Hosted by Emma Cam, Jamie Lim, Julian Gonzales, Lola Dogat, Megan Hirao, Nadia Royal, and Sarah Yoo
It is officially GRAMMY season!
Year in and year out, with its self-proclaimed title as "music's biggest night," the Grammy stage tends to offer more than just awards and live performances—rather, a space for music fans to discuss, criticize, or maybe even agree with the Recording Academy and its opinions on the current state of the industry.
From the Big Four to our biggest snubs, join the KSDT Radio Media Department as we sit down and discuss our reactions and predictions to the latest 2026 nominations!
View the full list of nominations here.
Megan: Welcome to our Grammy roundtable discussion! To get things started, what are your general thoughts on the nominees? Are there any categories or artists that stand out to you?
Emma: Just off the bat, this year's Grammys feels like part two of last year. It doesn't feel like a new year. Kendrick's on it, Billie's on it; typical big names are on it that are using the same projects from last year.
Sarah: I agree! I feel like everything is predictable. All of the Big Four…I could have predicted.
Nadia: I also agree with everyone. It feels like they're just looking at a lot of the same people over and over again. We could have some other artists in some of the other categories.
Sarah: The only thing that really interests me this year is Producer of the Year, because I want Dijon to win. He’s not gonna be nominated for a category like Album of the Year—I feel like he hasn't reached that “Grammy status” yet. But he deserves this, and I really hope he wins.
Jamie: I'm really excited for PinkPantheress! I’m happy she got nominated. I think she should win something from either the Dance Pop or Dance/Electronic Album categories. But other than that, I feel like a lot of the artists aren’t a representation of the pinnacle of music. It feels more like celebrities. I'm also really excited for The Marías. And HUNTR/X.
Julian: We have got to talk about Song of the Year.
“Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters and HUNTR/X. Hello? That changed my life. So well-deserved, but also controversial. There are a lot more artists who deserve that spot, and this came from a movie, so I don't know.
Sarah: I think they deserve it. Actually, who else is nominated?
All: “Abracadabra,” “APT”...
Sarah: I would want “Golden” to win so we can get the Asian rep.
All: Yesss *snaps*
Julian: And also, shoutout KATSEYE, they made Best New Artist.
All: Shoutout KATSEYE!
Jamie: I might be biased, but I also think HUNTR/X's “Golden” should win. Because if we're just going by the logic of “the most famous artists get to be at the Grammys,” then HUNTR/X should win because they got the most streams on Spotify for all of their songs and have been Top 10 on Billboard.
Nadia: And also, besides that, I think as a group, they are very inspiring. A lot of them did get snubbed by the music community in different ways. So I think this is a good moment for them, and I really hope they win in one of the categories that they are nominated in.
Lola: Yeah, I also actually agree with “Golden.” I really was excited to see them on the list. I would also, for Song of the Year, be really happy if Billie Eilish won for “Wildflower.” It was so snubbed last year, and I believe that she should have won Album of the Year last year, too, and I was really sad that she didn't win.
Emma: Honestly, I don't have a preference. I guess it would make sense for “Golden” to win, just because of virality. But on that note, I feel like a lot of the Grammys this year are based on virality. And virality equals pop, so there's not much diversity. I remember when Florence + The Machine would be nominated, so we got folk. Song of the Year was so diverse, and now it's mainly pop.
With Doechii, I understand “Anxiety,” but she's had crazy releases. “Anxiety” just got so overtaken by mainstream pop. And I'm just like…RIP.
Lola: I totally agree. And I actually looked into it, and the Grammys apparently do not consider cultural impact.
Emma: *Gasps*
Lola: But I think that’s a lie.
All: There’s no way.
Lola: Apparently, they only consider the quality of the music in who they choose to win, not in the nominations. But I just don't think that that's true, considering the history.
Emma: Because where's Ravyn Lenae then?
All: Mmmmm. *Snaps* Yes, yes.
Emma: If you're talking about production, vocals…
Sarah: On that note, also, Lorde is not here anywhere. Culturally, I feel like her release of Virgin—obviously following Solar Power and all her older releases—was huge this year. The fact that she wasn't nominated at all for anything…
Nadia: I was gonna say too, I wish that Djo got nominated for something besides Best Album Cover, because I actually don't even know if he technically gets out or if it's the person that worked on the cover. I've been re-listening to The Crux a lot, and it's a really solid album, honestly. I feel like he could have been Best New Artist, or something like that, would have been cool. But that’s also on the topic of not a lot of new people getting nominated.
Emma: I'm gonna go back to the idea of Lorde. I think there should be a Grammy category of “Best Resurgence.” Lorde, Zara Larsson, Pierce The Veil, My Chemical Romance—so many artists that were so big in the past 4+ years, and they're back again, giving great performances and great music.
Sarah: Yeah, I'm gonna use that to transition to The Marías. I wouldn't say they were big and then came back like that, but I feel like they just weren't really as recognized as they are now, obviously, which is why I hope they win Best New Artist. They really aren’t new at all, but I just feel like they've been so underrated and underappreciated by the industry. I'm glad that they are finally getting recognition.
Jamie: Yeah, I feel like I don't believe that the Grammys don’t base their nominations on virality, because The Marías have been around for 10 years or so. And now that they have become really big, they suddenly deserve to win Best New Artist, even though they're not actually a new artist.
Lola: I think that they do nominations based on virality. I think it's just wins that they don’t. Apparently, they consider artistic achievement, technical proficiency, and overall excellence. But take this with a grain of salt, because I did get this from Google. I can't find anything on their actual website. Maybe they consider virality, maybe they don't.
Sarah: Surely they do if sombr is nominated…
I feel like nothing about his music, from what I've heard, is very quality. I think it's really just his fan base, because they're so crazy for him. Maybe he's just young, tall, and a man. But yeah, I'm just gonna hate.
Julian: Riding on that sombr hate-train. The only popular song he has is “back to friends,” and it sucks, I’m not gonna lie. Like, how about back to the studio!
He says, “get back to being friends”—get back to making music in the garage.
Sarah: He just takes TikTok comments as lyrics. I'm like, “What are we doing? Can we not?”
Jamie: Can we go back to the stu?
Lola: Just real quick, I do think they do consider popularity for Best New Artist.
All: *Laughs*
Lola: My statement was not a general statement. It depends on the category. Nominations are based on popularity, I think. I don't know. It's okay. We can't find anything concrete.
Jamie: Maybe it's not based on logic…
Emma: I'm gonna shift to the alternative and rock part of the Grammys, because that's what I'm interested in.
Hayley Williams, I just really want her to win something. I feel like Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party is genuinely such a formative album in alternative rock music. Especially for an artist like Hayley Williams, who has been pioneering “scene and emo music” in a male-dominated genre. That was just an amazing album, and I don't like how she's going against Linkin Park and stuff. Not that I don't like that, I just feel bad, because if you don't know, Linkin Park's lead singer recently passed away, and so replacing him is a woman named Emily. She's amazing, but there's just so much misogyny in this genre, and I just feel bad that they're going against huge names like The Cure. And I don't know why Haim is nominated for Best Rock Album. Nothing about being weird Zionists shouts rock.
Lola: I agree. I saw that Hayley Williams was nominated for “Mirtazapine,” and I really like that song. I also listened to “The Emptiness Machine” by Linkin Park, and again, it is also really good. But I do think Hayley Williams has an edge, in my biased opinion.
Emma: Yes, this is all subjective.
Sarah: That one, I’m also kind of interested to see who will win. Honestly, all of the nominations for Alternative Music Performance and Album are pretty well-known and universally liked.
Lola: Looking at Best Alternative Music performance—“mangetout” by Wet Leg is pretty good. But I would be happy if either “Parachute” or “mangetout” won.
Sarah: For that category, I really want Bon Iver to win. His album is honestly top three for me this year, overall, not even just alternative. I feel like he's also an artist who has been around forever, but I haven't really heard much about this album. I think it's in the top three of his, and there are no skips. I really hope he wins at least one of the categories he’s nominated in, because I think he deserves it.
Lola: Can we talk about Album of the Year? If anyone has any opinions.
Sarah: I feel like, again, all of these are really predictable. Lady Gaga, Sabrina…
Jamie: I feel a little underwhelmed by Album of the Year. As we said before, it's really predictable. I didn't think Justin Bieber would make it, no offense, but that's kind of random. If anyone could win, I guess I would want maybe Tyler to win.
Nadia: Yeah, I was gonna say it feels really predictable. Usually, with some of the categories—especially this one—there's someone you are rooting for to win. But this year is just kind of whatever. It feels like that is the vibe of the whole Grammys.
Jami: Oh yeah. When I saw “APT.” on Song of the Year, I was like… “really?” I mean, I guess.
Megan: Just to close and wrap things up, I wanted to ask one final question: If you could have nominated anyone for any category, who would it be, and why?
For me, it’s Baby for Album of the Year.
Sarah: Dijon, Best New Artist.
You really could not have predicted that.
Lola: She’s really small, but I would nominate Adela for Best Dance Pop or Dance/Electronic Recording.
Megan: Oh, that's a good one. That's a good one
Sarah: Maybe Big Thief somewhere.
Jamie: Adrianne Lenker for Best Alternative.
Julian: Honestly, why aren’t Saja Boys on there? I think it would have been really funny with HUNTR/X vs. Saja Boys.
Jamie: Where's “Soda Pop?”
Megan: Oklou, somewhere. Maybe Electronic? Oklou deserves.
Nadia: I already said this, but Djo.
Sarah: Ethel Cain.
Emma: Ethel Cain!
Lola: Yeah, I agree with Nadia, Djo should have been there.
Nadia: I think Best New Artist honestly makes sense for him. But yeah, I definitely think Djo should have been up there.
Megan: We already said Ravyn Lenae, too. But Ravyn Lenae.
Jamie: Is it weird to say 2hollis? He’s just so popular, I'm surprised he wasn't in electronic or something.
Megan: Well, if there are no more final thoughts, thank you all for having this discussion, and thank you to everyone who is reading this back!
Record of the Year:
- Emma: “Manchild” – Sabrina Carpenter
- Nadia: “Manchild” – Sabrina Carpenter
- Jamie: “Anxiety” – Doechii
- Lola: “DtMF” – Bad Bunny
- Julian: “Wildflower” – Billie Eilish
- Sarah: “luther” – Kendrick Lamar & SZA
Album of the Year
- Emma: GNX – Kendrick Lamar
- Nadia: CHROMAKOPIA – Tyler, the Creator
- Jamie: CHROMAKOPIA – Tyler, the Creator
- Lola: CHROMAKOPIA – Tyler, the Creator
- Julian: CHROMAKOPIA – Tyler, the Creator
- Sarah: GNX – Kendrick Lamar
Song of the Year
- Emma: “Golden” – HUNTR/X
- Nadia: “Golden” – HUNTR/X
- Jamie: “Golden” – HUNTR/X
- Lola: “Abracadabra” – Lady Gaga
- Julian: “Golden” – HUNTR/X
- Sarah: “Wildflower” – Billie Eilish
Best New Artist
- Emma: The Marías or Olivia Dean
- Nadia: Leon Thomas
- Jamie: Addison Rae
- Lola: Lola Young
- Julian: The Marías or KATSEYE
- Sarah: The Marías or Olivia Dean
