The 2026 Grammy Awards Crown Country Music’s Biggest Winners

Country music had a big night at the 2026 Grammys. The Recording Academy’s recent addition of an entirely new category for country music showcased the ever-evolving landscape of the genre, while also providing artists with even more opportunity to take home a trophy. Nominees like Tyler Childers and Lainey Wilson covered the most ground this year, each nominated in a majority of the categories, while first-time nominee Zach Top made Grammy history. 

Like last year, only one of the country music categories made it to the live broadcast. The other categories were announced at the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony earlier in the day.

Country music alum Chris Stapleton started the category strong, taking home the Grammy for Best Country Solo Performance for his song “Bad As I Used To Be” from the F1 The Movie. The win secured his 12th award to date. 

Shaboozey and Jelly Roll’s “Amen” won the Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. The award marked the first win for both artists after each had been nominated for multiple categories in the past. Jelly Roll also won big in the Premiere Ceremony with “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” taking home Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song. Best Country Song went to Tyler Childers for his sardonic hit “Bitin’ List.” Though Childers was the most nominated artist of the night in the country categories, this marked the only win for the Appalachian-rooted musician. The final country music category of the Premiere Ceremony was also the newest. Best Traditional Country Album is the product of what was formerly Best Country Album, which has now been split down the middle.

“Country music will now be feted with golden gramophones for Best Contemporary Country Album (originally Best Country Album) and the new Best Traditional Country Album, allowing those who hold to the old ways to see their work appreciated on its own terms,” explained GRAMMY.com contributor Chris Parton.

The inaugural award was presented to Zach Top for Ain't In It For My Health, cementing the Washington native in Grammy history. Top is the first person to ever win the award, a feat that becomes even more monumental due to the fact that this is the 28-year-old’s first year receiving Grammy nominations.

Following the announcement of the country music category winners, the Premiere Ceremony moved on to rougher, rootsier corners of the genre. Grammy genre-bender Jon Batiste earned his eighth win and first Best Americana Album award for BIG MONEY. Nashville-based maestro Billy Strings took home his second consecutive award for Best Bluegrass Album, a category he’s won a total of three times. Later in the ceremony, I’m With Her’s Wild And Clear, and Blue snagged the Grammy for Best Folk Album, marking the trio’s first win.

As the cameras began rolling and presenters began reading off the night’s most prized awards, country music’s on-screen moment took center stage. Lainey Wilson and Jeff Goldblum announced Jelly Roll as the winner of Best Contemporary Country Album for “Beautifully Broken.” The award signified Jelly Roll’s third nomination and third win of the night, providing a clean sweep for the Antioch native.

“I believe that music had the power to change my life, and God had the power to change my life,” Jelly Roll said during his powerful speech. “And I wanna tell y’all right now, Jesus is for everybody.”

The announcement of the biggest country music category winner of the night represented the end of the genre’s chapter at the 2026 Grammy Awards. The televised event ended with the final few categories of the night, also known as the “Big Four.” Olivia Dean took home the coveted Best New Artist award, while Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell won the Song of the Year category for “WILDFLOWER,” and "luther" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA won Record of the Year. Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny earned the biggest award of the night, Album of the Year, for his nostalgic, heartfelt album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS. The award marked the first time a Spanish-language album has won the category.