The 68th annual Grammy Awards felt both familiar and radical.
While last year’s Grammys had a redemptive arc, shaped by the aftermath of the LA fires, the 2026 show was overtly political.
In the weeks leading up to the telecast, the fatal shootings of Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis dominated headlines and sparked nationwide protests.
At the show, artists wore “ICE Out” pins. Questions from the press were centred on the protests happening across the country. That messaging carried into acceptance speeches, which ranged from subtle pro-immigration themes to explicit condemnations of ICE and their practises. The political tone of the night helped make up for what was otherwise a very traditional awards show.
Trevor Noah returned as host, and once again, only nine awards were handed out on air, again disrupting the balance between performances and speeches. But competing narratives were at play. Kendrick Lamar was the most nominated artist of the night, up for three of the four biggest awards. Album of the Year was seen as a three-way race: Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos vs. Kendrick Lamar’s GNX vs. Lady Gaga’s Mayhem. The question became: would the Grammys reward something novel, like Bad Bunny, or stick to tradition and honour something familiar, like the purposefully throwback Mayhem?
In the end, Bad Bunny emerged as the big winner, taking home Album of the Year just days before he is set to headline the Super Bowl.
Read More
It made for a positive ending to an otherwise uneven night. Here’s the good, the bad, and the surprisingly weird from the 2026 Grammys.
The Good
Wow Grammys actually got it right
Admit it: you thought they’d fumble this.
Album of the Year was always obvious. And yet the Grammys are the Grammys, which means they tend to follow antiquated, old-school Grammy logic. So when Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos was announced — rightfully — as the winner of the night’s biggest award, it was shocking—so much so that even Benito was stunned, sitting frozen in his seat before finally standing to accept it.
Debí Tirar Más Fotos was not only the most popular and deftly executed album of the year, but also the most political, engaging directly with the themes of the time. It was broad enough to translate to a Super Bowl–scale spectacle, yet local and specific enough to feel deeply rooted in the sounds, histories, and realities of Puerto Rico.
More importantly, it captured Bad Bunny at the peak of his powers — unlike, say, Lady Gaga, who is just doing pastiche imitations of her earlier work.
And the win was rewarded with one of the night’s most emotional speeches, delivered half in English, half in Spanish. “I want to dedicate this award to all the people who had to leave their homeland, their country, to follow their dreams,” he says at one point.
The very two overt anti ICE speeches
The Grammys were largely an inspirational night. Most addresses, even those touching on political themes, carried aspirational, positive messages—whether celebrating pro-immigration values, as Olivia Dean did in her Best New Artist speech, or advocating for general peace, like SZA’s remarks after winning Record of the Year. Few speakers conveyed the frustration and anger that many feel across the country today. It was this seething intensity that made Bad Bunny and Billie Eilish’s speeches stand out.
When Bad Bunny won the award for Best Música Urbana Album, he opened his speech with the words “ICE out,” before saying, “We’re not savage. We’re not animals. We’re not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans.” Billie Eilish was even more explicit, saying “fuck ICE”—though the telecast bleeped it. Their speeches were the most direct and confrontational, and therefore the most impactful.
Justin Bieber had the performance of the night
Boxers. Socks. Guitar. MPC.
Maybe the performance of the night came when Justin Bieber—wearing only underwear and socks—appeared with a brooding, emo energy and performed the Swag standout “Yukon.”
It was a stunning performance—one that showcased why the song works so well. Its real power lies in the lo-fi, stripped-down, back-to-basics feel—an intimate simplicity that JB brought to life onstage in a way that was a little bruising but always captivating.
Kendrick’s gives out his props
Kendrick’s gives out his props Kendrick was the big winner last year, so he’s no stranger to what the awards bring. This year was another big night for him, with the rapper taking home five awards—though only two were broadcast. In both speeches, he displayed a grace that was genuine just cool to see.
The first came when he won Rap Album of the Year, where he gave his props to another nominee: Clipse, especially Pusha. Later, when he won Record of the Year with SZA, he focused almost entirely on the impact of Luther Vandross—the song “Luther” samples “If This World Were Mine”—and expressed gratitude to the family for clearing the song, even if he couldn’t curse on the record.
The Bad
Trevor Noah gotta go
Trevor Noah has hosted the Grammys six times, making him the Billy Crystal of the Recording Academy. This is his last time hosting — and for the best. His frantic energy just hasn’t been the right fit for the broadcast, and, this year, most of his jokes didn’t land.
His opening monologue was particularly disastrous, aimless and just not really funny at all—with the exception being one good Nicki Minaj burn (which she’s already responded to).
Kendrick is the winningest rapper — no one cares.
On this evening, Kendrick surpassed first Kanye West, then Jay-Z, to become the rapper with the most Grammy wins, bringing his career total to 27. Yet it was odd that the telecast didn’t make a bigger deal of it — or fully convey the significance of this moment.
He has one fewer statue than Quincy Jones and is eight wins away from Beyoncé. If Kendrick continues releasing music at a steady clip, there’s no chance he won’t become the most award-winning artist of all time. If the Grammys were smart the would star doing a better job documenting these milestones now.
The Surprisingly Weird
The D’Angelo and Roberta Flack tribute was…a lot
In many ways, the tributes to D’Angelo and Roberta Flack were similar to last year’s Quincy Jones tribute: well-intentioned, partially performed by people who genuinely loved the subjects, with an epic scope — but with some unusual turns.
This one followed the same pattern. It was actually quite emotional to see Lauryn Hill, Raphael Saadiq, and Bilal — all people who knew D’Angelo — up there giving passionate performances. But then appearances by, um, Lucky Daye and Leon Thomas, doing an unfortunate rendition of “Devil’s Pie,” sorta soiled the performance. The lesson, of course, is that less could have been way more here.
