Grammys 2026 Nominations Announced Why Was Taylor Swift Left Out

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 17, 2025, 1:27 PM

grammys 2026 nominations announced why was taylor swift left out

The official nominations for the 68th annual Grammy Awards — airing Feb. 1, 2026 — were announced on Friday morning. Kendrick Lamar leads the nominees with nine nods. He’s followed by Lady Gaga with seven, topping her previous record of six nominations in 2010. Lamar was recognized for his latest album, “GNX,” which dropped last November. Gaga, meanwhile, impressed Grammys voters with her album “Mayhem,” which came out in March.

Newcomer Leon Thomas scored six nominations, including Best New Artist. The other six-time nominated artists include Sabrina Carpenter, Serban Ghenea and Bad Bunny, who is performing at the Super Bowl one week after the Grammys. Bad Bunny made history as the first Spanish-language artist to be nominated for Best Album, Record of the Year and Song of the Year in one year. Taylor Swift had one of the biggest album releases of the year with The Life of a Showgirl. Still, when Grammy nominations were announced today for the 2026 ceremony, Swift wasn’t anywhere on the list. So was the artist’s latest album completely snubbed?

Not at all—it just isn’t eligible for next year’s ceremony. Swift released The Life of a Showgirl on Oct. 3, 2025. The eligibility period for the 2026 awards covers works released between Aug. 31, 2024 to Aug. 30, 2025.

The Life of a Showgirl can still be submitted for the 2027 Grammys, though (where the period is Aug. 31, 2025 to Aug. 30, 2026). Swift might still attend the 2026 Grammys. At this year’s show, she was a presenter, ultimately giving Beyoncé the Best Country Award. While she was nominated for The Tortured Poets Department, she did not win any awards.

For the moment, however, Swift has been focused on promoting her album, wedding planning, and enjoying her fiancé Travis Kelce’s football season. She’ll also be releasing her Disney+ documentary series on the Eras Tour next month. Last week, a source told Us Weekly that Swift isn’t planning to tour again imminently after completing her Eras Tour last year. Taylor Swift released 'The Life of a Showgirl' after the eligibility window closed Don't worry, Swifties! There is a reason why Taylor Swift isn't up for any 2026 Grammys.

The "Cruel Summer" singer didn't receive any nominations for the upcoming 2026 Grammys when all the potential winners were announced on Nov. 7. However, Swift didn't get the nod because she didn't release any music during the eligibility period for the 68th annual Grammy Awards. Although she notably released her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, in 2025, she debuted it over a month after the eligibility window closed. Prior to her most recent hit album, Swift also didn't drop any new music videos, singles or records that would qualify her for a nomination in the upcoming show. Swift last attended the 2025 Grammy Awards, where she was nominated for several categories for her 2024 album, The Tortured Poets Department.

The pop star didn't take home any awards for the album, but in total, she has won 14 Grammy Awards since 2010. Taylor Swift talks about releasing her album “The Life of a Showgirl,” Travis Kelce trying to distract her from his surprise proposal and why she’s not performing at the Super Bowl. Taylor Swift can't check off more Grammy nominations from her wish list quite yet. Stream NBC4 newscasts for free right here, right now. After the 2026 Grammy nominations were announced Nov. 7, music fans may have wondered why the singer's latest album "The Life of a Showgirl" was completely missing from the list of nods — but don't fret, Swift's absence from the list of...

Turns out, she simply wasn't eligible this go 'round. The nominations for the 2026 Grammy Awards are out, and fans can’t help but notice two major names missing: Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Taylor Swift. The Recording Academy unveiled this year’s contenders on November 7, with the 68th annual ceremony set for February 1 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Their absence quickly sparked questions online, but the reason behind it is surprisingly straightforward: timing. Here’s why the two global superstars were left off this year’s Grammy nominees list. Neither Swift nor Beyoncé released new music during the official eligibility period, which ran from Aug.

31, 2024, to Aug. 30, 2025. Beyoncé’s record-breaking album “Cowboy Carter” was released on March 29, 2024, just months before the new eligibility period began. The project, which redefined the country music genre by spotlighting its Black roots, made history at the 2025 Grammy Awards. The Life of a Showgirl is the biggest album of 2025, but it won’t be honored at the upcoming ceremony. The 2026 Grammy nominations will be announced on Nov.

7, recognizing the biggest hits and most beloved albums of the past year. Taylor Swift has contributed both, releasing her 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl, in October to record-breaking sales, and spawning a No. 1 single with “The Fate of Ophelia.” However, Swift won’t be among the nominees this year — for good reason. To be eligible for the 2026 Grammys, new music must have been released between Aug. 31, 2024, and Aug. 30, 2025.

Swift released The Life of a Showgirl on Oct. 3, 2025. This means that the album will be eligible to compete at the 2027 Grammys, along with all its songs, including “Ophelia.” Swift did not release any new songs during the eligibility period, after putting out The Tortured Poets Department in April 2024, which received six nominations at the 2025 show. This means that Swift will not be eligible for any Grammys for the first time since she was 17, when she released her debut single “Tim McGraw,” but didn’t submit it for Grammy consideration. The 2026 Grammys will also mark the first time that Swift will not be nominated since 2017.

That year, her Reputation single “Look What You Made Me Do” was eligible to compete and submitted for consideration, but did not garner any nominations. Every year since, Swift has been nominated for at least one award, adding more trophies to her mantle and making Grammys history. The 2026 Grammy Award nominees were announced on Nov. 7, and the list is honestly stacked. Fan favorite artists like Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Sabrina Carpenter, and Bad Bunny all earned multiple nods, Justin Bieber (!!!) earned himself an Album of the Year nomination with SWAG (plus other noms!), and... But among all the nominees, one big name was missing: Taylor Swift.

Why wasn’t Taylor Swift nominated for any 2026 Grammys? It was only a month ago, on Oct. 3, 2025, that Swift released her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl. Like any Swift album, the tracks — “The Fate Of Ophelia,” “Opalite,” and “Wood” are just some of the bops that come to mind — have been streamed by Swifties millions of times since... But they were all notably missing from the 2026 Grammy nominations list. And if you’re wondering why, the answer is pretty simple.

Here are the 2026 #GRAMMYS nominees for ALBUM OF THE YEAR 🏆Complete list: https://t.co/cHx8Xo1g3c pic.twitter.com/06daWMbAC2 Don’t worry, Swift wasn’t snubbed. In actuality, the Grammys eligibility period just doesn’t run from January to December. It’s not like artists who released music within that year at any point will be eligible for the Grammys that year. (It would be nice if that were the case, though.) Instead, the Grammys eligibility period for the 2026 Grammy Awards ran from Aug.

31, 2024 through Aug. 30, 2025. That means only music that was released within that period is eligible to win a 2026 Grammy. That includes anything released at the end of 2024 — that’s why Tyler, The Creator’s Chromakopia is included among the Grammy nominees despite being released on Oct. 28, 2024. Swift finds herself in the same boat as Tyler, The Creator.

Because her music came out in October, her entire The Life of a Showgirl album will likely be eligible for the 2027 Grammys. Taylor Swift missed the 2026 Grammy nominations because 'The Life of a Showgirl' was released after eligibility closed. The album will compete in 2027, where she's expected to be a major contender. .cls-1{fill:#0c9d58;}.cls-2{fill:#004d40;}.cls-10,.cls-2,.cls-3,.cls-5,.cls-9{opacity:0.2;}.cls-2,.cls-3,.cls-5,.cls-9{isolation:isolate;}.cls-3,.cls-8{fill:#fff;}.cls-4{fill:#ea4335;}.cls-5{fill:#3e2723;}.cls-6{fill:#ffc107;}.cls-7{fill:#4285f4;}.cls-11,.cls-9{fill:#1a237e;}.cls-12{fill:url(#radial-gradient);}google-news Follow Us Swifties can rest easy—there's a simple reason Taylor Swift isn't nominated for the 2026 Grammy Awards. When the Recording Academy announced this year's nominations on 7th November, fans quickly noticed the 'Cruel Summer' singer's name missing from the list.

But Swift's absence isn't due to a snub—it's purely a matter of timing. The eligibility period for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards ran from 31st August 2024 through 30th August 2025. Since Taylor Swift released her 12th studio album, 'The Life of a Showgirl,' in October 2025, it officially fell outside of the qualifying window. Because of that, neither the album nor its lead single, 'The Fate of Ophelia,' could be submitted for consideration this year.

Grammys 2026 Nominations Announced Why Was Taylor Swift Left Out

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