Cardi B and Kendrick Lamar were named Outstanding Female Artist and Outstanding Male Artist, respectively, on the second night of winners at the NAACP Image Awards.
Wednesday’s pre-ceremony highlighted the music and podcast categories, after Monday’s event focused on literary and creator categories. Thursday’s pre-show will spotlight the non-televised film, TV and writing categories. Together, they make up the most of the Image Awards’ 93 categories.
The remaining winners will be revealed during the main 57th NAACP Image Awards ceremony set for Saturday, February 28 live at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on BET and CBS from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Viola Davis (Chairman’s Award) and Colman Domingo (President’s Award) are among those being tributed Saturday with honorary awards, as are Salt-N-Pepa and DJ Spinderella who will be inducted into the awards show’s hall of fame.
Cardi B won a leading three awards tonight: Female Artist, Hip-Hop/Rap Song for “ErrTime” and Album for Am I The Drama? Lamar, who won Monday for his 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show, won Music Video/Visual Album today with SZA for “luther.” Other double winners on Night 2 included Don Lemon for his eponymous podcast, and Michelle Obama and brother Craig Robinson for their IMO podcast. Obama won in the Outstanding Literary Work – Biography/Autobiography on Monday for her fashionography book The Look.
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Lamar is also up this year for the marquee Entertainer of the Year prize, among six total noms, which tie him with Teyana Taylor for the most among individuals.
Warner Bros’ smash Sinners leads all nominees this year with 18 — it won twice Tuesday for its score and soundtrack. The film’s star Michael B. Jordan is also up for Entertainer of the Year, joined by Lamar, Taylor, Cynthia Erivo and Doechii.
Below is the 2026 winners list. Check back as more are announced.
2026 NAACP Image Awards
Night 2
Outstanding Music Video/Visual Album
“luther” – Kendrick Lamar & SZA (pgLang under exclusive license to Interscope Records)
Outstanding New Artist
Monaleo – “Who Did the Body?” (Columbia Records)
Outstanding Female Artist
Cardi B – (Atlantic Records)
Outstanding Male Artist
Kendrick Lamar – (pgLang under exclusive license to Interscope Records)
Outstanding Hip-Hop/Rap Song
“ErrTime” – Cardi B (Atlantic Records)
Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album
“Sinners (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)” (Proximity Media LLC, under exclusive license to Masterworks, a label of Sony Music Entertainment)
Outstanding International Song
“Is It” – Tyla (Epic Records)
Outstanding Jazz Album
“We Insist! 2025” – Terri Lyne Carrington & Christie Dashiell (Candid Records)
Outstanding Gospel/Christian Song
“Do it Again” – Kirk Franklin (Fo Yo Soul Recordings/Tribl Records)
Outstanding Gospel/Christian Album
“Tasha” – Tasha Cobbs Leonard (Motown Gospel)
Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Traditional) 803Fresh feat. Fantasia – “Boots on the Ground Remix” (Snake Eyez Music Group/Artist Partner Group)
Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Contemporary) Chris Brown feat. Bryson Tiller & Usher – “It Depends (Remix)” (RCA Records/Chris Brown Entertainment)
Outstanding Original Score for TV/Film “Sinners (Original Motion Picture Score)” (Proximity Media LLC, under exclusive license to Sony Classical, a label of Sony Music Entertainment)
Outstanding Album
“Am I The Drama?” – Cardi B (Atlantic Records)
Outstanding Podcast – Scripted/Limited Series/Short Form
“Interesting Things with JC” (Jim Connors LLC)
Outstanding Podcast – News and Information
“The Don Lemon Show” (Lemon Media Network)
Outstanding Podcast – Lifestyle/Self-Help
“IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson” (Higher Ground)
Outstanding Podcast – Arts, Sports and Entertainment
“IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson” (Higher Ground)
Outstanding Podcast – Society and Culture
“The Don Lemon Show” (Lemon Media Network)
Night 1
Outstanding Literary Work – Biography/ Autobiography
“The Look” – Michelle Obama (Crown)
Outstanding Literary Work – Non-Fiction
“A More Perfect Party: The Night Shirley Chisholm & Diahann Carroll Reshaped Politics” – Juanita Tolliver (Legacy Lit/Hachette Book Group)
Outstanding Literary Work – Instructional
“Who Better Than You?” – Will Packer (Penguin Random House)
Outstanding Literary Work – Journalism
“On Borrowed Time” – Anissa Durham (Online)
Outstanding Literary Work – Debut Author
Charles B. Fancher – “Red Clay” (Blackstone Publishing)
Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction
“Death of the Author” – Nnedi Okorafor (William Morrow)
Outstanding Literary Work – Poetry
“The Intentions of Thunder: New and Selected Poems” – Patricia Smith (Scribner)
Outstanding Literary Work – Children
“Yvonne Clark and Her Engineering Spark” – Allen R. Wells; Illustrated by DeAndra Hodge (Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers/Macmillan)
Outstanding Literary Work – Youth/Teens
“Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Book of Anansi” – Angie Thomas (HarperCollins/Clarion Books)
Outstanding Literary Work – Graphic Novel
“Parable of the Talents: A Graphic Novel Adaptation” – Octavia E. Butler, adapted by Damien Duffy, Illustrated by John Jennings and David Brame (Abrams ComicArts)
Outstanding Short-Form Series or Special – Reality/Nonfiction/Documentary
The Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show Starring Kendrick Lamar – (Fox)
Outstanding Digital Content Creator – Gaming/Tech
Berlin Edmond Jr. – @Berleezy
Outstanding Digital Content Creator – Fitness/Wellness/Food
Keith Lee – @keith_lee125
