Grammys 2026: Sabrina Carpenter Matches Taylor Swift's 'Album of the Year' Record

Sabrina Carpenter has just cemented her status as a music industry titan, scoring a coveted 2026 Grammy nomination for Album of the Year for Man's Best Friend. This nod places her in truly elite company, as she officially matches a rare record set by Taylor Swift.

The nominations, announced Friday, 7 November, revealed Carpenter's dominance across the 'Big Four' categories, with nods for Record of the Year and Song of the Year for her hit 'Manchild,' in addition to the Album of the Year recognition.

This marks Carpenter's second consecutive year receiving an Album of the Year nomination. In doing so, she joins Taylor Swift--who has achieved the feat twice--as one of the only artists to receive back-to-back Album of the Year nominations since the Recording Academy expanded the category from five to eight nominees for the 2019 ceremony.

This achievement is even more impressive considering last year, Carpenter was nominated in all Big Four categories, including Best New Artist.

How Sabrina Carpenter Led Island Records to Grammy Glory

Carpenter's massive success helped her label, Island Records, secure the second-highest number of 'Big Four' nominations this year, with a total of six. Island's strategy of developing new talent has paid off spectacularly. For the second year in a row, the label has landed two nominees in the Best New Artist category: Olivia Dean and Lola Young.

This follows last year's powerhouse showing, where Island's Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter were both nominated for Best New Artist, with Roan ultimately taking home the award. Both Carpenter and Roan also received nominations in the 'Big Four' categories for the second consecutive year, with Roan picking up a Record of the Year nod for 'The Subway'.

Island Records is part of the larger REPUBLIC Collective, which also includes Republic Records and Def Jam. As a whole, the collective scored eight nominations, including a Song of the Year nod for 'Golden' from the Kpop Demon Hunters soundtrack and an Album of the Year nod for Justin Bieber's SWAG.

Interscope and UMG Dominate the 2026 Nominations

While Island Records had a stellar year, the day's biggest winner was Interscope Records. Interscope led all labels with eight nominations in the 'Big Four' categories alone, thanks to a powerhouse line-up including Billie Eilish (Record, Song), Kendrick Lamar (Record, Song, Album), and Lady Gaga (Record, Song, Album).

This marks the fifth time in the last eight years that Interscope has led all labels in top-category nominations.

When factoring in its parent structure, Interscope Capitol, the numbers are even more commanding. The group, which includes Capitol (two nominations for Doechii), Motown (two nominations for Leon Thomas), and the HYBE/Geffen partnership (one nomination for KATSEYE), landed a total of 13 nominations in the 'Big Four.'

This dominance gave parent company Universal Music Group (UMG) a staggering 21 of the 32 total slots in the main categories. The other major label groups trailed significantly, with Warner Music Group earning five nods, indies garnering four, and Sony Music receiving two.

Other major nominees in the 'Big Four' include:

• Bad Bunny, whose Rimas-label album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS and its title track 'DtMF' earned nods for Album, Song, and Record of the Year.
• ROSÉ and Bruno Mars, whose Atlantic-label hit 'APT.' scored nominations for Song and Record of the Year.
• Tyler, The Creator, who received an Album of the Year nomination for CHROMAKOPIA.
• Clipse, who earned a surprise Album of the Year nod for Let God Sort Em Out.