Snubs & Surprises in the 2026 Dance/Electronic Grammy Nominations

The culture-permeating earworm that unseated Marshmello and Kane Brown’s “Miles on It” from its long reign at No. 1 on Hot Dance/Electronic songs seemed like an obvious choice for a best dance pop recording nominee. “No Broke Boys,” the dance world’s unofficial song of the summer, started as an edit heard during Disco Lines’ set at EDC Las Vegas in May, getting an official release as a new single with fresh vocals from Tinashe that meshed her 2024 original with Disco Lines’ bouncy beat. But just as the song’s lyrics go, in terms of 2026 Grammy recognition, there were indeed “no new friends.”

The Chicago-born producer and bona fide global phenom was shut out of the 2025 Grammys during his breakout year — a year during which he also released his Grammys-eligible debut album Comfort in Chaos. The academy might have made up for the snub with a 2026 nod, particularly given that Summit’s eligible January track “Focus” featuring Cloves marked some of his best and most mature work to date. But even as Summit headlines actual football stadiums, he’s apparently and surprisingly still not a focus for the academy.

The dance world rejoiced when Jamie xx released In Waves, his long-awaited follow-up to his 2015 classic In Colour, in September 2024. While this latter album was nominated for best dance/electronic album in 2016, In Waves didn’t get that acknowledgement, a snub considering how well the project was received and how great it is. With In Waves singles also being submitted for best dance/electronic recording, it’s surprising that voters didn’t manage to carve out any space for the project or the beloved producer, especially as the academy makes Grammy darlings out of fellow left-of-center indie dance producers like Fred again.. and Kaytranada.

We’re not surprised that the Canadian-Haitian producer is nominated in best dance/electronic recording this year, as anything Kaytra does has the Midas touch. The surprise is that the producer is only nominated for best dance/electronic recording for “Space Invader,” given that the album that the track comes from, Ain’t No Damn Way! is excellent start to finish. One wonders the factors weighed by voters as they sent a single from the album through to the nominations pool, but not the album it came from.

The Australian producer specializes in, and in fact helped form, the kind of slinky, acid-ey new wave of tech house that’s been one of the dance world’s dominant genres for the past several years. One would think that voters might acknowledge Dolla for that contribution, particularly as his hypnotic February single with Daya, “Dreamin’,” was rinsed by DJs around the world this year. This accomplishment happened in tandem with the producer rising to festival headliner status while also pushing his name and dance music at large further into mainstream consciousness via his A+ contribution to the F1 The Album film soundtrack, “No Room for a Saint.” But at the 2026 Grammys there was apparently indeed no room.

Amid her breakout year, the dance world favorite released some of her finest work to date on her 2024 album Dotr. Exploring the experience of grief in a way few artists are able or willing to do, a nomination for the album would have further established the Oregon-born, Texas-based and fully globe-trotting artist as a dance world force, although she’ll no doubt continue being so without the nod.

Pop divas are no stranger to the dance categories, with Britney Spears, Madonna, Beyoncé, Cher, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and more making appearances in the dance/electronic album and dance/electronic recording categories since they were introduced in 2005 and 1998, respectively. But never has queen diva Mariah Carey shown up in these categories, until now. Kaytanada’s slinky, sexy remix of Carey’s 2005 anthem “Don’t Forget About Us” brings Carey (who has five Grammy wins to her name) to the dance field, also marking the first remix from UMG’s catalog division UMe to ever be nominated.

Longtime dance world fav Chris Lake did get a 2026 nomination for his boss remix of The Chemical Brothers’ “Galvanize,” but one thought he might also get the nod for best dance/electronic album for his July LP Chemistry, his first ever studio album after a more than 20-year career. Apparently the project, excellent start to finish, didn’t quite alchemize with voters.

Perhaps it’s not actually that much of a surprise, but three years into its existence the best dance pop recording category is basically entirely dominated by pop stars, with Zara Larsson, Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco, Tate McRae, PinkPantheress and Lady Gaga getting 2026 nominations. Given that the dance/electronic fields have historically under-recognized female producers, seeing female artists dominate this category is a welcome development, although this category more and more feels like a space for bona fide pop stars who don’t totally inhabit the dance world to just submit their most dance-centric output.

The Australian producer is in the midst of her breakout moment, an achievement she’s been working towards for years and which she has finally and deservedly realized with her August album I Love My Computer, easily one of the year’s best dance/electronic albums. Awards in her home country have met this moment, with Ninajirachi being nominated for a host of Australian awards including the ARIA Awards, the NSW Music Prize and the Australian Music Prize, the latter of which she won this week. A Grammy nomination would’ve brought her breakout buzz to a new level while delivering some fresh energy to the nomination fields, but alas, no love.