GIVĒON, Coco Jones & Leon Thomas Lead the Best R&B Album Pack for 2026 Grammy Nominations: Our Predictions

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Mariah the Scientist & Ledisi besides released beardown projects successful the category.

10/22/2025

Last week, Billboard’s R&B/hip-hop squad shared our nominee predictions successful 3 of the 5 R&B categories for the 68th yearly Grammy Awards: best R&B performance, champion accepted R&B show and champion R&B song. Here, we’re going to forecast which projects are astir apt to marque the chopped successful the champion R&B medium category.

Recent champion R&B medium winners see Jazmine Sullivan (Heaux Tales, 2022), Robert Glasper (Black Radio III, 2023), Victoria Monét (Jaguar II, 2024) and Chris Brown (11:11 [Deluxe], 2025). Before we foretell the 5 nominees for the 2026 Grammy derby, which volition beryllium presented Feb. 1, here’s a speedy refresher regarding the Recording Academy’s class explanation for champion R&B album.

It’s been 4 years since the Grammys’ champion modern R&B medium class was discontinued and its sanction changed to champion R&B album. The revamped class brought unneurotic albums featuring infusions of modern hip-hop and those featuring much accepted R&B leanings nether 1 roof. According to the academy’s existent rulebook, champion R&B medium — vocal oregon instrumental — “recognizes creator excellence successful albums of R&B music.”

This year’s harvest of R&B albums represents a divers scope of styles, long-anticipated returns and breakthroughs by a premix of established and rising stars — including respective anterior Grammy winners and nominees.

Among the long-anticipated returns is that of Teyana Taylor. Winning raves for her relation successful the Leonardo DiCaprio thriller One Battle After Another, she elicited beardown buzz this summertime for her BET Awards show of “Fire Girl” and “Long Time.” Those songs positive the azygous “Bed of Roses” are from her anticipated archetypal caller medium successful 5 years Escape Room.

Another long-awaited infinitesimal arrived this twelvemonth with the merchandise of Justin Bieber’s seventh workplace medium SWAG. While 1 of its notable tracks, “Yukon,” is entered successful the R&B category, the medium is alternatively among the popular vocal medium entries. This calls to caput the 2020 Grammys erstwhile Bieber questioned his Changes album being placed successful the popular class versus R&B.

On the breakthrough front, 1 of this year’s heralded arrivals was Ravyn Lenae with the R&B/pop crossover pb azygous “Love Me Not,” alongside different fashionable way “Love Is Blind” — some from her critically acclaimed sophomore acceptable Bird’s Eye. Her album, however, isn’t eligible for a motion arsenic it was released Aug. 9, 2024, and the eligibility play for the 68th yearly Grammys was Aug. 31, 2024-Aug. 30, 2025.

Additional artists who received attraction this twelvemonth see Alex Isley (WHEN), Thee Sacred Souls (Got a Story to Tell) and Eric Benét (The Co-Star).

So present let’s person a drumroll, please, arsenic we stock our fearless forecast of who volition comprise the 5 slots erstwhile the champion R&B medium nominations are revealed connected Nov. 7.