Kendrick Lamar and SZA won Record of the Year at the 2026 Grammys, but it was a mistake by presenter Cher that hilariously overshadowed the big moment.
When Cher opened the envelope during the Sunday, February 1, ceremony at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, she said the award was won by the late Luther Vandross.
In reality, Lamar, 38, and SZA, 36, won for their collaboration “Luther,” which samples Vandross’ 1982 duet with Cheryl Lynn, “If This World Were Mine.”
“No! Kendrick Lamar!” Cher could be heard saying as Lamar and SZA began to hesitantly make their way to the stage.
“This is what music is about. Luther Vandross … ” Lamar said during his speech, drawing a roar of laughter from the crowd. “This is special for me. I gotta take my time. It’s one of my favorite artists of all-time. They granted us the privilege to do our version of it. When we got that clearance, I promise you, we damn near all dropped a tear.”
Bad Bunny’s “DtMF,” Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild,” Doechii’s “Anxiety,” Billie Eilish’s “Wildflower,” Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra,” Chappell Roan’s “The Subway” and Rosé and Bruno Mars’ “Apt.” were also nominated in the Record of the Year category.
Of the Record of the Year contenders, Lamar had the most overall nominations at the 2026 Grammys. His nine nods included Album of the Year and Best Rap Album for GNX, Song of the Year and Best Melodic Rap Performance for “Luther,” Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “30 for 30” with SZA, Best Rap Performance for “Chains and Whips” with Clipse and Pharrell Williams and “TV Off” with Lefty Gunplay and Best Rap Song for “TV Off.” (SZA also earned an individual nomination for Best Traditional R&B Performance for “Crybaby.”)
Gaga, 39, racked up a total of seven nods for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for Mayhem, Song of the Year and Best Dance Pop Recording for “Abracadabra,” Best Pop Solo Performance for “Disease” and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Harlequin.
Bad Bunny, 31, and Carpenter, 26, secured six nominations each. He competed for Album of the Year, Best Música Urbana Album and Best Album Cover for Debí Tirar Más Fotos, Song of the Year for “DtMF” and Best Global Music Performance for “EoO,” while she vied for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for Man’s Best Friend and Song of the Year, Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Music Video for “Manchild.”
Doechii, 27, followed with five total nods for Song of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song and Best Music Video for “Anxiety.”
Rosé, 28, and Mars, 40, trailed closely behind with three nominations for “Apt.,” including for Song of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
Meanwhile, Eilish, 24, and Roan, 27, both earned two overall nods as “Wildflower” was up for Song of the Year and “The Subway” vied for Best Pop Solo Performance.
With the exception of Rosé, all of the Record of the Year nominees were Grammy winners before the 2026 ceremony. Lamar led the pack with 22 trophies throughout his career followed by Mars with 16, Gaga with 14, Eilish with nine, SZA with five, Bad Bunny with three, Carpenter with two and Doechii and Roan with one each.
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