Australian K-pop star Rosé nominated for record of the year Grammy

Australian singer Rosé has become the first K-pop artist to be nominated for a Grammy Award for record of the year.

Rosé, whose real name is Roseanne Park, lived in Melbourne before moving to Korea in her teens to pursue a musical career, later joining the juggernaut girl group Blackpink.

Her solo single Apt, recorded with Bruno Mars, was nominated for a Grammy in the United States on Friday, making her the first K-pop artist to be shortlisted in that category.

Kendrick Lamar leads the nominations and is in the running for awards in nine categories, followed by Lady Gaga, Jack Antonoff and Canadian record producer-songwriter Cirkut with seven nominations each.

Apt was named song of the year at the MTV Video Music Awards in September. In her acceptance speech at the time, Rosé dedicated the award to her 16-year-old self.

Rosé was born in New Zealand but moved to Australia with her family when she was seven. She went to Canterbury Girls’ Secondary College, in Melbourne’s east, then left in year 10, moving to Seoul to train with YG Entertainment, a major Korean music company.

She spent four years training and joined K-pop band Blackpink, who became one of the bestselling groups of all time, topping the iTunes charts in 18 countries.

In 2021 she premiered her solo single On the Ground, and has amassed millions of fans worldwide.

Lamar’s nominations include record, song and album of the year – marking the third time he’s had simultaneous nominations in those big categories. He’s also nominated for pop duo/group performance, melodic rap performance, rap song and rap album. He’s also nominated twice in the rap performance category.

He is due to perform in Australia next month, headlining the Spilt Milk festival, which begins in Ballarat on December 6, before heading to Perth, Canberra and the Gold Coast.

Lamar, who is riding the success of last year’s blockbuster GNX album, has 22 Grammy career wins and 66 nominations. GNX is his fifth consecutive studio album to be nominated for album of the year, something no other artist has ever done.

If it wins, it will be his first win in the category. And it will be only the third rap album to win the top prize, following OutKast in 2004 for Speakerboxxx/The Love Below and Lauryn Hill in 1999 for The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

Lady Gaga is up for song, record and album of the year – her first time receiving nominations in all three categories simultaneously. She could also score potential wins in the pop solo performance, pop vocal album, dance pop recording and traditional pop vocal album categories.

Antonoff is nominated in the record, album and song of the year categories twice, for his work with Lamar and Sabrina Carpenter. He’s also nominated for rap song for the first time, for TV Off with Lamar, featuring Lefty Gunplay.

Antonoff and Cirkut are this year’s leading producers. However, Antonoff will not face off with Cirkut in the producer of the year, non-classical category – though he’s won it three times before.

Cirkut is up for both record and song of the year twice – for Lady Gaga’s Abracadabra and Rosé and Bruno Mars’ Apt – as well as album of the year and best dance pop recording.

In addition to Lady Gaga’s Mayhem and Lamar’s GNX, the album of the year category is rounded out by Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend, Bad Bunny’s Debi Tirar Mas Fotos, Justin Bieber’s Swag, Clipse, Pusha T & Malice’s Let God Sort Em Out, Leon Thomas’ Mutt, and Tyler, the Creator’s Chromakopia.

This is the first time three albums have been up for both rap album and album of the year: GNX, Let God Sort Em Out and Chromakopia.

Bad Bunny’s Debi Tirar Mas Fotos is only the second all-Spanish language album to be nominated for the top prize. The first was also a Bad Bunny release – Un Verano Sin Ti in 2023. Harry Styles’ Harry’s House won that year.

Carpenter, Bad Bunny, Leon Thomas and Serban Ghenea all boast six nominations. Andrew Watt, Clipse, Doechii, Sounwave, SZA, Turnstile and Tyler, the Creator have five each.

There were also some significant snubs. Despite earning major chart success, musicians including Lorde, Gracie Abrams and Megan Moroney did not receive any nominations. Also overlooked was The Weeknd, who released his sixth studio album Hurry Up Tomorrow, which was a critical and commercial success, debuting at No.1 on the Billboard 200 chart. It also topped charts in 16 other countries.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was Taylor Swift’s name missing from the list of nominees. But The Life of a Showgirl was released in October - too late to be in the running. Only recordings commercially released in the United States between August 31, 2024, and August 30, 2025, were eligible for nominations. The final round of Grammy voting, which determines its winners, will take place from December 12 until January 5.

In the best new artist category, global girl group Katseye, Olivia Dean, The Marias, Addison Rae, Sombr, Leon Thomas, Alex Warren and Lola Young will all go head-to-head.

The record of the year category is made up of Bad Bunny’s Debi Tirar Mas Fotos, Carpenter’s Manchild, Doechii’s Anxiety, Billie Eilish’s Wildflower, Lady Gaga’s Abracadabra, Lamar and SZA’s Luther, Chappell Roan’s The Subway and Rosé and Bruno Mars’ Apt.

Some may be surprised to see Eilish included in the bunch as Wildflower was released on her 2024 album Hit Me Hard and Soft, ahead of the eligibility window. However, there is a Recording Academy rule that allows albums released during the previous ceremony’s eligibility period to be considered, “provided the same tracks were not entered the previous year and the album did not win a Grammy”, with a few exceptions. By that rule, Eilish’s Wildflower – which was not previously entered – is eligible.

Song of the year – an award for a track’s songwriters, which sometimes include the performer but not always – is made up of an almost identical list to record of the year, except Roan is replaced by Golden from the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack.

“The Grammy Awards are our opportunity to honour the people who make this community so vibrant and this year’s nominees remind us of the incredible talent that is driving music forward,” said Recording Academy chief executive Harvey Mason Jr in a statement.

“From emerging talent to influential icons, these nominees reflect today’s broad and diverse musical landscape and I am excited to celebrate them in the coming weeks ahead.”

There are a number of first-time nominees as well this year, including Tate McRae, Zara Larsson, PinkPantheress, JID and Timothee Chalamet. Yes, you read that correctly: the actor is up for best compilation soundtrack for visual media for A Complete Unknown, for his work covering the great Bob Dylan. But competition is stiff: he’ll have to beat out Wicked, KPop Demon Hunters, Sinners and F1: The Album.

The 2026 Grammy Awards will be held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 1.

With AP

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