting backwards jerseys and tweeting in anticipation of the album.
On top of the numbers and impact, the album is easily Carti’s most accessible album in terms of listenability. The solo Carti tracks are scaled back just enough that they’re not as divisive, and the features he got—namely Kendrick Lamar, Future, and The Weeknd—came through with performances that were perfectly in their element.
Aside from his own album, we expected to at least see Carti somewhere amongst the nominees. We thought for sure that “TIMELESS” ft. The Weeknd would make the cut, but apparently not.
The Weeknd’s Grammy Award Snubs Continue
Speaking of The Weeknd, he and the Grammys have had a strained history, and the decisions made this year definitely won’t sweeten things up between both parties. When he dropped After Hours in March 2020, it seemed like a given that Abel would receive a handful of noms for such an impactful project. The album sold 444k in its first week, spawned three #1 Billboard hits, and was considered by some to be his best project to date. Unfortunately, this didn’t mean much to the award show.
After Hours didn’t receive a single nomination. Not one. As expected, this didn’t sit well with him—and it shouldn’t have. This was another example of the Grammys getting it wrong. On November 24, 2020, he called them out for what he could only describe as corruption.
Between 2020 and 2024, The Weeknd boycotted The Grammys by excluding his albums from submission. However, it seemed like they made amends in 2025. At the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, Abel performed there for the first time in nearly half a decade. More importantly, the Grammys gave a long ass speech stating that they “revised the nominating committee” in direct response to their situation with Abel.
Apparently, nothing came of the theatrics, because The Weeknd’s 2025 album Hurry Up Tomorrow didn’t receive a single nomination for the 2026 Grammys. Despite debuting with nearly 500k first-week units and closing out the After Hours trilogy to widespread acclaim, the Recording Academy repeated the same mistake with the same artist—after pretending they’d learned from the last one.
Whether Abel addresses the snub or not, the reaction from fans and the industry will say plenty.
