After the 2026 Grammy nominees were revealed on Friday, some music lovers are a bit confused about Billie Eilish‘s nominations, so The Hollywood Reporter is breaking it down.
The Grammy and Oscar winner earned two nods for her song “Wildflower,” including song and record of the year. After the announcement, Eilish wrote on Instagram in celebration, “Song of the year & record of the year for WILDFLOWERthank you@recordingacademyfeeling so grateful.”
However, some are surprised by the eligibility for “Wildflower” as it was initially featured on her most recent album, Hit Me Hard and Soft (released in May 2024), which already earned Grammy nominations at the 67th annual ceremony in February 2025, including album of the year and best pop vocal album.
The reason the song is qualified to compete in the upcoming awards ceremony is that “Wildflower” was released as a single inFebruary 2025, which is between the eligibility period (Aug. 31, 2024 – Aug. 30, 2025) for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. The Recording Academy also views tracks and singles differently, as a “track” is released as part of an album and a “single” is released separately.
“A track or single from a previous year’s album is eligible in the General, Pop & Dance/Electronic,
Gospel & CCM, Rock, Metal & Alternative Music, R&B, Rap & Spoken Word Poetry, Country &
American Roots Music, Latin, Jazz, Global, African, Reggae & New Age, Ambient, or Chant Fields,
provided the recording was not entered as a track or single the previous year and provided the
album did not win a GRAMMY in a performance Category,” the official Grammy rules state.
And since Hit Me Hard and Soft didn’t win any awards at the 2025 Grammys (Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter won album of the year and Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet won best pop vocal album), that also makes “Wildflower” eligible.
At the upcoming ceremony, Eilish is up against Bad Bunny’s “DtMF,” Carpenter’s “Manchild,” Doechii’s “Anxiety,” Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra,” Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “luther,” Chappell Roan’s “The Subway,” and Rosé and Bruno Mars’s “APT” for record of the year. As for song of the year, the singles nominated include “Abracadabra,” “Anxiety,” “APT.,” “DtMF,” “Golden [From “KPop Demon Hunters”],” “luther,” “Manchild” and “Wildflower.”
The 2026 Grammys take place on Feb. 1.