There’s usually a fairly high degree of overlap in the Grammy nominees for record and song of the year. At the 2026 ceremony, seven songs were nominated in both categories. The only difference in the two fields was that Chappell Roan’s “The Subway” was up for record of the year, while the KPop Demon Hunters smash “Golden” was up for song of the year.
Five songs appearing in both categories is more typical. That was the magic number two years ago, and also three years ago, and it seems likely to be the number again this year.
The No. 1 most-asked question about the Grammys, dating back to the days of Domenico Modugno, is “what’s the difference between record and song of the year?” Record of the year honors a specific recording of a song, and is awarded to the artist(s), producer(s), engineer(s), mixer(s) and mastering engineer(s). Song of the year honors the song itself. It goes to the songwriter(s).
Usually, an artist submits his or her strongest entry from the eligibility year in both categories, but sometimes the artists submit different works. Bruno Mars pioneered this approach 10 years ago and won in both categories, with “24K Magic” in record of the year and “That’s What I Like” in song of the year. This year, he’s trying that split strategy again, with “I Just Might” (record) and “Risk It All” (song). Taylor Swift is also trying this approach, with “The Fate of Ophelia” (record) and “I Knew It, I Knew You (from Toy Story 5)” (song). (And yes, that’s how the title of Swift’s movie tune appears on the eligibility list. They want to make sure voters make the association with the movie.)
We first previewed the Grammy nominations in the marquee categories back in July. This week, we’ve been updating those predictions, as needed. On Monday, we looked at album of the year, probably the most prestigious and coveted Grammy Award. Today, we’re taking on record and song of the year. On Wednesday, we’ll look at best new artist.
The biggest change I made from July was moving Tame Impala and Jennie’s “Dracula” to the top tier in record of the year, replacing Sienna Spiro’s “Die on This Hill.” (I kept “Die on This Hill” in song of the year.)
Six of the eight likeliest record of the year nominees were produced or co-produced by the artists. The only ones where the artists didn’t have a producer credit are the hits by the Olivias – Zach Nahome produced Olivia Dean’s “Man I Need”; Daniel Nigro did the honors on Olivia Rodrigo’s “the cure.”
A total of 779 records are competing for eight slots in the record of the year category on the final ballot. The field is even larger in song of the year, where a total of 923 songs are competing. So nominations, even for the biggest stars, are hard to come by.
Here are our best guesses for who will be nominated — listed in alphabetical order, followed by shortlists of other possibilities, also listed in alphabetical order.
The eligibility period for the 69th annual Grammy Awards ran from Aug. 31, 2025, through Aug. 28, 2026.
