Grammy Awards 2026 Highlights: Kendrick Lamar And Bad Bunny Make History, Dalai Lama Joins List Of First-time Winners

Kendrick Lamar has joined Stevie Wonder as the only artists ever to win 5 or more GRAMMYs in consecutive years.

Cher walked off the stage before announcing the Record of the Year Award. When she arrived on stage, host Trevor Noah presented her with a Lifetime Achievement Award. She did not attend the Special Merit Awards the day before, where she was honoured. Following this presentation, Cher gave a brief acceptance speech for the Lifetime Achievement Award and then walked off, forgetting to present the next award. Trevor Noah had to ask her to return to the stage.

Bad Bunny gave his acceptance speech in Spanish, honouring his language, which we loosely translated to English, “Puerto Rico, believe me when I tell you that we are much bigger than 100 by 35 (a reference to the island’s square mileage) and there is nothing we can’t achieve, thank God, thank you to the Academy, thank you to all the people who have believed in me throughout my career.” He expressed gratitude to members who worked with him on this album, “To all the people who worked on this album, thank you mommy for giving birth to me in Puerto Rico, I love you.” He further dedicated his award to “all the people that had to leave their homeland, their country, to follow their dreams.”

He concluded by saying, “To all the Latinos around the world and all the artists who were there before and who should have been on this stage collecting this award, thank you very much.”

Bad Bunny wins the biggest award of the night in the category Album Of The Year for Debí Tirar Más Fotos, the first all-Spanish-language album to win in the category. It is only the second time an all-Spanish-language album has been nominated for the top prize. The first nomination was also for Bad Bunny's 2023 album Un Verano Sin Ti.

The entire arena was on its feet for Bad Bunny’s acceptance speech, which was delivered primarily in Spanish, honouring the Spanish-language release.

Kendrick Lamar and SZA win Record of the Year for Luther. While accepting the award, Lamar gave a shoutout to Luther Vandross. He said, "This is what this music is about: Luther Vandross. This is special for me because, he is one of my favourite artists of all time.” SZA further cautioned against falling into despair, "Please don’t fall into despair. I know that right now is a scary time. I know the algorithms tell us that it’s so scary and all is lost.”

Others nominated in the Record of the Year category were:

● "DtMF" by Bad Bunny
● "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter
● "Anxiety" by Doechii
● "WILDFLOWER" by Billie Eilish
● "Abracadabra" by Lady Gaga
● "luther" by Kendrick Lamar with SZA
● "The Subway" by Chappell Roan
● "APT." by ROSÉ & Bruno Mars

Dalai Lama wins Grammy Award, joining K-pop and Steven Spielberg as first-time winners.

Ms Lauryn Hill opened her tribute to D’Angelo, who died last year at just 51, with Nothing Even Matters. Her performance was followed by special guests Lucky Daye, Raphael Saadiq and Anthony Hamilton, Leon Thomas, Bilal and Jon Batiste.

Hill paid tribute to Roberta Flack, who passed away last year at the age of 88. Joining her in honouring the legendary artist were Jon Batiste, Leon Bridges, Alexia Jayy, Lalah Hathaway, October London, John Legend, Chaka Khan, and Wyclef Jean.

The pyrotechnics-heavy performance of War Pigs features Post Malone, Chad Smith, Duff McKagan and Andrew Watt.

Reba McEntire opened the in memoriam with Trailblazer as the names of many musical luminaries - from Connie Francis to Malcolm-Jamal Warner to Cleto Escobedo III to Todd Snider and many more - flashed behind her, Lukas Nelson and Brandy Clark.

Reba’s tribute to people who died last year included her former stepson, Brandon Blackstock. Blackstock, a talent agent and former husband of Kelly Clarkson, died last year at age 48.

Tyler, the Creator tapped Regina King as a guest star in his performance and used the entire stage, which culminated in an explosion at a gas station.

Producer Q-Tip handed Dr Dre Global Impact Award to Pharrell Williams. Q-Tip described Pharrell as a ‘son of Virginia’ and added, “His uniqueness and his daring creativity have kept the world intrigued.” Pharrell, in his acceptance speech, acknowledged the awkwardness of montages and said, “It’s always awkward for me to sit through these montages,” adding to this, he said, “For me, it’s like listening to your voicemail over like a loud speaker.”

He concluded his speech by saying, “To everyone in this room who believes in the power of Black music, thank you so much."

Billie Eilish takes a bold stand during her acceptance speech, she cursed out ICE, saying, “As grateful as I feel, I honestly don’t feel like I need to say anything but that no one is illegal on stolen land.” She added, ”It’s just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now. And I just I feel really hopeful in this room, and I feel like we just need to keep praying and speaking up and protesting/ And our voices really do matter, and the people matter. And I say, sorry. Thank you so much.”

Indian artists once again made a notable appearance at the Grammys, with nominees such as Anoushka Shankar, Siddhant Bhatia, Shakti, and Charu Suri, but they did not win.

Billie Eilish won the Song Of The Year award for WILDFLOWER

Others nominated were:

• Abracadabra – Henry Walter, Lady Gaga & Andrew Watt, songwriters (Lady Gaga)
• Anxiety – Jaylah Hickmon, songwriter (Doechii)
• APT. – Amy Allen, Christopher Brody Brown, Rogét Chahayed, Henry Walter, Omer Fedi, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Chae Young Park & Theron Thomas, songwriters (ROSÉ, Bruno Mars)
• DtMF – Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, Scott Dittrich, Benjamin Falik, Roberto José Rosado Torres, Marco Daniel Borrero, Hugo René Sención Sanabria & Tyler Thomas Spry, songwriters (Bad Bunny)
• Golden [From KPop Demon Hunters] — EJAE & Mark Sonnenblick, songwriters (HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI)
• Luther — Jack Antonoff, Roshwita Larisha Bacha, Matthew Bernard, Ink, Scott Bridgeway, Sam Dew, Kendrick Lamar, Mark Anthony Spears, Solána Rowe & Kamasi Washington, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar With SZA)
• Manchild — Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff & Sabrina Carpenter, songwriters (Sabrina Carpenter)
   

Trevor Noah returned for the sixth and final time as host. Performing his opening monologue at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, he took aim at some of the biggest names, including Nicki Minaj. In his early speech, Noah joked about Nicki, who was not present at the award ceremony. He played up the crowd reaction and then delivered a mock scene involving US President Donald Trump. "Nicki Minaj is not here, she is not here, uh. She is still at the White House with Donald Trump discussing very important issues: 'Actually, Nicki, I have the biggest ass, I have it. Everybody's saying it Nicki, I know they say it's you, but it's me. Womp womp womp, look at it baby," said Noah.

Nicki Minaj has been nominated 12 times at the Grammys but has never won. Her last nomination came in 2024 for the song Barbie World from the Barbie film.

Lola Young has won Grammys in the Best Pop Solo Performance category for Messy. During her acceptance speech, she used the “F***” word, and it was not even bleeped on the Los Angeles broadcast.

Lady Gaga has added another Grammy to her already full shelf. This year, she won the award for Best Pop Vocal Album for her album Mayhem, making it her 16th Grammy. In her acceptance speech, she expressed her excitement and said, "I’ve been making music since I was a little girl, and every time I’m here, I still feel like I need to pinch myself.” She further advised women in music, “I know sometimes when you’re in the studio with a bunch of guys, it can be hard. So I urge you to always listen to yourself and always fight for your ideas, fight for your songs, fight for yourself.”

Lady Gaga was nominated alongside Justin Bieber's SWAG, Sabrina Carpenter's Man's Best Friend, Miley Cyrus's Something Beautiful and Teddy Swims's I've Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2).

Wearing what appears to be a wicker lampshade, Lady Gaga performs the rock version of Abracadabra, but there’s so much smoke it’s impossible to get a clear view of her inside the arena, and she’s not close to the edge of the stage. The camera is blocking the crowd from seeing much of it.

Jelly Roll won Best Contemporary Country Album for Beautifully Broken. While accepting the award, he thanked Jesus and added, "I believe that music had the power to change my life, and God had the power to change my life. I want to tell y’all right now: Jesus is for everybody, Jesus is not owned by one political party. Jesus is not owned by no music label. Jesus is Jesus.”

Accepting his award for Best Música Urbana Album, he said, “Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say: ICE out.” He added, “We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens, we are humans and we are Americans.” Preaching for love, Bad Bunny said, "The hate gets more powerful with more hate. The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love,” he said. “We need to be different. We fight. We have to do it with love. We love our people, we love our family, and that’s the way to do it, with love. Don’t forget that.”

Bad Bunny took home Best Música Urbana Album for Debí Tirar Más Fotos.

Justin Bieber returned to the stage after 4-year hiatus and performed at the 68th Grammys. Performing at Yukon, the singer's outfit consisted of only shorts. He stared into a large rectangular mirror with a guitar slung over his shoulder.

 Sabrina Carpenter seems to be a best friend to romance and ruffles as she stepped onto the red carpet at the Grammys 2026, turning heads with a soft, dreamy look that matched the big night ahead for her music. She wore a custom Valentino dress designed by Alessandro Michele. The outfit featured layers of ruffles and fine beading that flowed all the way to the floor. The gown had a sheer cape over her shoulders. Under it, the bejewelled straps and sweetheart neckline added to the romantic style. The bodice was heavily detailed, and the ruffles fell in soft tiers down the skirt. Sabrina kept her jewellery simple but striking. She wore three diamond rings, including a special "SC" initial ring, along with diamond drop earrings. Her hair was pulled back, with soft strands framing her face, giving her a gentle and glowing look.

The night is an important one for the singer. Her latest album, Man's Best Friend, and her solo track, Manchild, are up for six awards. This includes a nomination for Album of the Year, where she is competing with stars like Bad Bunny, Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber.

 Producer of the Year, Non-Classical was won by Cirkut. This award category was not telecast and was announced during the premiere.

Grammy Award 2026: Best New Artist goes to Olivia Dean. In her winning speech, she celebrated immigrants and said, "I wanna say I’m up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant, I wouldn’t be here. I’m a product of bravery, and I think those people deserve to be celebrated.”

She was up against KATSEYE, The Marias, Addison Rae, sombr, Leon Thomas, Alex Warren and Lola Young.

The Marias performed No One Noticed from their album Submarine, giving viewers something to sink into.

Leon Thomas performed Mutt

Alex Warren performed Ordinary

Addison Rae performed Fame Is A Gun, wearing a purple bedazzled bikini.

Katseye performed Gnarly. Notably, they swapped the lyric “Tesla” with “robotics.”

The crowd rose to its feet for Olivia Dean who performed Man I Need.

Sombr’s closed with his energetic performance of 12 to 12.

Kendrick Lamar took the centre stage after winning the prestigious award. He said, “It is hip-hop as usual, man. I’m not good at talking about myself, but I express it through the music. It’s an honor to be here. … Hip-hop is going to always be right here. We are going to be in these suits looking good, having our folks with us. We are going to be having the culture with us. So I appreciate y’all. God is to glory. Love y’all.”

Lamar has officially passed Jay Z for most Grammys.

- Best Rap Album: GNX
- Best Rap Performance: Clipse f/ Kendrick Lamar and Pharrell - “Chains & Whips”
- Best Rap Song: TV Off
- Best Melodic Rap Performance: Luther

Lamar was nominated in 9 categories, leading the nom list this year.

Kendrick Lamar, nominated in nine categories, has won his first award of the night. He has won the Best Rap Album for GNX.

Chappell Roan undid a dark red cape on the carpet, revealing a sheer topless gown held up by nipple rings.

All eyes are on Bad Bunny as the singer walks on the red carpet in a black suit. The singer made history with his Grammy nominations as he is the first Spanish-language artist to receive nominations for the coveted Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Album of the Year categories at the same ceremony. (He’s also up for Best Música Urbana Album, Best Global Music Performance and Best Album Cover.)

ROSÉ and Bruno Mars opened the 68th GRAMMYs with a performance of APT.

Doechii, Harry Styles, Carole King, Chappell Roan, Charli xcx, Jeff Goldblum, Karol G, Lainey Wilson, Marcello Hernández, Nikki Glaser, Q-Tip, Queen Latifah and Teyana Taylor will present at the 2026 Grammys.

The 2026 award show will feature a special segment in which all eight of this year’s best new artist nominees will perform. Leon Thomas, Olivia Dean, global girl group Katseye, The Marías, Addison Rae, sombr, Alex Warren and Lola Young will all share the stage before going head-to-head for one of the night’s biggest prizes. Sabrina Carpenter, who is among the lead nominees with 6 nods, will also perform at the Grammys. 

Comedian Trevor Noah will host the show for the sixth consecutive time, and it will be his last. Noah himself is a four-time Grammy nominee and is up this year in the audiobook, narration, and storytelling recording category for Into the Uncut Grass, a children’s story.
 

The award ceremony will be streamed live globally on various streaming platforms. In India, like several other Hollywood events, the Grammy Awards 2026 will also stream on Jio Hotstar. Since the event will take place on February 1, at 8 PM (ET), Indian viewers can watch it live from 6.30 am on February 2. The main award ceremony is scheduled to run for 2.5 hours.