Songwriters of the year’s biggest hits were recognized in the Song of the Year category at the 2026 Grammy Awards.
“Wildflower” by Billie Eilish received the accolade during the Sunday, February 1, awards show at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Joined on stage by her brother and collaborator Finneas O’Connell, who cowrote “Wildflower,” Eilish, 24, used her speech to voice her support for those protesting ICE’s actions across the country.
“I honestly don’t feel like I need to say anything, but no one is illegal on stolen land,” she said. “It’s just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now. I feel really hopeful in this room and like we just need to keep fighting, speaking up and protesting. Our voices really matter.”
Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra,” Doechii’s “Anxiety,” Rosé and Bruno Mars’ “Apt.,” Bad Bunny’s “DtMF,” Huntr/x’s “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters, Kendrick Lamar’s “Luther” with SZA and Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild” rounded out the list of nominees in the Song of the Year category.
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“Anxiety” by Doechii, 27, received the most overall nominations of the songs in the category, with five. In addition to Song of the Year, “Anxiety” was in the running for Record of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song and Best Music Video.
“Manchild” trailed closely behind with four total nods, including for Record of the Year, Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Music Video. Carpenter, 26, was also up for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for Man’s Best Friend.
“Abracadabra,” “Apt.,” “Golden” and “Luther” were all nominated for three Grammys each. The Gaga song received nods for Record of the Year and Best Dance Pop Recording, while the pop star, 39, landed additional nominations for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for Mayhem, Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Harlequin and Best Pop Solo Performance for “Disease.”
“Apt.” by Rosé, 28, and Mars, 40, vied for Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
“Golden” — which is sung by Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami — secured nods for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Song Written for Visual Media, while the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack also competed for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media.
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“Luther” by Lamar, 38, and SZA, 36, received nominations for Record of the Year and Best Melodic Rap Performance. Lamar was also up for Album of the Year and Best Rap Album for GNX, 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.” Beyond her nods with Lamar, SZA was also in the running for Best Traditional R&B Performance for “Crybaby.”
Bad Bunny’s “DtMF” and Eilish’s “Wildflower” earned a total of two nods each, with both securing nominations for Record of the Year.
As for Bad Bunny, 31, he racked up six Grammy nominations overall, including Album of the Year, Best Música Urbana Album and Best Album Cover for Debí Tirar Más Fotos and Best Global Music Performance for “EoO.”
Prior to the 2026 awards show, many of the artists in the Song of the Year category were already Grammy winners, with 22 past trophies for Lamar, 16 for Mars, 14 for Gaga, nine for Eilish, five for SZA, three for Bad Bunny, two for Carpenter and one for Doechii.
