The 68th annual Grammy Awards took place on February 1, 2026 at the Crypto.com arena in Los Angeles. It was a night of historic wins, emotional tributes, and many major performances. Hosted by South African comedian Trevor Noah, this year’s Grammys honored the best artists, recordings, and composers from August 31, 2024 to August 30, 2025.
The night opened with a performance of “APT.” by Rose and Bruno Mars, followed by Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild.” Next was the Best New Artist Medley, featuring the Marias, Addison Rae, Katseye, Leon Thomas, Alex Warren, Lola Young, Olivia Dean, and Sombr, who each performed a song. Performances also included Justin Bieber’s “Yukon,” Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra,” Bruno Mars’ “I Just Might,” Pharrell Williams’ “So Far Ahead,” and a set from Tyler, the Creator. Additionally, there were a few tribute performances. Reba McEntire and Brandy Clark’s performance was part of the In Memoriam tribute, honoring artists and figures who passed away this past year. There was also Post Malone’s performance of “War Pigs” as a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne.
As mentioned prior, this year’s ceremony was a night of historic wins. Kendrick Lamar was quite successful this year. Continuing his momentum from last year’s awards, he won five Grammys once again, replacing Jay-Z as the most awarded rapper in Grammys history with 27 Grammy wins. Lamar’s wins this year included best rap album (GNX), best rap song (“tv off (feat. Lefty Gunplay)”), and record of the year (“Luther (feat. SZA)”). It is Lamar’s second year in a row winning that category.
The best new artist category was a difficult pick. All eight nominees — the Marias, Addison Rae, Katseye, Leon Thomas, Alex Warren, Lola Young, Olivia Dean, and Sombr — proved their talents in the best new artist medley, each showcasing their individual artistic capabilities. In the end, Olivia Dean took the win, with her album The Art of Loving still reaching high numbers on the charts months after its release. The album is also eligible to be considered for next year’s Grammy awards, with promising hopes of being nominated.
One thing about this year’s Grammys was that it broke a lot of barriers for different communities and groups — especially the Latino community. Bad Bunny’s success at this year’s Grammys paved the way for future Spanish-language music artists. His album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, became the first Spanish-language album to win album of the year, a huge milestone for representation at one of the music industry’s biggest award ceremonies. On top of this, Bad Bunny made some memorable acceptance speeches, speaking mainly in Spanish and dedicating his win to immigrants pursuing their dreams.
