The Recording Academy has announced the nominees for the 2026 GRAMMY Awards, unveiling the musicians and recordings that influenced the past year. The ceremony is scheduled for February 1, 2026, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, with a global broadcast on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
This year’s nominations arrive at a moment when African music has firmly entered the global conversation and is heavily informing and directing it. From Lagos to Johannesburg, Accra to Nairobi, and all the areas in between, the sound of the continent continues to influence how people dance, feel, remember, mourn, and celebrate. African artists are the moment, the center stage, the sauce, injecting global sounds with spirit and soul.
The 2025 GRAMMYs offered a clear illustration of this shift. Tems won the award for Best African Music Performance with “Love Me JeJe,” a recognition that reflected positively on her ongoing rise and the Academy’s increasing acknowledgment of African innovation as a contemporary cultural force. South African flautist Wouter Kellerman also earned a win in the New Age/Ambient category, the third in his career so far, proving that African musicians are excelling across genres that have historically seldom recognized them. And although some African nominees did not take home trophies in the major categories, their presence alone marked a meaningful step forward. The Grammys have come a long way, but work still needs to be done if African music is to be viewed in its fullness.
In the Best African Music Performance category, the nominees reflect the breadth of the continent’s sound in 2025. Burna Boy earns a spot with “Love”, while Davido and Omah Lay come in with the tender, radio-favored “With You.” Uganda’s Eddy Kenzo teams up with Mehran Matin on “Hope & Love,” while Ayra Starr and Wizkid’s effortlessly catchy “Gimme Dat” also makes the list, standing alongside Tyla‘s “Push 2 Start.” Angélique Kidjo returns to familiar territory with a nomination for Best Global Music Performance for “Jerusalema,” reaffirming her status as one of the continent’s most decorated and enduring cultural ambassadors. Similarly, Burna Boy extends his international streak with a nod for Best Global Music Album, making it the 11th time he’s been nominated.
Nigerian-American country artist Shaboozey earns a nomination for Best Country Solo Performance with “Good News,” and also appears in the Best Country Duo/Group Performance category for “Amen,” alongside Jelly Roll. In the Best Global Music Album category, two giants who have shaped the modern sound of the continent stand side by side. Burna Boy lands a nomination for No Sign of Weakness, while Senegalese maestro Youssou N’Dour, whose album Éclairer le monde (Light the World) speaks to his long-standing role as both cultural ambassador and sonic innovator.
The Recording Academy has continued to diversify and globalize its membership, incorporating more voices with lived experience across a wider array of musical cultures. As the voting body becomes more reflective of the world’s actual musical communities, the awards naturally shift as well, which makes possible an environment in which African musicians are an essential part of defining the core of the conversation.
As anticipation builds toward February, the question now is how far this influence will extend and how it will continue to reshape the global landscape of sound. The nominations affirm that the continent is firmly in the room. It’s in the sound, the style, and the pulse of the present. (OkayAfrica)
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