The audience at the Grammy Awards erupted on Sunday night when Bad Bunny won album of the year for “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” the mostly Spanish record that hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 last year. But when the Puerto Rican global superstar heard his name, he stayed in his seat with his eyes closed, his hand covering his face, for nearly 25 seconds as he took in the moment.
After Bad Bunny — next weekend’s Super Bowl halftime performer — took the stage to accept his trophy, he delivered his acceptance speech in Spanish, but switched to English when he said the line: “I want to dedicate this award to all the people that had to leave their homeland, their country, to follow their dreams.”
Unlike the relatively apolitical Golden Globes last month, the stars at the Grammys did not hold back about current events, including Bad Bunny earlier in the ceremony when he won best música urbana album.
“Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say: ‘ICE Out,’” he said. “We are not savage, we are not animals, we are not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans.”
Billie Eilish, a longtime Grammy favorite, was a surprise win for song of the year for “Wildflower,” and looked stunned at the victory. She used her time onstage to address the fatal shootings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers, the protests in Minneapolis and the national mood, with other cities on edge from the presence (or anticipated presence) of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“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,” Eilish said. “It’s just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now.”
Both singers also infused their speeches with hope (Bad Bunny: “The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love”; Eilish: “We just need to keep fighting, and speaking up and protesting, and our voices really do matter”) while others paid tribute to immigrants.
“I’m up here as the granddaughter of an immigrant,” breakout London-born pop singer Olivia Dean said during her acceptance speech for best new artist. “I’m a product of bravery and I think those people deserve to be celebrated.” During the pre-telecast ceremony, country-hip-hop artist Shaboozey (who won country duo/group performance with Jelly Roll) said, “Immigrants built this country, literally.” On the red carpet, stars including Justin Bieber, Hailey Bieber, Jack Antonoff and more wore “ICE Out” pins.
Comedian Trevor Noah, hosting the Grammys for the sixth and final time, channeled the country’s unsettled nerves, joking that Doechii’s nominated song “Anxiety” is “our new national anthem.” And while the Bruno Mars-Rosé hit “APT.” is based on a Korean drinking game, he said, the United States has a much simpler drinking game: “America, every time we turn on the news, we drink.”
But of course, this was a music-industry ceremony, with performances taking up most of the 3½-hour show, in addition to a somber “In Memoriam” segment kicked off by Reba McEntire, Brandy Clark and Lukas Nelson. Here’s our ranking from best to worst.
Tyler, the Creator
The always-combustible rapper went in and out with a bang. Dressed as his alter ego St. Chroma, Tyler started alone, rapping his verse from “Thought I Was Dead.” Then, in rapid succession, he chatted with actress Regina King, crashed a prop car, changed outfits and launched into “Sugar on My Tongue” with moonwalk-esque dance moves. And, finally, Tyler lit a fuse and blew up the gas station set behind him. Boom! — Ethan Beck
tyler, the creator’s explosive #GRAMMYs performance of “thought i was dead/sugar on my tongue” featured a cameo from regina king
pic.twitter.com/k1yIAY3tOB
— Genius (@Genius) February 2, 2026
D’Angelo and Roberta Flack tribute
Whew. Lauryn Hill led soulful, churchy tributes to D’Angelo, Roberta Flack, Angie Stone and other late Black artists by bringing out some of the biggest names in R&B and soul. Just some of the people she invited to the stage were: Lucky Daye, who sang a little bit of “Brown Sugar”; Leon Thomas, who sang “Devil’s Pie”; Raphael Saadiq; Jon Batiste on the keys. Hill started with “Nothing Even Matters” and delivered a powerful performance of Flack’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” Lalah Hathaway joined the performance, while Chaka Khan and John Legend sang a rendition of Flack’s “Where Is the Love.” And Hill had a quick reunion with Fugees member Wyclef Jean for “Killing Me Softly With His Song” — a signature song of both Flack and Hill. — Samantha Chery
Full Lauryn Hill tribute performance to D’Angelo and Roberta Flack at the #Grammys pic.twitter.com/QNL6KZlwS0
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod
(@big_business_) February 2, 2026
Addison Rae
Addison Rae, the TikTok dancer-turned-pop star nominated for best new artist, went for a dramatic costume change performing “Fame Is a Gun” from her 2025 debut, which took many music lovers by surprise. Also surprising: that sparkly purple overcoat, and the Britney Spears vibes that Rae contorts so effortlessly into something fresh. — S.C.
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga, a 15-time Grammy winner, started her live performance of “Abracadabra” by shrieking, “Grammys put your paws up,” from inside what looked like a black wicker basket … with red eyelashes? In this, the 17th year of her music career, Gaga is now officially a grande dame of pop music. In this case, her brand of dark weirdo “little monsters” performance art felt like a throwback compared to the grinny, gleamy sheen of Addison Rae, Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Dean. — Shane O’Neill
Clipse and Pharrell
Clipse, the hip-hop duo of brothers Pusha T and Malice, performed “So Far Ahead” with Pharrell Williams and a robe-clad choir, who braved pyrotechnics and fake snow to deliver the crispest blend of harmonies. The crowd ate it up, showing how much affection Clipse had blossomed during their 16-year recording absence. — S.C.
Lola Young
British singer-songwriter Lola Young stayed seated at the piano for her super-viral song “Messy,” and after seeing the song used in so many different videos on TikTok, this was the perfect treatment to showcase the track in a new way. (Plus, showing off ballad-belting skills is always a hit with the Grammys crowd.) — Emily Yahr
Olivia Dean
Olivia Dean had a blockbuster year, so she could have chose any one of her hit singles to play for her best new artist showcase. But sometimes the biggest song is the best one: Dean picked the bouncy, inescapable “Man I Need.” It’s surely the first of many Grammy performances for the British singer-songwriter — her kind of soulful, tasteful R&B is catnip for awards voters. — E.B.
Olivia Dean is such a star. here’s her full Grammys performance of Man I Need pic.twitter.com/39W3XkFoXp
— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) February 2, 2026
Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina Carpenter took to the stage in an all-white pilot outfit to perform her hit song “Manchild,” nominated for best music video, pop solo performance, song of the year and record of the year. It’s always a spectacle with Carpenter. And the white bird she held for a split second!— S.C.
sabrina carpenter performing ‘manchild’ at the grammys pic.twitter.com/GxulBW7D79
— 2000s (@PopCulture2000s) February 2, 2026
Sombr
Plenty of this year’s best new artist contenders made their names on TikTok, so tonight’s speedy medley from the nominees felt apt. Sombr closed it out with a galloping rendition of “12 to 12,” wearing a suit of disco ball shards that made him appear 10-feet tall — until he jumped into the crowd, shimmying alongside various Grammy attendees very much his height. Some kind of metaphor there. — Chris Richards
Sombr’s full #Grammys performance of “12 to 12.” pic.twitter.com/sZ2VFo8ON5
— Popped
| Film and TV News (@PoppedNews) February 2, 2026
The Marías
Bathed in blue light, the Marías kicked off the best new artist section of the night with their breakthrough single “No One Noticed.” It’s a deceptively simple dream-pop number with a roaring guitar solo, strong on atmosphere and much sadder than you’d notice on first glance. — E.B.
Ozzy Osbourne tribute
With help from a hard rock supergroup including Slash, Chad Smith and Duff McKagan, Post Malone led a convincing rendition of “War Pigs” to celebrate Ozzy Osbourne’s memory. Posty’s enthusiasm — just look at his giant grin — is always a fun addition to awards ceremonies, so there are certainly worse ways to celebrate a giant like Ozzy. At least they didn’t invite Yungblud. — E.B.
Bruno Mars and Rosé
The Grammys didn’t waste a second trying to hype up the audience, as Bruno Mars and K-pop star Rosé kicked off the show with their inescapable earworm smash “APT.,” which was nominated for song and record of the year. This resulted in a lot of jumping around onstage and in the audience — just the kind of start you’d want. — E.Y.
Justin Bieber
Bieber returned to the Grammys on a small stage in the middle of the arena with an electric guitar and one-man-band setup, wearing nothing except a pair of shorts and socks. Staring at himself in a mirror, he crooned “Yukon” from his latest record “Swag,” nominated for album of the year. Bieber stayed stationed in front of his microphone, barely lit under a spotlight — he squeezed his eyes shut for most of the performance as the camera repeatedly found his wife, Hailey, in the audience, gazing up at him adoringly. If the Biebs wanted a touch of drama, he succeeded. — E.Y.
Justin Bieber Full Performance at Grammys #GRAMMY pic.twitter.com/dAteeMQK5M
— Biel ⸸ | GRAMMY’s (@ARTP0PMAYH3M) February 2, 2026
Katseye
Girl group Katseye started singing “Gnarly” backstage and then ran to the front of the arena, and as riveting as the dance moves were — and even more so once a whole slew of backup dancers joined in — it would have been fun to see them continue the spectacle in the garage/backstage area. — E.Y.
KATSEYE’s full #Grammys performance of “Gnarly.” pic.twitter.com/Rc7c058zkG
— Popped
Leon Thomas
It took me a second to realize that Leon Thomas is that Leon Thomas, the former “Victorious” star. But once he got past the extended intro, his rendition of “Mutt” captured the song’s sturdy, slinking groove. Plus, he took the time for a killer guitar solo, showing off some finger-tapping and wailing bends. — E.B.
Leon Thomas’ full #Grammys performance of “Mutt.” pic.twitter.com/dkis5xMCmT
— Popped
Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars hit the stage (again!) with a performance of his funky track “I Just Might,” swooning and swaying in front of a giant lit-up heart. It was electric — but maybe unnecessary? — S.C.
Alex Warren
Oh no. We felt a bit bad that Alex Warren was noticeably off on timing while belting his song “Ordinary.” Still, he brought soaring vocals and a soaring platform to carry him far above the stage. If you’ve heard this song a million times on TikTok, well, here it was one more time. — S.C.
correctionA previous version of this article incorrectly said that Tyler, the Creator chatted with Regina Hall during his performance. It was Regina King.
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