# 2026 in rhythm and blues
**2026 in rhythm and blues** covers the year's principal events in R&B music: the 68th Annual Grammy Awards and their R&B category winners, the genre's commercial standing in United States streaming and consumption data, notable album releases, and new live and chart infrastructure dedicated to R&B. The term rhythm and blues itself dates to 1949, when Billboard magazine introduced it to replace the older "race records" category, and it has functioned as both a marketing label and a family of styles ever since.[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/rhythm-and-blues)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Grammy ceremony | 68th Annual Grammy Awards, February 1, 2026, Crypto.com Arena; honored recordings released August 31, 2024 to August 30, 2025[2](https://www.grammy.com/news/2026-grammys-nominations-full-winners-nominees-list/) |
| Leading R&B winner | Leon Thomas won Best R&B Album for *MUTT* and Best Traditional R&B Performance for "VIBES DON'T LIE"[3](https://www.grammy.com/awards/categories/best-rb-album/) • [4](https://www.grammy.com/awards/categories/best-traditional-rb-performance/2026/) |
| Kehlani's wins | "Folded" won both Best R&B Song (songwriters' award) and Best R&B Solo Performance[5](https://www.grammy.com/awards/categories/best-rb-song/) • [6](https://www.grammy.com/awards/categories/best-rb-performance/) |
| US market share | R&B/hip-hop accounted for 30% of US album-equivalent consumption in the first half of 2026, down from 41% in 2023, and nearly 1 in 4 on-demand audio streams[7](https://apnews.com/article/4516213bc46fdafb557ffe645c086edf) |
| New live event | RNB X Live in Dallas, November 1, 2026, Spotify's first-ever standalone R&B concert event, produced with Live Nation[8](https://newsroom.spotify.com/2026-09-08/rnbx-live-festival-dallas/) |
| UK chart leader | Sienna Spiro's "MATERIAL LOVER" at number 1 on the UK Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart for the week of 16–22 October 2026[9](https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/official-hip-hop-and-r-and-b-singles-chart/) |
## 68th Annual Grammy Awards
The R&B field at the 2026 Grammys, held on February 1 at [Crypto.com Arena](https://www.edgepedia.org/crypto-com-arena), recognized recordings released between August 31, 2024 and August 30, 2025.[2](https://www.grammy.com/news/2026-grammys-nominations-full-winners-nominees-list/) Two artists took the field's principal awards. Leon Thomas won Best R&B Album with *MUTT*, beating nominees Givēon (*BELOVED*), [Coco Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/coco-jones) (*Why Not More?*), Ledisi (*The Crown*), and [Teyana Taylor](https://www.edgepedia.org/teyana-taylor) (*Escape Room*), and also won Best Traditional R&B Performance with "VIBES DON'T LIE" over Durand Bernarr, Lalah Hathaway, Ledisi, and SZA.[3](https://www.grammy.com/awards/categories/best-rb-album/) • [4](https://www.grammy.com/awards/categories/best-traditional-rb-performance/2026/)
**Kehlani's double win.** "Folded" took Best R&B Song, a songwriter's award credited to Darius Dixson, Andre Harris, Kehlani Parrish, Donovan Knight, Don Mills, Khris Riddick-Tynes, and Dawit Kamal Wilson, and Best R&B Solo Performance, where it beat [Justin Bieber](https://www.edgepedia.org/justin-bieber)'s "YUKON", [Chris Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-brown) featuring [Bryson Tiller](https://www.edgepedia.org/bryson-tiller)'s "It Depends", Leon Thomas's "MUTT (Live From NPR's Tiny Desk)", and Summer Walker's "Heart Of A Woman".[5](https://www.grammy.com/awards/categories/best-rb-song/) • [6](https://www.grammy.com/awards/categories/best-rb-performance/)
**Progressive R&B.** Durand Bernarr won Best Progressive R&B Album with *BLOOM*, ahead of Bilal (*Adjust Brightness*), Destin Conrad (*LOVE ON DIGITAL*), FLO (*Access All Areas*), and [Terrace Martin](https://www.edgepedia.org/terrace-martin) and [Kenyon Dixon](https://www.edgepedia.org/kenyon-dixon) (*Come As You Are*). The category recognizes albums rooted in R&B but emphasizing experimentation through unconventional song structures, dynamic production, and multi-genre influences.[10](https://www.grammy.com/awards/categories/best-progressive-rb-album/)
The ceremony's broader context touched the genre's history as well: the 2026 Grammy Hall of Fame inducted recordings associated with 2Pac, [Alice Coltrane](https://www.edgepedia.org/alice-coltrane), Janet Jackson, Lucinda Williams, and [Radiohead](https://www.edgepedia.org/radiohead), among others, and the In Memoriam tribute honored D'Angelo, Ozzy Osbourne, and [Roberta Flack](https://www.edgepedia.org/roberta-flack).[11](https://www.grammy.com/music-genre/rb/)
## Commercial standing
R&B combined with hip-hop remained the most streamed genre in the United States in 2026, but its share narrowed. According to Luminate's 2026 Midyear Report, reported by the Associated Press in July, R&B/hip-hop accounted for nearly 1 in 4 on-demand audio streams and 30% of US album-equivalent consumption in the first half of 2026, compared with 41% in 2023. Luminate's vice president of music insights and industry relations, Jaime Marconette, attributed the leveling off to accelerated growth from country and Latin music in the post-pandemic streaming landscape.[7](https://apnews.com/article/4516213bc46fdafb557ffe645c086edf) Streaming kept expanding: worldwide on-demand audio listens hit 2.8 trillion during the first six months of 2026, a rise from 2.5 trillion the year before.[7](https://apnews.com/article/4516213bc46fdafb557ffe645c086edf)
In the United Kingdom, the [Official Charts Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/official-charts-company)'s combined Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart for the week of 16–22 October 2026 placed [Sienna Spiro](https://www.edgepedia.org/sienna-spiro)'s "MATERIAL LOVER" at number 1 (24 weeks on the chart), followed by Dave and Tems's "RAINDANCE" at number 2 after a week on top, TLC's "NO SCRUBS" at number 3 in its 542nd chart week, Prince & The Revolution's "Purple Rain" at number 4, and Miguel's "Sure Thing" at number 5.[9](https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/official-hip-hop-and-r-and-b-singles-chart/) The presence of catalog recordings such as "NO SCRUBS" and "Purple Rain" alongside current releases reflects how the chart, compiled from sales of downloads, CDs, vinyl, and other formats across a seven-day period, measures sustained consumption rather than newness alone.[9](https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/official-hip-hop-and-r-and-b-singles-chart/)
## Releases
The 2026 release calendar tracked by Rated R&B mixed anniversary editions, returns, and new collaborations. June 19 alone brought Chlöe and Timbaland's mixtape *Resurrection*, Ne-Yo's 20th-anniversary edition of *In My Own Words*, PJ Morton's *Saturday Night / Sunday Morning*, and albums from Ama, Glenn Lewis, The Colleagues, and [The War and Treaty](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-war-and-treaty).[12](https://ratedrnb.com/upcoming-rb-album-releases/) Later in the summer, July 10 saw The-Dream's *Love/Hate II*, Kelela's *new avatar*, and Ne-Yo's *Highway 79*; July 17 brought [Steve Lacy](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-lacy)'s *Oh yeah?*, Masego's *Fix Your Face*, Ambré's *PEYOTE*, and Syd's *Beard*; and August releases included Dionne Warwick's *Dwuets*, Flo's *Therapy At The Club*, Jorja Smith's *What Are The Odds*, Destin Conrad's *Roadrunner*, Cleo Sol's *Gentlewoman*, a Prince collection titled *Timeless*, and an album from Erykah Badu and The Alchemist.[12](https://ratedrnb.com/upcoming-rb-album-releases/)
## Live events and platforms
**RNB X Live in Dallas.** On September 8, 2026, Spotify and Live Nation announced RNB X Live in Dallas, a one-day festival on November 1 at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory. It was Spotify's first-ever standalone R&B concert event and the largest expression to date of RNB X, the company's R&B editorial playlist, pairing established stars with emerging artists. Brandon Payano, R&B Lead for Artist Partnerships at Spotify, described R&B as a genre built on community, and select performances were slated for release through Spotify Live.[8](https://newsroom.spotify.com/2026-09-08/rnbx-live-festival-dallas/)
The event followed earlier Spotify programming with Live Nation Urban, including the RNB X Live: The UK Sound shows the previous fall, and reflected a broader 2026 pattern of platforms building dedicated R&B spaces in charts, playlists, and live venues rather than treating the genre as a subdivision of hip-hop programming.[8](https://newsroom.spotify.com/2026-09-08/rnbx-live-festival-dallas/)
## Context
The year's events sit within a genre whose institutional boundaries have always been partly commercial. Billboard coined "rhythm and blues" in 1949 as a replacement for "race records", and the label has described a confluence of jazz, blues, gospel, and vocal-harmony group music rather than a single defined style.[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/rhythm-and-blues) The Recording Academy's category structure preserves that split: Best Traditional R&B Performance rewards recordings with classic R&B and soul elements that set themselves apart from a contemporary approach, while Best Progressive R&B Album rewards experimentation, and the two 2026 winners, Leon Thomas and Durand Bernarr, illustrate the range the field now covers.[4](https://www.grammy.com/awards/categories/best-traditional-rb-performance/2026/) • [10](https://www.grammy.com/awards/categories/best-progressive-rb-album/)
## References
1. [Rhythm and Blues, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/rhythm-and-blues)
2. [2026 Grammys: See The Full Winners & Nominees List, Grammy.com](https://www.grammy.com/news/2026-grammys-nominations-full-winners-nominees-list/)
3. [Best R&B Album Grammy Award Winners & Nominees, Grammy.com](https://www.grammy.com/awards/categories/best-rb-album/)
4. [Best Traditional R&B Performance 2026 Winners & Nominees, Grammy.com](https://www.grammy.com/awards/categories/best-traditional-rb-performance/2026/)
5. [Best R&B Song Grammy Award Winners & Nominees, Grammy.com](https://www.grammy.com/awards/categories/best-rb-song/)
6. [Best R&B Solo Performance Grammy Award Winners & Nominees, Grammy.com](https://www.grammy.com/awards/categories/best-rb-performance/)
7. [Latin and country surge in the US as more music is being streamed than ever before, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/4516213bc46fdafb557ffe645c086edf)
8. [Spotify's First-Ever Standalone R&B Concert Is Coming to Dallas, Spotify Newsroom](https://newsroom.spotify.com/2026-09-08/rnbx-live-festival-dallas/)
9. [Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/official-hip-hop-and-r-and-b-singles-chart/)
10. [Best Progressive R&B Album Grammy Award Winners & Nominees, Grammy.com](https://www.grammy.com/awards/categories/best-progressive-rb-album/)
11. [R&B Music & Awards, Grammy.com](https://www.grammy.com/music-genre/rb/)
12. [2026 R&B Album Release Calendar, Rated R&B](https://ratedrnb.com/upcoming-rb-album-releases/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Discographies and musical catalogues › Thematic song lists, charts, and media-franchise catalogs › Thematic and trivia song/album lists › Lists of songs about activities and objects*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license