Bad Bunny, Perfume Genius album covers among nods for 2026 Grammy Awards
Wet Leg, Djo and Tyler, the Creator’s latest albums also nominated for best album cover, to be awarded for the first time in over 50 years
When it came time to decide the cover image for Wet Leg’s second album, the British indie rock band packed bags with items that might provide inspiration – velvet worms sewn by guitarist Hester Chambers, an oversized head of hair from a music video shoot, lizard-like gloves – and headed to an Airbnb.
“I wanted it to be something that was both super girlie and feminine, but then at the same time, just totally repulsive,” says lead singer Rhian Teasdale, who art-directed the Moisturizer cover with Iris Luz and Lava La Rue. “That juxtaposition, I don’t know, it just creates something that’s evocative.”
The final image, inspired by a photo from that weekend, earned Teasdale, Luz and La Rue a Grammy nomination for best album cover – a category that will be awarded this year for the first time in over 50 years.
The other evocative covers nominated are for Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos; Tyler, the Creator’s Chromakopia; Perfume Genius’ Glory; and Djo’s The Crux.
The award goes to the project’s art directors. This year, the recording artists are included as nominees in all cases except for Glory.
In recent years, covers had been assessed as part of the best recording package category, which considers all physical materials and images. The package for Brat, with its pop-culture-infiltrating green, earned Charli XCX, Brent David Freaney and Imogene Strauss a Grammy last year.
Harvey Mason Jnr, CEO of the Recording Academy, which presents the Grammys, said the split is an effort to recognise the impact of cover art in the digital age. It also aligns with the academy’s goal to recognise more of the artists that shape music, he said.