Bad Bunny And Rosé Are Changing How The Grammys Recognize Songwriting

The list of potential winners from 2026 Grammy nominations is excitingly diverse when it comes to language and cultures represented in some of the most competitive spaces, and that statement is especially true when it comes to the Song of the Year category.

While the Recording Academy aims to make its flagship ceremony global and encompassing of all forms of music from every part of the planet, the event heavily favors Western music trends and English-language tracks. It’s not that albums and cuts performed in other tongues are ineligible, but typically they are only included in specific genre fields like Latin, global and the recently introduced African category.

Song of the Year, which is awarded to the people who actually put pen to paper and wrote a track — not always the musicians who make a tune famous, though there’s usually overlap — features eight spots.

For the first time ever, multiple potential winners are written either wholly or partially in a language other than English.

Bad Bunny, Rosé and ‘Golden’ Represent Non-English Music

Three of the eight nominated singles for Song of the Year feature non-English lyrics. Bad Bunny is up for the honor for “DTMF,” which is performed entirely in Spanish. Two cuts that include Korean lyrics — “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters and Blackpink singer Rosé’s “Apt.,” a team-up with Bruno Mars — are also nominated for the prestigious honor, one of the four biggest at the Grammys.

Bad Bunny’s “DTMF” Earns a Historic Grammy Nomination

“DTMF” makes history as the second completely Spanish tune to be nominated for Song of the Year. It follows “La Bamba,” the cover of the Ritchie Valens classic made famous by Los Lobos in the late 1980s, though the track had been written decades prior and was already famous by that point. The Recording Academy used a different set of rules then, as that tune would not be eligible today.

Have Spanish-Language Tracks Been Nominated For Song Of The Year?

Two other smashes that feature Spanish words have been up for Song of the Year in the past. Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca” is based on a Spanish phrase, though the singer performed it almost entirely in English.

The most recent Spanish-language cut to be included in this field was “Despacito” back in 2018. Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee turned the composition into a global hit, but Justin Bieber — who hopped on board with new vocals in English — helped make it one of the most successful tunes of all time and a Song of the Year nominee.

What Korean Singles Have Been Up For The Song Of The Year Grammy?

For the first time ever, Korean is represented in the Song of the Year field.

Amazingly, while the language has never been featured in this space before, two tracks make history as they score nods simultaneously. Both “Apt.” and “Golden” rank among the most successful releases of the past eligibility period, and their popularity — and now the prestige that comes with this Song of the Year nod — show that K-pop has reached the Grammys like never before.

The Only Non-English Song Of The Year Nominees

Only a handful of the more than 100 songs that have been up for Song of the Year throughout the decades are written with non-English lyrics. The first-ever winner, “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)” by Domenico Modugno, was written and performed completely in Italian and claimed the honor in 1959.

Since then, “Michelle” by The Beatles (which features French lyrics) and the aforementioned “La Bamba,” “Livin’ La Vida Loca,” and “Despacito” all fit this description, at least in part.

“Apt.” and “DTMF” Also Compete for Record of the Year

Both “DTMF” and “Apt.” are also in the running for Record of the Year, which is awarded to the producers, mixers, and artists, but not the songwriters. “Golden” did not snag a Record of the Year nod, but it is competing for two other Grammys, including Best Pop Duo/Group Performance alongside “Apt.”

The 2026 Grammy Awards will air live on both CBS and Paramount+ on Sunday, February 1, 2026.

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