How did Billie Eilish win 2026’s Song of the Year for her 2024 hit ‘Wildflower’?

When the 68th Grammy Awards were handed out on Sunday night, viewers might’ve felt a little déjà vu as Billie Eilish accepted Song of the Year for “Wildflower,” a tune that first appeared on her 2024 album, Hit Me Hard and Soft.

Last year, Eilish competed at the 2025 Grammys for Hit Me Hard and Soft, earning bids for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album. One of that album’s singles, “Birds of a Feather,” garnered nominations for record, song, and pop solo performance.

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On Sunday night, Grammy watchers on social media were a bit confused when “Wildflower,” which is very much a track on that 2024 album, earned fresh Grammy noms for record and song of the year, winning the latter.

How does that happen? The answer is simple: the Grammys have complicated eligibility rules.

Although “Wildflower” debuted on Eilish’s 2024 album, it wasn’t released as a single until February 2025, after Hit Me Hard and Soft and “Birds of a Feather” had already been nominated for the 67th Grammy Awards. Since the eligibility period for the 68th Grammys was between Aug. 31, 2024, and Aug. 30, 2025, “Wildflower” was able to compete the following year.

The Recording Academy’s eligibility rules classify tracks and singles as distinctive entities worthy of separate awards. According to the official rulebook, “A single is a song or instrumental recording that is released separately from an album, while a track is an individual song or instrumental recording released as part of an album.” Hence, “Wildflower” is eligible for song and record prizes separately from the album it was originally written for, provided it’s released as a single in its own right.

Reading further into the Recording Academy’s rules, a track or single from a previous year’s album can compete the following year, “provided the recording was not entered as a track or single the previous year and provided the album did not win a Grammy in a performance category.” So, since Eilish went home empty-handed at the 67th Grammy Awards for Hit Me Hard and Soft, she had no problem competing for “Wildflower” at the 68th Grammys.

Although Eilish already had nine Grammys and two Oscars going into the night, her Song of the Year win for “Wildflower” still came as a shock. She and Finneas have now won that award a record three times.

Song of the Year

Contender

Odds

1.

KPop Demon Hunters

Golden

55.9%

2.

Lady Gaga

Abracadabra

13.1%

3.

Kendrick Lamar and SZA

Luther

11.6%

4.

Sabrina Carpenter

Manchild

9.7%

5.

Bad Bunny

DTMF

4.0%

6.

Billie Eilish

Wildflower

Winner

3.5%

7.

Rosé and Bruno Mars

APT.

1.8%

8.

Doechii

Anxiety

0.3%

Gold Derby’s official odds had her ranked in sixth place, behind KPop Demon Hunters for Oscar frontrunner “Golden,” Lady Gaga for “Abracadabra,” Kendrick Lamar and SZA for “Luther,” Sabrina Carpenter for “Manchild,” and Bad Bunny for “DTMF.”

It seems Grammy voters have longer memories than just about anybody else handing out prizes these days, because enough of them felt Eilish deserved some recognition for Hit Me Hard and Soft after getting completely blanked last year.

So, remember, musicians: if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again at the next year’s Grammys (provided you follow the rules).

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