The Grammy Award just announced the 2026 nominations and I'm only accepting one artist to win Album of the Year: Bad Bunny. In the last few years, the Latin star has been killing the game and here's why all other theories are wrong. Sorry, not sorry.
I can write a whole book on his success. His 2023 Un Verano Sin Ti album was the first Spanish-speaking album to be nominated for Album of the Year. While he lost to Harry Styles, I believe this year's album is a true winner.
In 2024, he released Debí Tirar Más Fotos, a love letter to Puerto Rico and its roots. He featured many Puerto Rican artists and dabbled in different genres—salsa, bomba and reggaeton. He spoke of love, culture, gentrification, immigration and more. Songs like "Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii" (What Happened to Hawaii), "Turista" (Tourist) and "La Mudanza" (The Move) hits on issues that are happening right now.
If we're talking stats, his numbers are nothing to brush over. The album spent four weeks at the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 *and* became his fourth album to hit the top charts. He has surpassed seven billion streams on Spotify, being the first album to reach this milestone.
He also did a 30-date residency in Puerto Rico, which is reported to have made $200 million revenue for the island. For those of us who couldn't make it, he aired a one-night only on Amazon Prime, which became the most-watched livestream on the streaming service.
Even our Food Editor Taryn Pire was able to experience this tour and shared, "It hit me like a truck—why am I crying at the reggaeton show rn?! I thought back to my Uber drivers on the trip, all of whom asked if I was going to the show. There was a tattoo shop near my hotel that had Bad Bunny flash sheets up for grabs, and you could hear storefronts (and the pool DJ) blaring his music across the city. Bad Bunny himself was wearing the same Adidas sneakers that I saw dozens of fans wearing at the venue. It really felt like the whole island was celebrating his return, rejoicing in the newly ignited global fame and recognition of their patria."
Now, he's up against some amazing artists—some that I listen to on the regular—including Man's Best Friend by Sabrina Carpenter, Mayhem by Lady Gaga and GNX by Kendrick Lamar, to name a few. I can go in depth how each artist has made an impact this year, from Lamar's chart-stopping "Not Like Us" and headlining the Super Bowl to Carpenter and Gaga selling out tours across the country.
But...it has sadly been the year of the Bunny, as well as 2026 where he's going on a world tour and headlining the 2026 Super bowl halftime show.
He's also nominated for five other awards, making history as the first Spanish-language artist to earn Best Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Now, it would be easy to just award him for Música Urbana Album (he won it twice), but I believe he's proven to be so much more. Regardless if you understand Spanish or not, everyone has been tuning in to his music. He's simply not only a Latino artist, but a global superstar—so pigeon-holding him into one box is not cool.
The award show will take place on February 1, 2026 on CBS and I will surely be sat to see if my prediction comes true. In the meantime, I'll just have the album on repeat.
