The red carpet just keeps rolling out for singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton. After dominating November’s Country Music Association Awards, and watching his album jump from nowhere to No 1, he’s now one of the top nominees at next year’s Grammy Awards.
Stapleton's four nominations, announced this month by the Recording Academy, include Best Country Album, Country Solo Performance and Country Song for Traveller.
His debut album – which was released in May and became a huge hit and performed alongside Justin Timberlake at the CMAs – is also up for the coveted Grammy for Album of the Year, marking a return to the top prize nominations for country music after a lean spell.
The last country-tinged album to be nominated for Album of the Year was at the 2014 Grammys with Taylor Swift's Red – but that was not completely country, thanks to its pop anthems We Are Never Getting Back Together and I Knew You Were Trouble. Before that, you have to go back to Lady Antebellum's Need You Now in 2011.
“I don’t make records with the thought of awards,” Stapleton says. “That being said, what a wonderful treat to be recognised by your peers for the work that you have done. It’s kinda crazy.”
His competition is tough in the top category, with Swift's 1989, Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly, Alabama Shakes' Sound & Color, and the Weeknd's Beauty Behind the Madness in contention – the last one is the hot favourite after it was revealed to be the most-streamed album on Spotify this year.
“The Album of the Year category, you look at that, it’s some pretty heavy company,” Stapleton said. “We are grateful for it. We don’t take it that lightly.”
Little Big Town also helped country music return to top Grammy categories with Girl Crush, which is up for Song of the Year (the nomination goes to its writers, Lori McKenna, Hillary Lindsey and Liz Rose).
It's the first time a country song has been nominated for the top honour since the 2011 Grammys, at which the nominees included Miranda Lambert's The House That Built Me and Lady Antebellum's Need You Now, the winner.
"It's the biggest deal," says Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild. "There is no way to describe the importance. It means a lot to the band for this song and the record to be acknowledged like this from our peers. It's incredible." Girl Crush is also nominated for Best Country Song and Country Duo/Group Performance, while Little Big Town's Pain Killer is up for Best Country Album.
As in the CMAs, Stapleton has a strong chance of winning Grammy gold because he is beloved and respected in the music community – he has written songs for just about every hot country act, from George Strait to Luke Bryan to Kenny Chesney – and he earned acclaim, and Grammy nominations, as the lead singer of bluegrass band The SteelDrivers. Even Adele covers one their songs at her live shows.
“I have been working for a long time, writing songs for other people and playing on records, playing shows and doing all those things,” he says.
“So many artists and producers and record-label folks and publishers – everyone in Nashville, but also outside of Nashville, too. I really have had very few bad experiences.”
While country music could triumph at the Grammys ceremony – on February 15 – so could rap.
Lamar's Butterfly could be the first hip-hop project to win Album of the Year since Outkast took home the prize in 2004 with Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. And his Alright, produced by Pharrell Williams, could be the first rap tune to ever win song of the year.
Lamar is the leading nominee with 11 nods, followed by Swift and The Weeknd, who each have seven. More than 21,000 submissions were entered for the 83 Grammy categories.
Voting for the second round, completed by mail, ends on January 15.
* Associated Press
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
