GRAMMY AWARDS 2026

KURATED NO. 265
AWARDS SHOW
The 68th Grammy Awards (2026)

CONTENTS

PLAYLIST
Grammy Song Sampler 2026 on YouTube and Spotify

Looking At 5 ARTISTS
Blurbs, quotes and info

34-SONG TRACKLIST
Songs and artists

LIST OF WINNERS AND NOMINEES
95 categories and 500 artists

One of the more captivating Grammy performances featured Canada’s Justin Bieber playing solo in boxer shorts and socks. Making a looped track onstage, the 31 year-old singer played an assured performance which stood out for originality and heartfelt expression.The song he performed, Yukon, isn’t available on all platforms.

GRAMMY AWARDS 2026

It was the Grammys against Donald Trump as “ICE-Out” sentiment swept the audience

The Grammy Awards show and Donald Trump had an unexpected head-on collision last Sunday night. Since 2019 Grammy has slowly been diversifying its 15,000 strong membership and it shows. Women have swept the top awards three times since 2020. This year Black and Latino artists were prominent led by Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny.

Donald Trump has been going the other way. He’s cut diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) out of government, the workplace and wherever else he finds it. He’s fighting immigration with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).

Cultural and political fireworks erupted throughout the Grammy ceremony with the audience rising to its feet in thunderous applause as artists like major award winner Bad Bunny called out Trump for his immigration raids. “Ice-OUT” buttons were pinned on numerous lapels in solidarity with the turmoil in Minneapolis.

Trump’s typical response on Truth Social: “The Grammy Awards are the worst, virtually unwatchable! CBS is lucky not to have this garbage litter their airwaves any longer. The host, Trevor Noah, whoever he may be, is almost as bad as Jimmy Kimmel at the Low Ratings Academy Awards.” Trump had already flagged his disdain saying he’s skipping Sunday’s Superbowl because Bad Bunny is the starring half-time act. Right wing Americans are setting up their own half-time show featuring Trump supporter Kid Rock.

Making change: aligning with musical diversity

The Grammy Awards have been changing to counter falling TV audience numbers. Last week’s 3.5 hour show drew 14.4 million viewers – down a million from 2025. The live audience remains around 12,000. The shows’ peak was 40 million in 2012. Its nadir hit 8.8 million in 2021. Both music distribution and TV habits have shifted dramatically. As mainstream viewing fodder, Grammy competes with a plethora of online streaming audio and entertainment choices. Diversifying and broadening its range of artists and genres for its marquee event makes sense in building audience.

Washington Post music critic Chris Richards notes that the Grammys are an industry awards show that “can only tell us what the music business thinks of itself.

“When we shovel Grammy victories into our history books we are participating in a corporate history, not a people’s history. That isn’t changing here. But with this new slate of nominees, the academy seems more interested in aligning its story with reality.”

This year’s Grammy show reflects a changed and dissonant political tone among artists and audience. It’s an interesting development underlining Trump’s lowbrow reputation and outlier stance from mainstream popular culture.

Grammy highlights

BAD BUNNY

Awarded three trophies on the night, Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny got a lengthy standing ovation accepting the win for Best Música Urbana Album telling the audience, “Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say, ICE Out.” He continued, “We’re not savage. We’re not animals. We’re not aliens. We’re humans, and we are Americans.”

He made Grammy history with Debi Tirar Mas Fotos (I Should Have Taken More Photos) becoming the first artist to win Album of the Year sung entirely in Spanish. In his second acceptance speech for that win he spoke to Latino pride and immigration while highlighting the growth of Latin music globally.

“I want to dedicate this award to all the people that had to leave their homeland, their country, to follow their dreams.”

LAURYN HILL

Former Fugee singer Lauryn Hill led an outstanding R&B mash-up tribute to stars D’Angelo and Roberta Flack both of whom died last year. She opened the performance saying “Make time for the people you love while you can.”

The tribute was a Grammy highlight. Backed by a large band, Hill opened with Nothing Even Matters and was joined by musicians Lucky Daye, Leon Thomas and Jon Batiste who performed D’Angelo’s Brown Sugar. Chaka Khan and John Legend contributed Where Is The Love. Another former Fugee member, Wyclef Jean, joined Hill onstage to sing Roberta Flack’s 70s hit Killing Me Softly which helped put the Fugees on the musical map with their innovative 1996 version.

BILLIE EILISH

Billie Eilish and brother Finneas O’Connell picked up a record-breaking third Grammy for Best Song of the Year – Wildlife. Eilish offered a succinct anti-ICE statement.

“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 said. “It’s really hard to know what to say or what to do right now. I feel really hopeful in this room, and I feel like we just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting. Our voices really do matter. Fuck ICE.”(which was censored on TV)

JUSTIN BIEBER

An assured Justin Bieber turned in a superior performance standing out for its originality and raw, heartfelt expression. My friend, colleague and ace theatre critic Colin Thomas wrote this in his weekly Fresh Sheet blog:

At the Grammy Awards on Sunday night, Justin Bieber commanded attention in the best possible way: he stripped things down, figuratively and literally. Performing in his socks and boxers, he held the stage with his vulnerability. Yes, the song Yukon from his new album Swag is frankly sexual. Nothing wrong with that. It’s also very intimate. There are power dynamics, which is different from lack of consent.

You can see the Grammy performance here. (NOTE: unavailable on some platforms)
Here’s a sample of the lyrics:

And I know
You like to go slow
But we could go faster
Tell me the password

Slide city, slide city
You know what that means
I’m coming up on you quickly, mhm
I bring nice things
Slide city slide
Plenty other men tryna get in the bed
So I’ma get slouched instead
I know it’s gon’ make you beg

What would I do if I didn’t love you, baby?
What would I do if I didn’t love you, baby?
What would I do if I didn’t love you?

 

OLIVIA DEAN

British singer Olivia Dean won Best New Artist and offered another pro-immigration perspective honouring her family in an emotional speech. “I’m up here as the granddaughter of an immigrant,”  said Dean who was born to an English father and Jamaican-Guyanese mother.

“I wouldn’t be here … I’m a product of bravery, and I think those people deserve to be celebrated … We’re nothing without each other,” she said to generous applause.

07 February 2026

34-song Tracklist

Here’s a small and wideranging sampler of 34 songs taken from the 95 categories and 500 winners or nominees.

Grammy Award Winners + Nominees 2026

Song of the year

• Winner: Billie Eilish – Wildflower
• Lady Gaga – Abracadabra
• Doechii – Anxiety
• Rosé & Bruno Mars – APT
• Bad Bunny – DtMF
• Hunter/x – Golden
• Kendrick Lamar feat SZA – Luther
• Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild

Record of the year

• Winner: Kendrick Lamar feat SZA – Luther
• Bad Bunny – DtMF
• Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild
• Doechii – Anxiety
• Billie Eilish – Wildflower
• Lady Gaga – Abracadabra
• Chappell Roan – The Subway
• Rosé & Bruno Mars – APT

Album of the year

• Winner: Bad Bunny – Debí Tirar Más Fotos
• Justin Bieber – Swag
• Sabrina Carpenter – Man’s Best Friend
• Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out
• Lady Gaga – Mayhem
• Kendrick Lamar – GNX
• Leon Thomas – Mutt
• Tyler, the Creator – Chromakopia

Best new artist

• Winner: Olivia Dean
• Katseye
• The Marias
• Addison Rae
• Sombr
• Leon Thomas
• Alex Warren
• Lola Young

Pop and dance

Best pop vocal album

• Winner: Lady Gaga – Mayhem
• Justin Bieber – Swag
• Sabrina Carpenter – Man’s Best Friend
• Miley Cyrus – Something Beautiful
• Teddy Swims – I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy Pt 2

Best pop solo performance

• Winner: Lola Young – Messy
• Justin Bieber – Daisies
• Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild
• Lady Gaga – Disease
• Chappell Roan – The Subway

Best pop duo/group performance

• Winner: Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande – Defying Gravity
• Huntr/x – Golden
• Katseye – Gabriela
• Rosé & Bruno Mars – APT
• SZA With Kendrick Lamar – 30 For 30

Best dance/electronic recording

• Winner: Tame Impala – End Of Summer
• Disclosure & Anderson .Paak – No Cap
• Fred again.., Skepta, & PlaqueBoyMax – Victory Lap
• Kaytranada – Space Invader
• Skrillex – Voltage

Best dance/electronic album

• Winner: FKA Twigs – Eusexua
• Fred again.. – Ten Days
• PinkPantheress – Fancy That
• Rüfüs Du Sol – Inhale / Exhale
• Skrillex – F*** U Skrillex You Think Ur Andy Warhol But Ur Not!! <3

Best dance/pop recording

• Winner: Lady Gaga – Abracadabra
• Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco – Bluest Flame
• Zara Larsson – Midnight Sun
• Tate McRae – Just Keep Watching
• PinkPantheress – Illegal

Best traditional pop vocal album

• Winner: Laufey – A Matter Of Time
• Laila Biali – Wintersongs
• Jennifer Hudson – The Gift Of Love
• Elton John & Brandi Carlile – Who Believes In Angels?
• Lady Gaga – Harlequin
• Barbra Streisand – The Secret Of Life: Partners, Volume 2

Latin

Best Latin pop album

• Winner: Natalia Lafourcade – Cancionera
• Rauw Alejandro – Cosa Nuestra
• Andrés Cepeda – Bogotá (Deluxe)
• Karol G – Tropicoqueta
• Alejandro Sanz – ¿Y ahora qué?

Best música urbana album

• Winner: Bad Bunny – DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS
• J Balvin – Mixteip
• Feid – Ferxxo Vol X: Sagrado
• Nicki Nicole – Naiki
• Trueno – Eub Deluxe
• Yandel – Sinfónico (En Vivo)

Rock and metal

Best rock performance

• Winner: Yungblud ft Nuno Bettencourt, Frank Bello, Adam Wakeman, II – Changes (Live From Villa Park) Back To The Beginning
• Amyl and The Sniffers – U Should Not Be Doing That
• Linkin Park – The Emptiness Machine
• Turnstile – Never Enough
• Hayley Williams – Mirtazapine

Best rock song

• Winner: Nine Inch Nails – As Alive As You Need Me To Be
• Sleep Token – Caramel
• Hayley Williams – Glum
• Turnstile – Never Enough
• Yungblud – Zombie

Best rock album

• Winner: Turnstile – Never Enough
• Deftones – Private Music
• Haim – I Quit
• Linkin Park – From Zero
• Yungblud – Idols

Best alternative music album

• Winner: The Cure – Songs Of A Lost World
• Bon Iver – Sable, Fable
• Tyler, The Creator – Don’t Tap the Glass
• Wet Leg – Moisturizer
• Hayley Williams – Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party

Best alternative music performance

• Winner: The Cure – Alone
• Bon Iver – Everything Is Peaceful Love
• Turnstile – Seein’ Stars
• Wet Leg – Mangetout
• Hayley Williams – Parachute

Best metal performance

• Winner: Turnstile – Birds
• Dream Theater – Night Terror
• Ghost – Lachryma
• Sleep Token – Emergence
• Spiritbox – Soft Spine

Rap

Best rap performance

• Winner: Clipse, Pusha T & Malice feat Kendrick Lamar & Pharrell Williams – Chains & Whips
• Cardi B – Outside
• Doechii – Anxiety
• Kendrick Lamar feat Lefty Gunplay – TV Off
• Tyler, The Creator feat Teezo Touchdown – Darling, I

Best melodic rap performance

• Winner: Kendrick Lamar with SZA – Luther
• Fridayy feat Meek Mill – Proud Of Me
• JID feat Ty Dolla $ign & 6Lack – Wholeheartedly
• Terrace Martin & Kenyon Dixon feat Rapsody – WeMaj
• Partynextdoor & Drake – Somebody Loves Me

Best rap song

• Winner: Kendrick Lamar feat Lefty Gunplay – TV Off
• Doechii – Anxiety
• Clipse, Pusha T & Malice feat John Legend & Voices of Fire – The Birds Don’t Sing
• Tyler, The Creator feat GloRilla, Sexyy Red & Lil Wayne – Sticky
• GloRilla – TGIF

Best rap album

• Winner: Kendrick Lamar – GNX
• Clipse, Pusha T & Malice – Let God Sort Em Out
• GloRilla – Glorious
• JID – God Does Like Ugly
• Tyler, The Creator – Chromakopia

Country

Best country solo performance

• Winner: Chris Stapleton – Bad As I Used To Be
• Tyler Childers – Nose On The Grindstone
• Shaboozey – Good News
• Zach Top – I Never Lie
• Lainey Wilson – Somewhere Over Laredo

Best country duo/group performance

• Shaboozey & Jelly Roll – Amen
• Miranda Lambert and Chris Stapleton – A Song To Sing
• Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson – Trailblazer
• Margo Price & Tyler Childers – Love Me Like You Used To Do
• George Strait & Chris Stapleton – Honky Tonk Hall Of Fame

Best country song

• Winner: Tyler Childers – Bitin’ List
• Shaboozey – Good News
• Zach Top – I Never Lie
• Lainey Wilson – Somewhere Over Laredo
• Chris Stapleton – A Song To Sing

Best contemporary country album

• Jelly Roll – Beautifully Broken
• Kelsea Ballerini – Patterns
• Tyler Childers – Snipe Hunter
• Eric Church – Evangeline vs The Machine
• Miranda Lambert – Postcards From Texas

R&B and Afrobeats

Best R&B performance

• Winner: Kehlani – Folded
• Justin Bieber – Yukon
• Chris Brown feat Bryson Tiller – It Depends
• Leon Thomas – Mutt (Live From NPR’s Tiny Desk)
• Summer Walker – Heart Of A Woman

Best R&B song

• Winner: Kehlani – Folded
• Summer Walker – Heart Of A Woman
• Chris Brown feat Bryson Tiller – It Depends
• Durand Bernarr – Overqualified
• Leon Thomas – Yes It Is

Best R&B album

• Winner: Leon Thomas – Mutt
• Giveon – Beloved
• Coco Jones – Why Not More?
• Ledisi – The Crown
• Teyana Taylor – Escape Room

Best African music performance

• Winner: Tyla – Push 2 Start
• Burna Boy – Love
• Davido feat Omah Lay – With You
• Eddy Kenzo & Mehran Matin – Hope & Love
• Ayra Starr feat Wizkid – Gimme Dat

Production and songwriting

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical

• Winner: Cirkut (Lady Gaga, Rosé, Jade)
• Dan Auerbach
• Dijon
• Blake Mills
• Sounwave

Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical

• Winner: Amy Allen (Rosé, Jennie, Sabrina Carpenter)
• Edgar Barrera
• Jessie Jo Dillon
• Tobias Jesso Jr
• Laura Veltz

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Film and TV

Best comedy album

• Winner: Nate Bargatze – Your Friend, Nate Bargatze
• Bill Burr – Drop Dead Years
• Sarah Silverman – PostMortem
• Ali Wong – Single Lady
• Jamie Foxx – What Had Happened Was

Best compilation soundtrack for visual media

• Winner: Sinners – Various artists
• A Complete Unknown – Timothée Chalamet
• F1 The Album – Various artists
• K-Pop Demon Hunters – Various artists
• Wicked – Various artists

Best score soundtrack for visual media (includes film and televison)

• Winner: Ludwig Göransson – Sinners
• John Powell – How To Train Your Dragon
• Theodore Shapiro – Severance: Season 2
• John Powell & Stephen Schwartz – Wicked
• Kris Bowers – The Wild Robot

Best score soundtrack for video games and other interactive media

• Winner: Austin Wintory – Sword of the Sea
• Pinar Toprak – Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – Secrets of the Spires
• Wilbert Roget II – Helldivers 2
• Gordy Haab – Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
• Cody Matthew Johnson & Wilbert Roget II – Star Wars Outlaws: Wild Card & A Pirate’s Fortune

Best song written for visual media

• Winner: Huntr/x – Golden (From K-Pop Demon Hunters)
• Nine Inch Nails – As Alive As You Need Me To Be (From Tron: Ares)
• Miles Caton – I Lied To You (From Sinners)
• Elton John & Brandi Carlile – Never Too Late (From Elton John: Never Too Late)
• Jayme Lawson – Pale Pale Moon (From Sinners)
• Rod Wave – Sinners (From Sinners)

Best audiobook narration

• Winner: Dalai Lama – Meditations: The Reflections Of His Holiness The Dalai Lama
• Kathy Garver – Elvis, Rocky & Me: The Carol Connors Story
• Trevor Noah – Into The Uncut Grass
• Ketanji Brown Jackson – Lovely One: A Memoir
• Fab Morvan – You Know It’s True: The Real Story Of Milli Vanilli

Best music video

• Winner: Doechii – Anxiety
• Sade – Young Lion
• Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild
• Clipse – So Be It
• OK Go – Love

Best music film

• Winner: John Williams – Music by John Williams
• Devo – Devo
• Raye – Live at the Albert Hall
• Diane Warren – Relentless
• Pharrell Williams – Piece By Piece

Jazz and classical

Best jazz vocal album

• Winner: Samara Joy – Portrait
• Dee Dee Bridgewater & Bill Charlap – Elemental
• Terri Lyne Carrington & Christie Dashiell – We Insist 2025!
• Michael Mayo – Fly
• Nicole Zuraitis, Dan Pugach, Tom Scott, Idan Morim, Keyon Harrold & Rachel Eckroth – Live at Vic’s Las Vegas

Best jazz instrumental album

• Winner: Sullivan Fortner feat Peter Washington & Marcus Gilmore – Southern Nights
• Chick Corea, Christian McBride & Brian Blade – Trilogy 3 (Live)
• Branford Marsalis Quartet – Belonging
• John Patitucci feat Chris Potter & Brian Blade – Spirit Fall
• Yellowjackets – Fasten Up

Best alternative jazz album

• Winner: Nate Smith – Live-Action
• Ambrose Akinmusire – Honey from a Winter Stone
• Robert Glasper – Keys To The City Volume One
• Brad Mehldau – Ride Into The Sun
• Immanuel Wilkins – Blues Blood

Best jazz performance

• Winner: Chick Corea, Christian McBride & Brian Blade – Windows (Live)
• Lakecia Benjamin feat Immanuel Wilkins & Mark Whitfield – Noble Rise
• Samara Joy – Peace Of Mind/Dreams Come True
• Michael Mayo – Four
• Nicole Zuraitis, Dan Pugach, Tom Scott, Idan Morim, Keyon Harrold & Rachel Eckroth – All Stars Lead To You (Live)

Best musical theatre album

• Winner: Buena Vista Social Club
• Death Becomes Her
• Gypsy
• Just In Time
• Maybe Happy Ending

Best opera recording

• Winner: Heggie: Intelligence – Kwamé Ryan, conductor (Houston Grand Opera; Gene Scheer)
• Huang Ruo: An American Soldier – Carolyn Kuan, conductor (American Composers Orchestra; David Henry Hwang)
• Kouyoumdjian – Adoration Alan Pierson, conductor (Silvana Quartet; The Choir Of Trinity Wall Street)
• O’Halloran: Trade & Mary Motorhead – Elaine Kelly (Irish National Opera Orchestra; Mark O’Halloran)
• Tesori: Grounded – Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus; George Brant)

Best orchestral performance

• Winner: Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie – Andris Nelsons, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra)
• Coleridge-Taylor: Toussaint L’Ouverture; Ballade Op. 4; Suites From ’24 Negro Melodies’ – Michael Repper, conductor (National Philharmonic)
• Ravel: Boléro – Gustavo Dudamel, conductor (Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra Of Venezuela)
• Still & Bonds – Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor (The Philadelphia Orchestra)
• Stravinsky: Symphony In Three Movements – Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)