Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga lead 2026 Grammy nominations
Lamar topped the list of Grammy contenders for the second straight year on Friday with nine nominations.
The biggest night in music ended on Sunday with an impressive award haul for rapper Kendrick Lamar, a historic first with Bad Bunny’s Best Album win, and familiar faces like Billie Eilish and Lady Gaga returning to the event stage to receive honours.
Bad Bunny won Album of the Year, the first time a Spanish-language work has been so honoured, and two other prizes.
Rapper Kendrick Lamar won five Grammys including Record of the Year.
Album of the Year: Debi Tirar Mas Fotos - Bad Bunny
Record of the Year, recognising overall performance on a song: ‘luther’ - Kendrick Lamar with SZA
Song of the Year, recognising songwriting: ‘Wildflower’ - Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
Best New Artist: Olivia Dean
Best Pop Solo Performance: ‘Messy’ - Lola Young
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: ‘Defying Gravity’ - Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande
Best Pop Vocal Album: Mayhem - Lady Gaga
Best Rap Album: GNX - Kendrick Lamar
Best Rap Performance: ‘Chains & Whips’ - Clipse (Pusha T & Malice), featuring Kendrick Lamar & Pharrell Williams
Best Music Video: ‘Anxiety’ - Doechii
Best Musica Urbana Album: Debi Tirar Mas Fotos - Bad Bunny
Best Global Music Performance: ‘Eoo’ - Bad Bunny
Best Global Music Album: Caetano e Bethania Ao Vivo - Caetano Veloso and Maria Bethania
Best Song Written for Visual Media: ‘Golden’ from KPop Demon Hunters
Music’s A-listers lashed out at the immigration raids rocking the United States, with Puerto Rican megastar and Album of the Year winner Bad Bunny setting the tone.
Anger was palpable at President Donald Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, whose heavily armed and masked agents have been deployed in multiple US cities.
The killing of two US citizens by federal agents last month in Minneapolis raised the temperature for many Americans, already anxious over what they think are unfocused operations unjustly sweeping up anyone who speaks Spanish or has brown skin.
“Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say ‘ICE out’,” Bad Bunny said to cheers from the audience in Los Angeles — only a week before he is due to headline the Super Bowl halftime show.
“We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens; we are humans and we are Americans,” the singer said after being given the Grammy for Best Musica Urbana Album.
The reggaeton star was not alone in calling out the actions of ICE, one of the lead agencies involved in the crackdown.
Among the couture frocks by Valentino, Chanel and Saint Laurent on the red carpet, several of those attending added an ‘ICE out’ button to their outfits.
They included power couple Justin and Hailey Bieber, veteran songstress Joni Mitchell, US singer Jordan Tyson and actress and singer Helen J. Shen.
Other musicians also spoke out against ICE.
“I’m scared, I’m very worried,” Gloria Estefan told AFP backstage after winning the Grammy for Best Tropical Latin Album. “I don’t think anyone would say we want a free-for-all at the border, but what is happening is not at all ‘criminals being arrested’,” she said.
“These are people that have families, that have contributed to this country for decades, little children. There are hundreds of children in detention centres. It’s inhumane. I don’t recognise my country at this moment.”
“I guess I want to say I’m up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant,” British singer Olivia Dean — who has an English father and a Jamaican-Guyanese mother — said after scooping the prestigious Best New Artist Grammy. “I’m a product of bravery, and I think those people deserve to be celebrated.”
“Immigrants built this country,” the breakout country star Shaboozey, who was born in Virginia to Nigerian parents, told the audience after winning the Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance with Jelly Roll.
“So this is for them, for all children of immigrants. This is also for those who came to this country in search of better opportunity to be a part of a nation that promised freedom for all and equal opportunity to everyone willing to work for it,” said the artist. “Thank you for bringing your culture, your music, your stories and your traditions here. You give America colour.”
US singer Billie Eilish, whose ‘Wildflower’ scored the Grammy for Song of the Year, said she felt grateful for the award. But, she added: “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.
“It’s just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now. I feel like we just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting, and our voices really do matter, and the people matter.”
“It’s incredibly dystopian that we’re dressed up and able to celebrate accolades… and people are getting snatched up and shot in the face on the street,” said R&B singer SZA, who shared Record of the Year honours with Lamar.
“It just feels bizarre, and I find so many of us don’t really know how to feel right now, besides rage and hopelessness,” she said. “I just don’t want everyone to fall into despair, because when you lose… morale, change becomes impossible.”
Comedian Trevor Noah, who was the evening’s host, quipped after Eilish received her award for Song of the Year, “There you have it, song of the year! Congratulations, Billie Eilish. Wow. That’s a Grammy that every artist wants — almost as much as Trump wants Greenland. Which makes sense because, since Epstein’s gone, he needs a new island to hang out with Bill Clinton.”
President Trump responded to the joke on Truth Social, decrying both the awards and their host. “The Grammy Awards are the WORST, virtually unwatchable! CBS is lucky not to have this garbage litter their airwaves any longer,” he wrote. “The host, Trevor Noah, whoever he may be, is almost as bad as Jimmy Kimmel at the Low Ratings Academy Awards. Noah said, INCORRECTLY about me, that Donald Trump and Bill Clinton spent time on Epstein Island. WRONG!!! I can’t speak for Bill, but I have never been to Epstein Island, nor anywhere close, and until tonight’s false and defamatory, statement, have never been accused being there, not even by the Fake News Media.”
The president also threatened Noah with legal action, calling him a “total loser” and a “poor, pathetic, talentless, dope of an MC”. He said, “Get ready Noah, I’m going to have some fun with you!”
Buddhist spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, said Monday he was grateful for his first Grammy, after bagging the top music industry award for audio book, narration and storytelling.
The charismatic 90-year-old, who lives in exile in India, is lauded worldwide for his tireless campaign for greater autonomy for his Tibetan homeland, which Beijing says is an integral part of China.
He was announced as the winner at the Grammys ceremony in Los Angeles for his book Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
“I receive this recognition with gratitude and humility,” he said in a post on social media. “I don’t see it as something personal, but as a recognition of our shared universal responsibility.” In his maroon robes, simple sandals and wide-rimmed spectacles, the Dalai Lama is an unlikely global celebrity.
“I truly believe that peace, compassion, care for our environment, and an understanding of the oneness of humanity are essential for the collective well-being of all eight billion human beings,” he added.
Meditation: Reflections Of His Holiness The Dalai Lama features artists such as Rufus Wainwright, who accepted the award on behalf of the spiritual leader, and Maggie Rogers.
Cover photo: Reuters