Introduction
The International Cemoir Music Award (ICMA) is an annual music award presented to the best album primarily recorded in a language other than English. Established in 2021, the award initially operated with a single annual winner before evolving into a full-year submission process in 2025, allowing entries from countries where the artists originate or are based. It can be considered as the international leg of Cemoir Music Awards.
Bad Bunny won the International Cemoir Music Award (ICMA) 2025 with the entry “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,” representing Puerto Rico. This marked Puerto Rico’s first nomination and first victory in the ICMA.
The final list of submissions, along with the longlist, shortlist, and nominations, will be announced during the fourth quarter of 2026.
| 2026 International Cemoir Music Award |
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| Award Winner: TBA |
| Nominees: TBA |
| Shortlist: TBA |
| Longlist: TBA |
| Submissions: TBA |
The Submissions
As of January 2026, submissions are officially open, starting with the first New Music Friday of the year on January 2. The ICMA only accepts albums released between January 1 – November 1, 2026. So far, four countries have expressed interest in submitting an entry for the International Cemoir Music Award in 2026.
🇱🇹 Lithuania – Lithuania has shown interest in the International Cemoir Music Award since 2024. The debut album of the Lithuanian post-rock band Katarsis, scheduled for release in January 2026, is now considered a potential submission representing the country.
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico – As the current winner of the 2025 edition, Puerto Rico holds the honorary title of fictional host for the 2026 edition. A submission is expected from the country in hopes of finding a successor to Bad Bunny’s winning album.
🇹🇷 Türkiye – As the homeland of Cemoir, Türkiye will be sending an entry to the ICMA 2026 without exception. The winner of the Album of the Year from Türkiye award at the Cemoir Music Awards 2026 will also compete in the international category.
🇻🇳 Vietnam – Debuting last year, Vietnam has strong potential to send another V-Pop record to the ICMA in 2026. Vũ Thanh Vân’s debut album Cuộc Đào Tẩu Của Vũ Thanh Vân could join the race and represent the country.
On 12 December 2025, Cemoir announced that five countries – 🇮🇸 Iceland, 🇮🇪 Ireland, 🇳🇱 the Netherlands, 🇸🇮 Slovenia, and 🇪🇸 Spain – which are boycotting the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 due to the ongoing genocide in Palestine and the political involvement of a participating country, will receive a special invitation to the International Cemoir Music Award. Cemoir stated that it strongly supports the decisions made by these countries.
🇧🇷 Brazil, 🇩🇰 Denmark, 🇫🇷 France, 🇩🇪 Germany, 🇮🇹 Italy, 🇲🇽 Mexico, 🇳🇴 Norway, 🇵🇹 Portugal and 🇸🇪 Sweden are also regarded as countries with high potential to submit entries to the ICMA in the coming months of 2026.
Cemoir 