Ella Langley’s dream year is likely to culminate in a sweep when the nominations for the 69th annual Grammy Awards are announced on Monday (Nov. 16).
Thanks to a rule change in the best new artist category that was announced in June, which allows an artist to be entered four times instead of three, Langley could be nominated in four of the six general field categories — album, record and song of the year plus best new artist. If that happens, Langley will become the first country crossover artist to achieve the feat since Bobbie Gentry in 1968.
We first previewed the Grammy nominations in these marquee categories back in July. Starting today, we’re going to update those predictions, as needed. First up, album of the year, probably the most prestigious and coveted of the 100 Grammy Awards. On Tuesday, we’ll look at record and song of the year. On Wednesday, we’ll take on best new artist.
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For the fourth year in a row, there will be eight nominees in each of these categories. The eligibility period for the 69th annual Grammy Awards ran from Aug. 31, 2025, through Aug. 28, 2026.
The field of likely album of the year contenders hasn’t changed much since we first previewed them in July. I bumped Don Toliver’s Octane up from “Within Reach” to the top tier, taking the place of RAYE’s This Music May Contain Hope., which is competing with a more commercially successful album by another classy English pop-soul singer, Olivia Dean. Both albums could make it, of course, but with many strong albums vying for just eight slots on the final ballot, something’s gotta give.
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Paul McCartney and Taylor Swift are both going for history. If McCartney is nominated for The Boys of Dungeon Lane, it will be his record-extending 10th career nomination in this category. If Swift is nominated for The Life of a Showgirl, it will be her eighth nod in this category — more than anyone else in Grammy history for strictly solo albums. Swift is a better bet: She has been nominated in this category with each of her last four regular studio albums. McCartney was last nominated here in 2006.
We show the deluxe editions of hit albums by Noah Kahan and Rosalía because those are the ones that were entered in the Grammy competition.
A total of 683 albums were on the eligibility list in this category. Here are our best guesses for who will be nominated — listed in alphabetical order, followed by a shortlist of other possibilities, also listed in alphabetical order.