Recommendations of the Editorial team
Calm down. Taylor Swift wasn’t left out at the 68th Grammy Awards. She simply did not release any new material during the eligibility period and will not compete until next year’s awards ceremony.
Every year, the Grammy eligibility period causes confusion online. Songs, albums and artists eligible for the 2026 Grammys had to have been released between August 31, 2024 and August 30, 2025.
Anything released after August 31, 2025 will count towards the 69th Grammy Awards, which will take place in early 2027.
Grammys follow their own calendar
Artists like Swift often benefit when an album has a full year to sit with Grammy voters. Their second album “Fearless” was released in November 2008. And won the album of the year award in February 2010. “Red” and “1989” were also fall releases. The latter was released in 2014 and received top honors in 2016.
Newer artists were also able to benefit from this time difference. Chappell Roan released her debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, in September 2023, after the 2024 Grammys eligibility period ended. Luckily, her big break came in the spring of 2024. Her audience grew rapidly, and she received a nomination for Album of the Year (and won Best New Artist) at the 2025 Grammys.
Swifties will have to be patient
The timing of when the Recording Academy launches its voting rarely aligns with other major awards shows – often leading to misunderstandings about who was passed over and who wasn’t. Oscars and Golden Globes are based on the calendar year (January to December). As a result, many “awards season” films are released around the holidays, and annual reviews in film tend to reflect what is being discussed during awards season.
For Taylor Swift fans, this means: “The Life of a Showgirl” will only be able to compete at the Grammys in 2027 – and has every chance of winning big there. You just have to wait a year to see what happens.