Taylor Swift's heart yearns for more Grammy nominations to tick off her wishlist, but alas, her latest masterpiece, "The Life of a Showgirl," has been conspicuously absent from the 2026 nominees list announced on November 7th. Music enthusiasts may have wondered why their beloved singer was overlooked, but fear not, Taylor's absence was not a snub; rather, it was simply a case of timing.
According to the Grammy rules, projects must be released within the specified eligibility window to be considered for a nomination in any given year. This year's window was from August 31st, 2024, to August 30th, 2025. Taylor dropped "The Life of a Showgirl" on October 3rd, 2025, more than a month after the deadline for qualification had passed. Despite announcing the album on August 13th, she chose not to release any singles beforehand, nor did she release any other music since her previous album "The Tortured Poets Department" in April 2024.
While her twelfth studio album won't be featured at the 2026 Grammy Awards, "The Life of a Showgirl" is eligible for next year's ceremony, so there's a chance Taylor could add to her impressive haul of 14 Grammys in 2027. In the meantime, her "Bad Blood" collaborator Kendrick Lamar led the pack of nominees this year with nine total nominations, including Album of the Year for GNX, making history as the first rapper in history to be nominated in that category five times as a lead artist.
Kendrick's haul was followed closely by Lady Gaga with seven nominations and Bad Bunny and Sabrina Carpenter who notched six each. Furthermore, this year's nominations made Grammys history with ROSÉ and Bruno Mars' nods for Record of the Year and Song of the Year for their track "APT.", making the Blackpink singer the first K-pop artist to receive a nomination as a main performer for one of the top four Grammy awards—which also includes Album of the Year and Best New Artist.
The 2026 Grammys ceremony will air live on CBS on Sunday, February 1st, from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
