Ever prone to alliteration, I considered using “mildest” as the first superlative in the title of this 2026 Grammys recap, but let’s face it: Mildness is a defining quality of music’s biggest night, not a momentary one. To sit through eight hours of the Recording Academy handing out awards (including the pre-telecast Premiere ceremony, where the majority of the awards are given), you have to be either contractually obligated, financially invested, or nominated, and for those of us who have to pull an all-nighter in order to do so, it is especially hard not to lose interest. What’s the point of singling out the blandest parts of a ceremony – Trevor Noah’s insufferable jokes, Pharrell’s corny advice, Billie Eilish snagging a trophy two years after her last album was released, an Alex Warren performance that somehow made you miss Benson Boone – whose aftertaste is normally a resounding “Meh”?
What, you may add, is the point in caring about any of it? The Grammys have always skirted the line between celebratory and self-congratulatory, and veering too far to the wrong side has a way of undercutting their occasional significance. Sabrina Carpenter, who walked away empty-handed despite proving that she should be on the performers list every year, got a chuckle out of me when she asked everyone looking for a little validation to stand up during ‘Manchild’. (Unlike Noah, she understands that a good roast should always reflect back on one’s own frailty.) Whether in a genuine attempt to recognise excellence in music, correct past wrongs, or stay relevant, however, the Recording Academy gets some things right. And sometimes, when it does, you get the sense that it’s worth the spectacle.
This feeling was ignited in me early on, when the Cure won their first Grammy. And then when FKA twigs pulled a surprise win in a male-dominated Best Dance/Electronic Album field, even though presenter Darren Criss hilariously butchered the pronunciation of EUSEXUA. And then when Turnstile, sincere as ever, accepted their awards. But there was always room for the Grammys to mess up in the main ceremony. Yet despite the inevitable messiness, there was something genuine that reverberated through the pageantry of it all, a reminder that the people behind today’s most popular recordings are more important than celebrities breaking records.
Let’s sort out the most bizarre, chaotic, and commendable parts of the night, shall we? (Sorry, Rap Album of the Year GNX just isn’t that wordplay-friendly.) I’ll let you draw the line wherever you want.
First-Time Winners the Cure, Kehlani, Turnstile, and… His Holiness the Dalai Lama
This year’s first-time winners were a weird, cross-generational mix that included the Cure, Kehlani, Turnstile, Clipse, FKA twigs, and Tyler Childers. Rufus Wainwright, accepting the Dalai Lama’s award for Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling, offered one of the most quotable lines of the night: “Obviously, I’m not the Dalai Lama.” I’ll be using it next time I’m about to give someone advice.
Justin Bieber’s Stripped-Down Performance
Justin Bieber Full Performance at Grammys #GRAMMY pic.twitter.com/dAteeMQK5M
— Biel ⸸ | GRAMMY's (@ARTP0PMAYH3M) February 2, 2026
We all had the same thought when Justin Bieber stepped onto the stage: Why is he only wearing boxers and socks? The more the stripped-down performance dragged on, the more I was convinced there was a think piece there about the disarming intimacy of it all, and I don’t even care for ‘Yukon’. As the camera shifted between him and his wife, it was somehow refreshingly unceremonious, definitely earnest, even raw. Everything happening at the Grammys is bogged down by the fact that it’s happening at the Grammys, somewhere called the Crypto.com arena, but this seemed to exist outside of that realm. We were all stunned there for a little bit.
The Best New Artist Whirlwind
The Grammys are not a fast-moving event, a fact sneakily underlined by how many of the performances were set in the liminal spaces of transportation: airport terminals, parking lots, gas stations. But that Best New Artist medley was a lot to digest at once, and the quality plummeted quickly. The Marías delivered a touching, oh-so-blue performance that had Billie Eilish loudly cheering (her Hit Me Hard and Soft is no doubt aesthetically aligned), Addison Rae’s magnetic appearance on the back of a truck got Drag Race fans typing, the transition to Katseye was smooth, Leon Thomas was solid – but the overbearing ballads of Alex Warren and Lola Young (‘Messy’ did not need to be stripped down), not to mention sombr’s hamfisted disco, were too much too handle. Thankfully, they were offset by the effortlessly breezy Olivia Dean, ultimately a safe and deserving recipient of the award.
Lola Young, Duh
“I very much relate to this song,” Charli XCX said when announcing Lola Young’s ‘Messy’ as the winner of Best Pop Solo Performance. It would be one of the biggest surprises had the song not received a standing ovation earlier, an example of how charming messiness can be.
Tyler, the Creator Self-Destructs
Tyler, The he Creator performance at the #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/sdb8vcOLkO
— Archive Tyler, The Creator (@xerecadotyler) February 2, 2026
The Grammys are often chaotic bad, but Tyler, the Creator’s performance – the best of the night – was on the other end of the spectrum. His medley of ‘Thought I Was Dead’, ‘Like Him’, and ‘Sugar on My Tongue’ was seamless and electrifying, as much proof of his magnetism as the aesthetic sensibilities that made him the inaugural Best Album Cover winner. That much was expected, but seeing him blow up the building and collapse on the floor was hair-raising entertainment.
Cher’s Surprise Appearance
The only thing more iconic than Joni Mitchell’s “Oh, I won?” last night was Cher showing up, offering some words of wisdom, then walking off before announcing Record of the Year. After Noah called her back, she said the winner was Luther Vandross, whom Kendrick Lamar sampled on the winning ‘Luther’. Her silliness near the event’s supposed climax was enlightening. If they’d let her ramble for a few more minutes without revealing the winner, how many of us would notice they’d skipped a category?
The Grammys (Rock Version)
lady gaga performing a rock version of ‘abracadabra’ at the grammys 🔥
pic.twitter.com/LxKtcHiiq1— 2000s (@PopCulture2000s) February 2, 2026
A certain section of the internet may have been upset that a hardcore band won in a Best Metal Category featuring Spiritbox, Sleep Token, and Ghost, while another reignited debates around Turnstile’s hardcore status. But to the average viewer, the more immediate takeaway was that this year’s Grammys were particularly guitar-forward. I mean, Bruno Mars didn’t have to shred on the guitar while performing ‘APT.’, but it ended up feeling like an apt way to kick off a ceremony that also included a rocked-out version of ‘Abracadabra’ featuring drummer Josh Freese. (Maybe they felt the need to up the ante after last year’s just-fine ‘Die With a Smile’.) Lady Gaga’s extravagant performance was not only a full-circle moment after the song’s music video premiered during the 2025 Grammys, but a much-needed jolt of energy after Jelly Roll’s depressing win.
The Sprawling In Memoriam Segment
Although weirdly segmented by genre and chaotic in its own way, the sprawling In Memoriam segment got pretty much everything right. Post Malone’s vibrato stunned during his Ozzy tribute alongside Slash, Duff McKagan, Chad Smith, and Andrew Watt, while Lauryn Hill’s first Grammys appearance since 1999 did not disappoint – paying tribute to D’Angelo and Roberta Flack, it soared through several moods before rejoicing in Fugees’ take on ‘Killing Me Softly’.
“ICE OUT” and Bad Bunny’s AOTY
From Justin Bieber to Joni Mitchell, numerous artists wore “ICE OUT” pins while appearing onstage, culminating in Bad Bunny’s declaration as he accepted the Album of the Year trophy. Grammy voters sometimes surprise us by making the correct choice for the most coveted award, but rarely does it carry such a strong sense of urgency and weight, amplifying a message that was reiterated in unambiguous and varyingly personal terms throughout the ceremony – from Billie Eilish’s “No one is illegal on stolen land” to Olivia Dean’s “I’m a product of bravery.” For Bunny, bravery looked like soaking in the gravity of the moment and getting the words out as lovingly as he could: “We’re not savages. We’re not animals. We’re not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans.” It looked like speaking in his native tongue before dedicating his award “to all the people that had to leave their homeland, their country, to follow their dreams.” As the coffee wore off and the sun was coming up, his conviction was the only thing keeping my heart pounding.
