Caribbean Music Awards 2026 Winners: Full List

The Caribbean Music Awards 2026 took place on Saturday, September 19, 2026, at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA) in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, with the ceremony listed from 7pm to 11pm. It is the fourth edition of the awards and the first staged in the Caribbean. The winners were announced on the night — the full list is below. Winners were revealed at the ceremony itself on September 19, 2026; the full list is at the top of this page.

Caribbean Music Awards 2026 winners

The winners were announced at the ceremony at NAPA in Port of Spain on September 19, 2026. Shenseea led the dancehall field, winning Female Dancehall Artist of the Year and sharing Dancehall Song and Dancehall Collaboration of the Year for the “Shake It to the Max (FLY)” remix. Ayetian took two awards, Dancehall Best New Artist and the Dancehall Impact Award, and Trinidad’s Lady Lava was the night’s biggest winner overall.

Dancehall winners

Female Dancehall Artist of the Year: Shenseea
Male Dancehall Artist of the Year: Valiant
Dancehall Song of the Year: “Shake It to the Max (FLY) [Remix]” – MOLIY, Silent Addy, Skillibeng & Shenseea
Dancehall Collaboration of the Year: “Shake It to the Max (FLY) [Remix]” – MOLIY, Silent Addy, Skillibeng & Shenseea
Dancehall Album of the Year: Saint – Prince Swanny
Dancehall Impact Award: Ayetian
Dancehall Best New Artist: Ayetian

Reggae winners

Male Reggae Artist of the Year: Buju Banton
Female Reggae Artist of the Year: Lila Iké
Reggae Song of the Year: “BIG 45” – Protoje
Reggae Album of the Year: Exile – Chronixx

Other winners

Female Soca Artist of the Year: Lady Lava
Bouyon Song of the Year: “Bouwéy” – 1T1 & Theomaa
People’s Choice Award: Alkaline (per Billboard’s winners list)

How Stalk Ashley did

Stalk Ashley was nominated twice and did not win. Female Dancehall Artist of the Year went to Shenseea, who also won it in 2025, and the Dancehall Impact Award went to Ayetian. Three of her collaborators did take home awards: Valiant, her partner on “Narcissistic”, won Male Dancehall Artist of the Year; Skillibeng, who is on “Really Like U”, shares the Dancehall Song and Collaboration awards; and Alkaline, who features on “Incognito”, won the People’s Choice Award.

450, her partner on “Good Ole Gyal”, was nominated for Male Dancehall Artist of the Year and for Dancehall Album of the Year with Pieces of Me; those went to Valiant and Prince Swanny’s Saint. Khallion’s “Put That On That”, which Stalk Ashley remixed in 2025, was up for Bouyon Song of the Year, which went to “Bouwéy”.

Below you’ll also find the date and venue, how voting worked, the most-nominated artists and the full nominee lists for the main dancehall and reggae categories.

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Caribbean Music Awards 2026 at a glance

Main ceremony: Saturday, September 19, 2026, 7pm to 11pm, followed by an official after-party
Full event: the Caribbean Music Awards Elite Weekend Experience, September 18 to 20, 2026
Location: National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), Frederick Street, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Hosts: soca star Nailah Blackman and comedian Majah Hype
Nominations announced: June 10, 2026, with more than 250 nominees across 40-plus categories
Public voting: June 10 to August 10, 2026, on the official website
Organiser: Caribbean Elite Group, publisher of Caribbean Elite Magazine, with Tourism Trinidad Limited as presenting partner
Media partner: Billboard, which is livestreaming the official red carpet special

For the artists behind these results, read our guide to the top dancehall artists of 2026.

Why the 2026 ceremony moved to Trinidad and Tobago

The first three editions, from 2023 to 2025, were held at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, New York. The 2025 show took place on August 28, 2025, and was later broadcast on BET. In late July 2026, organisers announced that the fourth edition would move to Trinidad and Tobago, backed by Tourism Trinidad Limited with support from the Tobago Tourism Agency Limited, the Ministry of Trade, Investment and Tourism and Global Trinidad and Tobago. The theme is “Sounds of the Caribbean.”

The single night has also grown into a three-day programme. Friday, September 18, brings a welcome reception and the Caribbean Music Awards Experience Village. Saturday has the pre-show, the red carpet, the ceremony and an after-party. Sunday, September 20, closes with the Stars & Steel Pan Concert & Awards.

Performers and special honorees

The first wave of announced performers included 450, reggae singer Jah Mason, Grenadian soca artist V’ghn, bouyon acts 1T1 and Theomaa, and Trinidad’s Freetown Collective. Four special honours were announced for the 2026 show:

Shyne: Global Ambassador Honor
Calypso Rose: Elite Calypso Honor
Alan Cavé: Elite Konpa Honor
Patra: Lifetime Achievement Honor

How voting worked

Nominees were published on June 10, 2026, and fans voted on the Caribbean Music Awards website until August 10. The organisers describe the People’s Choice Award as decided by public votes. They have not published a detailed breakdown of how fan votes are weighed in the other categories, so we are not going to guess. Voting is now closed, and the winners will be read out at NAPA on September 19, with some steel pan awards presented at the Sunday concert.

Who leads the 2026 nominations?

Lady Lava: 9 nominations
Ayetian, Machel Montano and V’ghn: 7 each
Shenseea and Skillibeng: 6 each
Masicka, Popcaan, Valiant, Vybz Kartel and Yung Bredda: 5 each

The most-nominated song is “Shake It to the Max (Fly) [Remix]” by Moliy, Shenseea, Skillibeng and Silent Addy, with three nods. New categories this year include Dennery artist and song, zess song, konpa song, chutney soca artist and song, jab artist and song, and French Caribbean song of the year.

Caribbean Music Awards 2026 dancehall nominees

Female Dancehall Artist of the Year

Male Dancehall Artist of the Year

450
Alkaline
Armanii
Ayetian
Masicka
Popcaan
Valiant
Vybz Kartel

Dancehall Song of the Year

“BBB (Snapchat)” – Armanii
“G.A.D” – Jada Kingdom
“God Is the Greatest” – Vybz Kartel
“Passenger Princess (Story Book Riddim)” – Valiant
“Rich Sex (Story Book Riddim)” – Masicka
“Shake It to the Max (Remix)” – Moliy, Skillibeng & Shenseea
“Wah Yo Deh Pon” – Ayetian & Govana
“WYFL” – Skippa

Dancehall Collaboration of the Year

“Wah Yo Deh Pon” – Ayetian & Govana
“Tip (Remix)” – Ayetian & Skillibeng
“Glory” – Ding Dong & Vanessa Bling
“Shake It to the Max (Fly) [Remix]” – Moliy, Shenseea & Skillibeng
“Kick It Wid Myself” – Popcaan & Chronic Law
“New Gear” – Skillibeng & Vybz Kartel

Dancehall Album of the Year

Her Name Is Love – Masicka
Nothing Without God – Popcaan
Pieces of Me – 450
Prove Them Wrong – Valiant
Saint – Prince Swanny
The Impact – Armanii
Viking (Vybz Is King): 10th Year Anniversary – Vybz Kartel
From Ding Dong to World Ding – Ding Dong

Dancehall Impact Award

Ayetian
D’yani
Kman 6ixx
Malie Donn
Nigy Boy
Rajah Wild
Skippa
Stalk Ashley

Dancehall Best New Artist

Ayetian
Jamal
Khandi Brawling
Likkle Addi
Najeeriii
Nhance
Skippa

Caribbean Music Awards 2026 reggae nominees

Male Reggae Artist of the Year

Beres Hammond
Buju Banton
Christopher Martin
Chronixx
Damian Marley
Romain Virgo
Shaggy
Tarrus Riley

Female Reggae Artist of the Year

Alaine
Etana
Koffee
Lila Iké
Queen Omega
Sevana
Tanya Stephens
Tessanne Chin

Reggae Song of the Year

“BIG 45” – Protoje
“Good Music” – Anthony B
“Jamaica Strong” – Aiesha
“So High” – Jesse Royal & Agent Sasco
“The Door” – Zion Marley
“Til A Mawnin” – Shaggy & Sting
“Wife and Sweetheart” – Christopher Martin

Reggae Album of the Year

Blxxd & Fyah – Keznamdi
Exile – Chronixx
Feeling Irie – Glen Washington
God and I – I-Octane
Jamdown – Sanchez
No Place Like Home – Jesse Royal
Treasure Self Love – Lila Iké
Weekend Dude – Duane Stephenson

People’s Choice Award nominees

Alkaline
Dexta Daps
Kes
Lady Lava
Shenseea
Voice
Vybz Kartel
Yung Bredda

The full slate, including soca, bouyon, konpa, zess, dennery, jab, chutney soca, Latin and French Caribbean categories, is on the official Caribbean Music Awards website.

Stalk Ashley at the 2026 Caribbean Music Awards

Stalk Ashley has two nominations this year: Female Dancehall Artist of the Year and the Dancehall Impact Award. She did not win either award: Female Dancehall Artist of the Year went to Shenseea and the Dancehall Impact Award went to Ayetian. It is her second straight nomination for Female Dancehall Artist of the Year, a category Shenseea won in 2025, and last year “Really Like U” with Skillibeng was also up for Dancehall Collaboration of the Year.

Her 2026 run gave voters plenty to weigh. In February she released “Ready for the Ride” with Sean Paul, and in August she joined 450 on “Good Ole” (more on the 450 collaboration). 450 performed at the ceremony and was nominated for Dancehall Album of the Year for Pieces of Me, which went to Prince Swanny’s Saint. Read more about Stalk Ashley’s 2026 nominations.

Who won at the 2025 Caribbean Music Awards?

For context, these were the headline winners at Kings Theatre on August 28, 2025, as reported by DancehallMag:

Female Dancehall Artist of the Year: Shenseea
Male Dancehall Artist of the Year: Valiant
Female Reggae Artist of the Year: Lila Iké
Male Reggae Artist of the Year: Romain Virgo
Female Soca Artist of the Year: Patrice Roberts
Male Soca Artist of the Year: Skinny Fabulous
Reggae Collaboration of the Year: “Thank You Lord” – Bugle with Buju Banton and Damian Marley

The full 2026 winners list is at the top of this page.

Frequently asked questions

When are the Caribbean Music Awards 2026?

The main ceremony took place on Saturday, September 19, 2026, from 7pm to 11pm, as part of the Caribbean Music Awards Elite Weekend Experience, which ran from September 18 to 20.

Where are the Caribbean Music Awards 2026 being held?

At the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA) in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. It is the first edition held in the Caribbean; the first three were at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn.

Have the Caribbean Music Awards 2026 winners been announced?

Yes. The winners were announced at the ceremony on September 19, 2026 at NAPA in Port of Spain. Shenseea won Female Dancehall Artist of the Year, Valiant won Male Dancehall Artist of the Year, and Buju Banton and Lila Iké won the male and female reggae artist awards.

Did Stalk Ashley win at the 2026 Caribbean Music Awards?

No. She was nominated for Female Dancehall Artist of the Year, won by Shenseea, and the Dancehall Impact Award, won by Ayetian. It was her second straight nomination for Female Dancehall Artist of the Year.

Who is nominated for Female Dancehall Artist of the Year 2026?

Jada Kingdom, Shaneil Muir, Shenseea, Spice, Stalk Ashley and Vanessa Bling. Shenseea won the category in 2025 and won it again in 2026.

Who has the most nominations at the 2026 Caribbean Music Awards?

Trinidadian artist Lady Lava leads with nine nominations. Ayetian, Machel Montano and V’ghn follow with seven each.