Taylor Swift May Sit Out the 2026 Grammys — & That Wouldn’t Be a Snub

If you’re Googling “is Taylor Swift going to the 2026 Grammys,” the answer, as of show day, is no. And while fans are bummed they won’t be getting another Easter egg-filled Grammy look from Swift, her skipping the ceremony has a lot more to do with eligibility and timing than any secret snub.

First, the basics: Taylor has no nominations at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. Her 12th album The Life of a Showgirl came out on Oct. 3, 2025, more than a month after this year’s eligibility window closed on Aug. 30. That means it simply couldn’t be considered for the 2026 ballot and will instead be in the mix for the 2027 ceremony.

Grammy executive producer Ben Winston has also pushed back on the idea that Swift is a a surprise performer this year. In a Jan. 22 interview with music industry outlet HITS, he said the rumor that Swift was on the performance roster started because the publication “totally made that up,” in its industry newsletter, adding, “Now I am getting asked about it as if it’s a real thing, when it was made up in your office. That really is a full-circle rumor.” In other words, there was never a secret performance slot to begin with.

None of this is a referendum on her status with the Recording Academy. Taylor has a whopping 58 Grammy nominations and 14 wins to her name, including a record four Album of the Year trophies for Fearless, 1989, Folklore and Midnights. She also attended last year’s ceremony, where she presented Best Country Album to Beyoncé while The Tortured Poets Department was up for several awards.

What has changed is how often she chooses to be on camera at awards shows. Last September, Swift skipped the 2025 MTV VMAs despite a major Artist of the Year nomination, a move that fit into a broader pattern of being more selective about where she shows up — especially when she’s already under intense scrutiny.

There’s also everything happening around the show. Since releasing her The End of an Era docuseries in December, Taylor has kept a relatively low public profile, surfacing mainly for low-key outings with fiancé Travis Kelce. Her friendship with Blake Lively has been under the microscope throughout Lively’s ongoing legal fight with Justin Baldoni. A day before the 2026 Grammys, insiders told Page Six that, “The pop superstar, 36, is not concerned with the legal battle that she feels ‘doesn’t involve her,’” and has been laying low since her private texts with Lively about Baldoni have gone public.

On top of that, Swift and Kelce are navigating what sources have described as their “first real test” as a couple while they plan what’s widely expected to be a major wedding. Insiders say wedding discussions are effectively on pause while Kelce weighs his NFL future with the Kansas City Chiefs, with Swift reportedly “spending more time with him and not bombarding him with wedding plans” so he can focus on his career decision first.

So if Taylor Swift spends Grammys night off-camera, it isn’t a quiet feud with the Academy or a punishment for The Life of a Showgirl. It’s a year where she isn’t eligible, she isn’t scheduled, and she has plenty of real-life commitments — and future Grammy cycles — already lined up.

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