2026 NAACP Image Award Winners

Cardi B and kendrick lamar The second night’s winners were Outstanding Female Artist and Outstanding Male Artist, respectively. NAACP Image Awards.

Wednesday’s pre-event highlighted the music and podcast categories, while Monday’s event focused on the literature and creator categories. Thursday’s pre-show will focus on non-televised film, TV and writing. Together, they make up the largest portion of the Image Awards’ 93 categories.

The remaining winners will be revealed at the 57th Annual NAACP Image Awards Ceremony on Saturday, February 28th at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT live from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on BET and CBS. Viola Davis (Chairman’s Award) and Colman Domingo (Presidential Award) Like Salt-N-Pepa, it is among those receiving honorary awards on Saturday. DJ Spinderella Who will be inducted into the Awards Hall of Fame?

Cardi B won three major awards tonight: female artist, hip-hop/rap song for “ErrTime” and album. Am I in a drama? Lamar, who won the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show on Monday, today won Music Video/Visual Album for ‘luther’ alongside SZA. Other dual winners on Night 2 included Don Lemon of his eponymous podcast, Michelle Obama and brother Craig Robinson. IMO Podcast. Obama won Monday for her fashion book in the Outstanding Literary Work – Biography/Autobiography category. look.

Lamar again won the Celebrity of the Year award this year out of a total of six nominations, tying him with Teyana Taylor for the most of any individual.

Warner Bros. jackpot sinner lead all candidates This year there were 18, with two Tuesday wins for score and soundtrack. The film’s star Michael B. Jordan was also nominated for Entertainer of the Year, and he was joined by Lamar, Taylor, Cynthia Erivo and Doechii.

Below is a list of the 2026 awardees. Check back as more information is announced.

2026 NAACP Image Awards

2 nights

Music Video/Visual Album Excellence Award
“luther” – Kendrick Lamar and SZA (pgLang under exclusive license to Interscope Records)

outstanding new artist
Monaleo – “Who made the body?” (Columbia Records)

outstanding female artist
Cardi B – (Atlantic Records)

outstanding male artist
Kendrick Lamar – (pgLang under exclusive license to Interscope Records)

Excellent hip hop/rap song
“ErrTime” – Cardi B (Atlantic Records)

Excellent soundtrack/compilation album
“Sinners (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)” (Proximity Media LLC, exclusively licensed to Masterworks, a Sony Music Entertainment label)

outstanding international song
“Is It” – Tyla (Epic Records)

excellent jazz album
“We Insist! 2025” – Terri Lyne Carrington & Christie Dashiell (Candid Records)

Excellent gospel/Christian song
“Do it Again” – Kirk Franklin (Fo Yo Soul Recordings/Tribl Records)

Excellent Gospel/Christian Album
“Tasha” – Tasha Cobbs Leonard (Motown Gospel)

Outstanding duo, group or collaboration (traditional) 803 Fresh feat. Fantasia – “Boots on the Ground Remix” (Snake Eyez Music Group/Artist Partner Group)

Outstanding duo, group or collaboration (modern) 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, exclusively licensed to Sony Classical, a Sony Music Entertainment label)

outstanding album
“Am I a drama?” –Cardi B (Atlantic Records)

Excellent Podcast – Scripted/Limited Series/Short Form
“Interesting Things About JC” (Jim Connors LLC)

Excellent Podcast – News and Information
“The Don Lemon Show” (Lemon Media Network)

Excellent Podcast – Lifestyle/Self-Help
“IMO Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson” (Higher Ground)

Great Podcasts – Arts, Sports and Entertainment
“IMO Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson” (Higher Ground)

Excellent Podcast – Society and Culture
“The Don Lemon Show” (Lemon Media Network)

1 night

Outstanding literary work – biography/autobiography
“The Look” – Michelle Obama (Crown)

Outstanding works of literature – non-fiction
“A More Perfect Party: The Night Shirley Chisholm & Diahann Carroll Reimagine Politics” – Juanita Tolliver (Legacy Lit/Hachette Book Group)

Outstanding Works of Literature – Education
“Who is 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 – novel
Death of a Writer – Nnedi Okorafor (William Morrow)

Outstanding literary work – poetry
“Thunder Intent: New and Selected Poems” – Patricia Smith (Scribner)

Outstanding Works of Literature – Children
“Yvonne Clark and her engineering spark” – Allen R. Wells; Illustrated by DeAndra Hodge (Farrar Straus Giroux Books/Macmillan for Young Readers)

Outstanding Works of Literature – Teen/Young Adult
“Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Book of Anansi” – Angie Thomas (HarperCollins/Clarion Books)

Outstanding work of literature – graphic novel
“The 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 Series or Special – Reality/Non-Fiction/Documentary
Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show Starring Kendrick Lamar – (Fox)

Outstanding Digital Content Creator – Games/Technology
Berlin Edmund Jr. – @Berleezy

Outstanding Digital Content Creator – Fitness/Wellness/Food
Keith Lee – @keith_lee125