Doechii's “Anxiety” won the 2026 Grammy Award for Best Music Video. This guide checks the result, nominee credits, category rules, and 43 years of music-video winners against the Recording Academy's public archive. Creators can also use Enkio to turn an authorized song and reference image into a planned visual sequence.
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Who Won the 2026 Grammy Award for Best Music Video?
Doechii won the category with “Anxiety” at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. The Recording Academy lists James Mackel as video director and Pablo Feldman, Jolene Mendes, and Sophia Sabella as video producers on the winning entry.
The 2026 awards honored recordings released between August 30, 2024, and August 29, 2025. That distinction matters because the ceremony year is not the same as the release year for every nominated video.
The result and credits come from the Recording Academy's official Best Music Video category page, which identifies the winner separately from the other four nominees.
2026 Best Music Video Nominees and Credits
The 2026 field contained five official entries. The table below keeps the performing artist, result, director, and producer credits separate so readers can identify the people attached to each video without treating every name as the same role.
| Video | Artist | Result | Video director(s) | Video producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anxiety | Doechii | Winner | James Mackel | Pablo Feldman; Jolene Mendes; Sophia Sabella |
| Young Lion | Sade Adu | Nominee | Sophie Muller | Sade; Aaron Taylor Dean |
| Manchild | Sabrina Carpenter | Nominee | Vania Heymann; Gal Muggia | Aiden Magarian; Nathan Scherrer; Natan Schottenfels |
| So Be It | Clipse | Nominee | Hannan Hussain | Theresa Kusumadjaja |
| Love | OK Go | Nominee | Aaron Duffy; Miguel Espada; Damian Kulash Jr. | Petra Ahmann; Andrew Geller |
This is a results table, not a ranking of visual quality. The Academy selected one winner through its awards process, while the other entries remained nominees in the same category.
What Does the Grammy Award for Best Music Video Recognize?
The category recognizes excellence in an official video for an individual commercially released track. The Recording Academy says an eligible video must be synchronous, or predominantly synchronous, to that recording and recognized by the artist or label as the official video.
That definition separates a submitted official music video from every moving image placed behind a song. A simple visualizer can still be useful for listening and sharing, but it is a different creative format; our Spotify Music Visualizer guide explains that lighter, audio-led presentation.
The award is also decided by music-industry peers rather than a public popularity poll. The Recording Academy describes the Grammys as a peer-voted award in which eligible voting members determine nominees and winners.
Complete Grammy Best Music Video Winners List: 1984–2026
The award's name changed several times, so a complete list needs more than one archive page. We joined the Recording Academy's current Best Music Video archive with its Best Short Form Music Video, Best Music Video—Short Form, and Best Video—Short Form records.
2014–2026: Best Music Video
The current title first appears in the Academy's archive for the 2014 awards. Recent winners include Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar for “Bad Blood,” Childish Gambino for “This Is America,” and Kendrick Lamar for “Not Like Us.”
| Year | Winner or credited act | Winning video |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Doechii | Anxiety |
| 2025 | Kendrick Lamar | Not Like Us |
| 2024 | Em Cooper; Jonathan Clyde; Sophie Hilton; Sue Loughlin; Laura Thomas | I'm Only Sleeping |
| 2023 | Taylor Swift | All Too Well: The Short Film |
| 2022 | Jon Batiste | Freedom |
| 2021 | Beyoncé; Blue Ivy Carter; Wizkid | Brown Skin Girl |
| 2020 | Lil Nas X; Billy Ray Cyrus | Old Town Road (Official Movie) |
| 2019 | Childish Gambino | This Is America |
| 2018 | Kendrick Lamar | HUMBLE. |
| 2017 | Beyoncé | Formation |
| 2016 | Taylor Swift; Kendrick Lamar | Bad Blood |
| 2015 | Pharrell Williams | Happy |
| 2014 | Justin Timberlake; Jay-Z | Suit & Tie |
1998–2013: Best Short Form Music Video
The Academy's separate historical page uses the title Best Short Form Music Video for these 16 awards. “We Found Love” closed this named era in 2013 before the shorter current title appeared the following year.
| Year | Winner or credited act | Winning video |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Rihanna; Calvin Harris | We Found Love |
| 2012 | Adele | Rolling in the Deep |
| 2011 | Lady Gaga | Bad Romance |
| 2010 | The Black Eyed Peas | Boom Boom Pow |
| 2009 | Weezer | Pork and Beans |
| 2008 | Johnny Cash | God's Gonna Cut You Down |
| 2007 | OK Go | Here It Goes Again |
| 2006 | Missy Elliott; Fatman Scoop | Lose Control |
| 2005 | U2 | Vertigo |
| 2004 | Johnny Cash | Hurt |
| 2003 | Eminem | Without Me |
| 2002 | Fatboy Slim; Bootsy Collins | Weapon of Choice |
| 2001 | Foo Fighters | Learn to Fly |
| 2000 | Korn | Freak on a Leash |
| 1999 | Madonna | Ray of Light |
| 1998 | Janet Jackson | Got 'Til It's Gone |
1984–1997: Early Short-Form Names and a Two-Year Split
The first award in this lineage was presented in 1984 as Best Video, Short Form. The name became Best Music Video, Short Form in 1986. For 1988 and 1989, the Academy instead presented separate Concept and Performance Music Video awards before returning to one short-form category in 1990.
| Year | Category | Winner or credited act | Winning video |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Best Music Video, Short Form | The Beatles | Free as a Bird |
| 1996 | Best Music Video, Short Form | Michael Jackson; Janet Jackson | Scream |
| 1995 | Best Music Video, Short Form | The Rolling Stones | Love Is Strong |
| 1994 | Best Music Video, Short Form | Peter Gabriel | Steam |
| 1993 | Best Music Video, Short Form | Peter Gabriel | Digging in the Dirt |
| 1992 | Best Music Video, Short Form | R.E.M. | Losing My Religion |
| 1991 | Best Music Video, Short Form | Paula Abdul | Opposites Attract |
| 1990 | Best Music Video, Short Form | Michael Jackson | Leave Me Alone |
| 1989 | Best Concept Music Video | “Weird Al” Yankovic | I'm Fat |
| 1989 | Best Performance Music Video | U2 | Where the Streets Have No Name |
| 1988 | Best Concept Music Video | Genesis | Land of Confusion |
| 1988 | Best Performance Music Video | Anthony Eaton | The Prince's Trust All-Star Rock Concert |
| 1987 | Best Music Video, Short Form | Dire Straits | Brothers in Arms |
| 1986 | Best Music Video, Short Form | Tom Trbovich; Quincy Jones | We Are the World—The Video Event |
| 1985 | Best Video, Short Form | David Bowie | David Bowie |
| 1984 | Best Video, Short Form | Duran Duran | Girls on Film/Hungry Like the Wolf |
The tables follow the names displayed by the Academy. In years where its archive foregrounds directors, producers, or other credited people, the “winner or credited act” column preserves that presentation instead of silently replacing it with a performing artist.
What Independent Creators Can Learn From the Category
The archive does not reveal a formula for winning, and it should not be used to claim one. It does, however, show three practical standards worth carrying into an independent production: make the video official, connect it clearly to one released track, and keep creative roles identifiable.
First, decide what the video is doing for the song before choosing a tool. A performance piece, narrative short, choreography-led video, and abstract visual sequence require different assets and shot plans.
Second, treat continuity as a production decision. Reusing a defined character, palette, setting, and camera language gives individual shots a shared visual identity. Keep a record of the music, images, prompts, edits, and contributors so the final release can be reviewed and credited accurately.
Third, build for revision. The first render should be a draft that can be checked against the song's structure, not an unquestioned final. Review the opening, transitions, chorus emphasis, character consistency, and ending before publishing.
How to Use Enkio for a Music Video Workflow
Enkio's AI Music Video Generator accepts music and reference images, with an optional prompt for story, mood, style, or camera direction. If the track is not ready, its AI Music Generator provides a separate starting point for creating music before moving into the video workflow.
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Use a song and reference images you own or have permission to use. Decide whether the video centers on one performer, two people, or a broader visual concept.
Done whenThe core audio and reference images are ready.
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Add an optional prompt for the story, mood, art direction, camera movement, or a key musical moment. Keep the description specific enough to guide a coherent sequence.
Done whenThe prompt states the intended look and narrative purpose.
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Select the MV mode, resolution, and aspect ratio that match the publishing destination. Review the workflow blueprint, timing, visual materials, and character views before the final run.
Done whenThe format and visual plan match the release channel.
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Watch the complete preview against the song, then request focused changes where a shot breaks continuity or misses the musical cue. Save the approved video locally.
Done whenThe final sequence has been reviewed from start to finish.
Creators who prefer an agent-guided route inside Codex can read the Music Video MCP Server guide. It covers the finished-song and reference-image handoff without suggesting that the workflow is connected to the Grammys.
Frequently asked questions
Are Grammy Best Music Video winners chosen by the public?
No. The Recording Academy states that Grammy nominees and winners are determined by creators voting as peers. Public views, likes, and fan polls are not the Academy's final voting mechanism.
Who can submit a music video for Grammy consideration?
The Recording Academy's awards-process page says eligible Recording Academy members and registered media companies can submit recordings and music videos during the official online entry window. The entrant and work must also meet the current year's rules.
Can a lyric video qualify for Best Music Video?
The public category description does not create a blanket exclusion for lyric videos. It says the entry must be an official video for an individual commercially released track and synchronous, or predominantly synchronous, to that recording; current-year rules still control eligibility.
Do YouTube views affect the Grammy result?
The Academy does not identify YouTube views as a public vote or automatic scoring factor. High view counts may reflect audience reach, but the Grammy outcome comes from the Academy's peer-voting process.
Is the Grammy Award for Best Music Video the same as an MTV VMA?
No. They are separate awards run by different organizations, with different categories, entry systems, and voting processes. A video can appear in both award conversations without the results being linked.
Conclusion
Doechii's “Anxiety” is the 2026 Grammy Best Music Video winner, ahead of four other official nominees. The longer record begins with Duran Duran in 1984 and includes several category-name changes, including the two-award split in 1988 and 1989.
For creators, the useful lesson is not to imitate one winner. It is to connect a clear visual concept to one track, document the production roles, and preserve room for revision. Our Enkio Review explains where the workflow fits and the conditions creators should check before starting.