Grammys 2026: Kendrick Lamar & SZA Win Record Of The Year For “Luther”

Kendrick Lamar and SZA's “Luther" won the Grammy for Record Of The Year. Presented by Cher, who'd just won the year's Lifetime Achievement Award, it marks Kendrick's second year in a row winning the award.

Cher tried to leave the stage after accepting her own honor, but host Trevor Noah reminded her to read the nominees. When she revealed the Record Of The Year winner, she said,  “Oh, the Grammy goes to Luther Vandross!” before naming the correct recipients. (Vandross died in 2005.)

“Luther" beat out Bad Bunny's “DTMF,” Bilie Eilish's "Wildflower," Doechii's “Anxiety,” Chappell Roan's "The Subway, Lady Gaga's “Abracadabra,” Rosé and Bruno Mars' “Apt.,” and Sabrina Carpenter's “Manchild.” The song was also nominated for Song Of The Year, and earlier in the evening, it won for Best Melodic Rap Performance. "Luther" prominently samples "If This World Were Mine" by Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn, and Lamar used his acceptance speech to acknowledge the song's namesake, calling Vandross one of his favorite artists.

This year was another big Grammys year for Kendrick, who got nine total nominations: GNX won for Best Rap Album, "TV Off" won Best Rap Song, and he features on Clipse's “Chains & Whips," which won Best Rap Performance. Tonight he broke Jay-Z's record for most career Grammy wins in rap categories.