68th Grammy Awards: What to Know About the Biggest Night in Music

The 68th annual Grammy Awards return Sunday night, celebrating the year’s best in music with star-studded performances, new award categories, and a packed field of nominees led by Kendrick Lamar, who tops the list with nine nominations.

This year’s ceremony introduces two new categories—Best Traditional Country Album and Best Album Cover—bringing the total number of awards to 95. In addition, the category formerly known as Best Country Album has been renamed Best Contemporary Country Album.

The Grammys will air live on Sunday, Feb. 1, on CBS beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.

Leading Nominees

Among Kendrick Lamar’s nine nominations is a nod for Album of the Year for GNX. It marks his fifth consecutive studio album nominated in the category—an unprecedented achievement.

Lady Gaga, Jack Antonoff, and Canadian producer-songwriter Cirkut follow closely with seven nominations each. Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter, Leon Thomas, and Canadian audio engineer Serban Ghenea earned six nominations apiece. Bad Bunny also makes history as the first Spanish-language artist to be nominated for Song, Record, and Album of the Year in the same year.

Performers Taking the Stage

All eight Best New Artist nominees—Addison Rae, Alex Warren, KATSEYE, Leon Thomas, Lola Young, Olivia Dean, Sombr, and The Marías—are scheduled to perform during the ceremony.

Additional performances will come from Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber, Clipse, and Pharrell Williams. The night will also include tributes: Lauryn Hill will honor the late D’Angelo and Roberta Flack, while Post Malone, Duff McKagan, Slash, Chad Smith, and Andrew Watt will pay tribute to Ozzy Osbourne.

Presenters and Host

Among this year’s presenters is three-time Grammy winner Harry Styles. Doechii, already a Grammy recipient and nominated for five awards this year, will also take the stage as a presenter.

Comedian and former Daily Show host Trevor Noah returns to host the Grammys for the sixth consecutive year.

Venue

The 68th annual Grammy Awards will be held at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, once again turning the spotlight on music’s biggest names and moments.