Which Nine Inch Nails song won Best Rock Song at the 2026 Grammys?
Answer
As Alive as You Need Me to Be
Nine Inch Nails won Best Rock Song at the 2026 Grammys with “As Alive as You Need Me to Be.”
Released on July 17, 2025, the song served as the lead single from the “Tron: Ares” soundtrack. It was written by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross and performed under the Nine Inch Nails name. The track combines industrial-rock intensity with electronic programming, fitting both the band’s history and the futuristic setting of the film.
The song also received a nomination for Best Song Written for Visual Media, but its 2026 win came in Best Rock Song. That distinction matters: Best Rock Song primarily recognizes songwriting, while performance-focused categories evaluate the recording itself. The nominated songwriters were Reznor and Ross.
The other nominees were Sleep Token’s “Caramel,” Hayley Williams’s “Glum,” Turnstile’s “Never Enough,” and Yungblud’s “Zombie.” Nine Inch Nails had previously won this category for “Hurt” at the 1997 Grammys, making the 2026 victory a return to a category closely associated with the band’s songwriting legacy.