Fil-Ams Darren Criss, Marco Paguia earn first Grammy nod, edging closer to EGOT status
Filipino-American artists Darren Criss and Marco Paguia are inching closer to achieving the EGOT title after receiving a nomination in the 2026 Grammy Awards.
In the list unveiled on Friday, Nov. 7, Criss earned his first Grammy nomination for the Best Musical Theater Album, along with the Broadway cast of Maybe Happy Ending.
The musical has previously earned six Tony awards, including Best Musical.
“Thank you to the [Grammy Awards] for recognizing our little light! It’s an honor to be nominated, especially alongside so many friends and colleagues working on Broadway. Very proud to be representing our industry at the Grammys!” Criss wrote on his Instagram story.
Before this, Criss, born to his Cebuana mom Cerina Bru, had history as the first Filipino and Asian to win the Best Leading Actor in a Musical for his role as Oliver in the same production at the 2025 Tony Awards in June.
He also previously won a Primetime Emmy Award in 2018 for his role of Andrew Cunanan in Ryan Murphy’s limited series, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. He also bagged wins in the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and Critics’ Choice Award for the same role.
Meanwhile, Paguia, a music director and orchestrator, is also two awards away from achieving the EGOT title, having been nominated in the 2026 Grammys in the same category as Criss for the Broadway production of Buena Vista Social Club.
Paguia also made history by becoming the first Filipino and Asian to win a Tony Award for Best Orchestrations for the same production. He had also previously worked as musical director for shows including Gutenberg! The Musical!, Peter and the Starcatcher, and Everyday Rapture, among others.
EGOT refers to an achievement of winning all four major awards in America: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. Only 21 people have achieved this status, including Rita Moreno, Audrey Hepburn, Whoopi Goldberg, John Legend, and Elton John, among others.
Apart from them, fellow Filipino Sophia Laforteza earned a nomination for the 2026 Grammys after her global girl group KATSEYE was nominated for the Best New Artist category.
The 2026 Grammy Awards is happening on Feb. 1, 2026.
