CBS presented the 68th Annual Grammy Awards hosted by comedian Trevor Noah, on Feb. 1. There were many wins for favorited artists and maybe even a couple of snubs. Unique performances took place by artists such as Sabrina Carpenter, Pharrell Williams and more.
K-pop artist Rosé and Bruno Mars opened the show with their nominated hit song “APT.” However, Mars might have blown the roof off the arena with his performance of his new single “I Just Might.”
The performance hyped up the crowd, giving a nice transition to Trevor Noah. He gave a hilarious introduction to the show with jokes that took jabs at the president and Nicki Minaj.
Another performance that blew everyone away was Sabrina Carpenter’s. She took flight onto the Grammy stage, giving the crowd an airport-themed performance.
Winning the first big award of the night was Best Rap Album presented to Kendrick Lamar for his album “GNX,” which was not very surprising, given the album’s massive success.
Next was the Best New Artist award. In something rather new, each nominee performed an excerpt of one of their songs, giving the audience a taste of their sound. Almost every nominee’s performance was stellar except for a few.
Alex Warren’s earpiece had technical difficulties in a viral moment which threw him off, causing the artist to sound rather flat during his performance. Addison Rae and KATSEYE both had great choreography, but the vocals were a mess.
In her acceptance speech for Best New Artist at the Grammys, Olivia Dean highlighted the importance of immigrants in America. | Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Ultimately, Olivia Dean well-deservedly won the award and gave a heartwarming speech about her being the granddaughter of an immigrant and stating, “I’m a product of bravery.”
Justin Bieber performed on the stage for the first time in 15 years. He delivered an intimate performance of his hit song “Yukon,” making an odd choice to wear nothing but shorts.
A more serious aspect of this year’s Grammys was the artists who used their speech time to briefly show their disdain for what is going on in the world, especially by calling out ICE and putting a big emphasis on the importance of immigrants.
The legendary Carole King presented the award for Song of the Year to brother-sister duo Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell for their hit song “Wildflower.” Some people thought Eilish’s victory was unfair, but the song is undeniably good.
Lady Gaga truly gave a magical performance of her hit “Abracadabra” right before she took home the Grammy for Best Pop/Vocal Album for her album “Mayhem.” However, her outfit choice was a little questionable.
The brat herself, Charlie XCX, presented the award for Best Pop Solo Performance to first-time winner Lola Young and she had a very priceless reaction. However, not to be “messy,” but this was a snub for Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild.”
Superstar Tyler the Creator gave an eccentric and unique performance of his songs “Thought I Was Dead” and “Sugar On My Tongue" at the 2026 Grammys. | Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Superstar Tyler the Creator gave an eccentric and unique performance of his songs “Thought I Was Dead” and “Sugar On My Tongue.” The rapper’s set ended with him blowing himself up with dynamite, putting an explosive finish onto a strange, but great production
Hip-hop star Q-Tip presented the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award to the one and only Pharrell Williams. Pharrell, the fourth recipient of this award, gave a very empowering speech stating, “If you do what you love every day, you’ll get paid for free.”
The annual tribute to the icons that are no longer with us was a very heart-melting part of the show. Country legend Reba McEntire started it off with a specially written version of her song “Trailblazer.”
Continuing the memorial tributes was Post Malone, who performed Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” in memory of recently-deceased rock legend Ozzy Osborne. The performance moved Osborne’s family, sitting in the audience, to tears.
The iconic Fugees legend, Lauryn Hill, also delivered an amazing tribute to the late R&B singer D’Angelo and the icon Roberta Flack. Hill brought out numerous artists of color who each sang an excerpt of hits by the R&B icons. What was supposed to be a memorial turned into a celebration of life, as the whole performance was energetic with various African American celebrities on stage.
Cher presented the Record of the Year Award to Kendrick Lamar and SZA soon after receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award. However, she announced their song “Luther” as the late “Luther Vandross,” leaving the crowd laughing and instantly becoming a meme.
Harry Styles came back to the Grammy’s stage to present the last and most prestigious award: Album of the Year. In great news, Bad Bunny took home the gold. He gave a beautiful speech, thanking his home of Puerto Rico before ending with a simple, to-the-point protest against recent governmental action: “I.C.E out.”
While there were many awards that were not televised, or ones that were televised in the Premier ceremony, this night proved to be such a powerful and emotional rollercoaster celebrating the art of music.
