‘If I Knew the Key, I Would Do It Every Year': Canadian Producer Cirkut on His 2026 Grammy Nomination
As a first-time producer of the year, non-classical nominee, the Halifax native is being celebrated for his hand in Lady Gaga’s MAYHEM and the Rosé-Bruno Mars collaboration, “APT.”
This year’s Grammy producer of the year, non-classical nominees include one Canadian: Cirkut.
While this isn’t the Halifax native’s first Grammy nomination, it does mark the first time he’s been recognized for his production prowess on the award stage in such a standout way.
This year, Cirkut received the highest number of Grammy nominations for a Canadian — a total of seven. In addition to his producer of the year, non-classical nod, the east coaster nabs two record and song of the year nominations for Lady Gaga's "Abracadabra" and the Rosé-Bruno Mars collab "APT.," album of the year for Gaga’s MAYHEM and best dance pop recording for Gaga's "Abracadabra.”
“If I knew the key, I would do it every year,” he told Billboard of securing nominations for two singles in two of the four major award categories.
“Gaga had an absolutely incredible year. I don’t often work on full albums, so being involved in 12 out of 14 tracks made the AOTY nomination [for MAYHEM] especially meaningful to me,” he shared. “To see ‘APT.’ become such a phenomenon is so cool — Rosé and Bruno are absolute superstars and gave the record such a distinct personality. It’s been one of those rare records that captures the attention of people of so many different ages and backgrounds. I can’t count how many times I’ve had people tell me, ‘Wait, you did that song?! That’s my 5-year-old’s favorite song and now I love it, too.’”
Cirkut’s work has made an impact on the charts in his home country, too. Gaga’s MAYHEM was touted by many fans as a musical return to form, and hit No. 1 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart in March, while “APT.” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 that same month, and maintained its position for seven weeks.
With such a significant year in his career, the producer and songwriter shared that “[there are] always moments when you think you might have a shot,” but still felt the wave of surrealism when he heard his name being announced. “I don’t think I’ve really formally celebrated, but all the love and support I’ve been getting from other music people, friends and family has meant everything,” Cirkut said to the publication.
Last year, he was nominated in two categories for work on Charli XCX's Brat, previously being recognized for tracks with Disclosure, Kanye West, Katy Perry and fellow Canadian The Weeknd. Cirkut won his first-ever Grammy for 2018’s Starboy, that year’s best urban contemporary album.
Of the 2026 class, Cirkut is joined by Dijon (tapped for his work on Justin Bieber’s SWAG) and Sounwave as first-time nominees, while veteran producer-musicians Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys and Blake Mills round out the group of five. Head here for more from the other nominees.
“Each nominee brings their own distinct style to the table,” Cirkut shared with Billboard. “I’m glad that the Recording Academy is being proactive in representing both established names as well as new names across all genres.”
