The Grammys might have been a tad late to Zach Top\u2019s honky-tonking party. But Washington\u2019s old-soul country man wouldn\u2019t be denied Friday morning when the Recording Academy announced the nominations for its 2026 award show.<\/p>\n
After setting Nashville on fire<\/a> over the last 18 months, the singer-songwriter who grew up in Sunnyside and Pasco picked up his first three Grammy nominations this year, including two for his breakout hit \u201cI Never Lie\u201d (best country song and best country solo performance).\u00a0<\/p>\n The neotraditionalist country star, who returns to his home state for a few arena gigs this month, earned some of the highest-profile nods among this year\u2019s Washington nominees, notching a third with his sophomore album, \u201cAin\u2019t In It for My Health,\u201d up for best traditional country album.<\/p>\n Top joins the Grammys\u2019 resident Washingtonian Brandi Carlile, who unsurprisingly added another two nominations for her kaleidoscopic collaborations with friend and musical hero Elton John. Carlile and John\u2019s joint album \u201cWho Believes in Angels?<\/a>\u201d is up for best traditional pop album, while their single \u201cNever Too Late\u201d \u2014 initially released as part of John\u2019s concert film of the same name \u2014 faces stiff competition in the best song written for visual media category, where the piano rock ballad squares off with \u201cGolden\u201d from the blockbuster \u201cKPop Demon Hunters\u201d soundtrack and Nine Inch Nails’ \u201cAs Alive as You Need Me to Be\u201d from \u201cTron: Ares.\u201d<\/p>\n And before any Seattle fans reach for their pitchforks, Carlile’s brand-new solo album “Returning to Myself,” the most distinct of her career<\/a>, won’t be Grammy eligible until next year.<\/p>\n Both Carlile and Top \u2014 who should have netted a best new artist nom either this year or last \u2014 felt like shoo-ins for the 2026 Grammy Awards, which takes place Feb. 1 at Crypto.com<\/a> Arena in Los Angeles. But one Washington star was among this year\u2019s biggest snubs.<\/p>\n Headlines, puzzles and death notices from the Valley delivered to your inbox 7 a.m. daily.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Backflipping pop star Benson Boone has continued his ascent since notching one of the biggest songs of 2024 with pop rocker \u201cBeautiful Things,\u201d following the success with this year\u2019s \u201cAmerican Heart\u201d LP and establishing himself as a bona fide arena headliner<\/a>. Yet Boone, who hasn\u2019t exactly been a critical darling, is nowhere to be found among this year\u2019s nominees after earning only one nod (best new artist) last year. While Boone impressed with a performance during last year’s Grammys<\/a> (a prime-time TV slot more coveted than a trophy), his lone nomination felt a little disappointing for a breakout star boasting one of the most ubiquitous hits of the year.<\/p>\n Among the other local nominees, seven-time Grammy winner Dimitriy Lipay is once again up for producer of the year, classical and best classical compendium (\u201cOrtiz: Yanga\u201d), with projects he worked on up for other awards across the classical field.<\/p>\n Seattle-rooted vocal quartet and master arrangers s\u00e4je<\/a> scored another best arrangement, instrument and vocals nod for their team-up with jazz drummer Nate Smith on the song \u201cBig Fish.\u201d<\/p>\n Fellow Seattle-formed jazz favorites The Westerlies earned an arrangement nod of their own with \u201cFight On\u201d (best arrangement, instrumental or a cappella), the opening track off the brass quartet\u2019s latest album, \u201cParadise.\u201d<\/p>\n