The 2026 Grammy Award nominations have plenty of surprises, none quite as strange as Joe Keery’s. The Stranger Things actor earned a nomination, but it’s not technically his — or even for music. His debut record as Djo, The Crux, is up for Best Album Cover, a (kinda) new category that will be televised at the 2026 ceremony. The Crux’s cover features a photo by Neil Krug, which, Keery explained on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, is kind of an I Spy page full of Easter eggs. Since the album’s main theme is about being “one of many,” there’s “a lot going on and a lot to look at.” Apparently the Recording Academy likes that maximalist approach. Or maybe they just appreciate the thematic cohesion.
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Tyler the Creator’s CHROMAKOPIA; Debí Tirar Más Fotos, by Bad Bunny; Wet Leg’s moisturizer; and Glory, by Perfume Genius, join Djo in this class of nominees. The first three Grammy Awards ever had a Best Album Cover award, but the category was retired in 1962 before coming back briefly from 1969 to 1973. Whichever album wins will stand alongside such gems of graphic design as Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely and B.B. King’s Indianola Mississippi Seeds. The award itself will go to the art director or directors for the album, not the artist. Sorry, Djo, there’s always acting to fall back on.
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