Kendrick wins Record of the Year
Kendrick Lamar took Record of the Year at the 2026 Grammys for a song honoring Luther Vandross — a major win that underlines hip-hop’s continued mainstream recognition at the awards winners list. Industry chatter says the night pushed storytelling and artistic evolution in rap to the forefront.
The track "luther" (stylized lowercase) was issued as the third single from Kendrick’s GNX on Nov. 29, 2024, through PGLang/Interscope. (en.wikipedia.org) The song uses a sample of Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn’s 1982 rendition of "If This World Were Mine," and Kendrick has said the Vandross estate required there be "no cursing" as a condition for clearance. (rollingstone.com) Production credits on "luther" include Sounwave, Jack Antonoff, Roselilah, M‑Tech, Scott Bridgeway and Kamasi Washington, names Kendrick and collaborators acknowledged onstage and in press coverage. (rollingstone.com) During the telecast presenter Cher briefly misread the card and appeared to announce the late Vandross by mistake, an onstage moment widely reported, and Kendrick used his acceptance remarks to thank the Vandross estate and call the song "what music is about." (hollywoodreporter.com) "luther" was a dominant commercial force before the ceremony, spending 13 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and clearing the 1 billion‑stream mark on Spotify during its run. (rollingstone.com) Kendrick entered the night as the Grammys' most‑nominated artist with nine nods and added five trophies at the ceremony, bringing his career total to 27 Grammys and surpassing Jay‑Z’s previous rap record of 25 wins. (revolt.tv)
