Grammy Winners 2026: Bad Bunny Makes History With First Spanish-Language Album of the Year

The 68th Grammy Awards delivered a night of firsts and emotional milestones: Bad Bunny wept onstage as DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS became the first all-Spanish album to win the top prize, Kendrick Lamar swept the rap categories for the second consecutive year, and Steven Spielberg achieved EGOT status. Here is everything that happened.

By UK Political Culture Desk  |  Published: 2 February 2026  |  Reading time: 10 min

The 68th annual Grammy Awards, broadcast live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 1, 2026, will be remembered as one of the most culturally significant editions in the ceremony’s nearly seven-decade history. Hosted by comedian Trevor Noah for a record sixth consecutive year, the evening saw 95 awards distributed across an expanded slate of categories — and produced moments that reverberated far beyond the music industry. Bad Bunny’s Album of the Year triumph for DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, the first primarily Spanish-language record ever to claim that honour, was the headline. But it was far from the only story.

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Kendrick Lamar, who entered the evening as the most nominated artist with nine nods, walked away with the most trophies, collecting wins for Record of the Year, Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song, and Best Melodic Rap Performance. Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas O’Connell won Song of the Year for “WILDFLOWER,” and British singer Olivia Dean took home Best New Artist. Lady Gaga’s MAYHEM won Best Pop Vocal Album, while Steven Spielberg completed the coveted EGOT — Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony — by winning Best Music Film for producing “Music By John Williams.”

68th Grammy Awards — At a Glance

Detail	Information
Edition	68th Annual Grammy Awards
Date	Sunday, 1 February 2026
Venue	Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles
Host	Trevor Noah (6th consecutive year)
Broadcast	CBS Television Network / Paramount+
Total Categories	95 (including 2 new categories)
New Categories	Best Traditional Country Album, Best Album Cover
Most Nominated Artist	Kendrick Lamar (9 nominations)
Most Awards Won	Kendrick Lamar (4 wins)
Historic Firsts	First Spanish-language Album of the Year; Spielberg EGOT

The Big Four: Record, Album, Song, and Best New Artist

The four “General Field” categories — the most prestigious awards in the music industry — each delivered compelling narratives. Kendrick Lamar’s “luther,” his collaboration with SZA, took Record of the Year in a moment of high comedy: Cher, who was presenting the award after receiving a Lifetime Achievement honour, initially read the winning track’s title as “Luther Vandross” — a reference to the late R&B legend whose 1982 duet the track samples. Lamar and SZA graciously accepted the award, with the Compton-born rapper dedicating the trophy to independent artistry.

But the evening’s most emotional moment came at the very end, when presenter Harry Styles announced Bad Bunny as the winner of Album of the Year for DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS. The Puerto Rican superstar remained in his seat, covering his face and weeping for several seconds before finally ascending the stage. When he reached the podium, he delivered a speech largely in Spanish — fitting, given the barrier he had just shattered — before offering one pointed line in English that drew a roaring ovation from the audience.

“I want to dedicate this award to all the people who had to leave their homeland, their country, to follow their dreams.”

— Bad Bunny, accepting Album of the Year at the 68th Grammy Awards, 1 February 2026

Billie Eilish and Finneas won Song of the Year for “WILDFLOWER,” a reflective track that showcased the siblings’ continued evolution as songwriters. It marked Eilish’s second win in the category, after her 2020 triumph with “bad guy.” Meanwhile, Olivia Dean — the London-born singer-songwriter whose soulful pop sound has earned comparisons to Amy Winehouse and Adele — won Best New Artist, beating out a field that included KATSEYE, The Marias, Addison Rae, and Lola Young.

The Big Four — 2026 Grammy Winners

Category	Winner	Work	Notable
Record of the Year	Kendrick Lamar with SZA	“luther”	2nd consecutive ROTY win for Lamar
Album of the Year	Bad Bunny	DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS	First all-Spanish album to win AOTY
Song of the Year	Billie Eilish (Eilish & Finneas)	“WILDFLOWER”	Eilish’s 2nd SOTY win
Best New Artist	Olivia Dean	—	First British BNA winner since Sam Smith (2015)

Full Winners List: Major Categories

Beyond the General Field, the evening produced winners across pop, rap, rock, country, dance, R&B, Latin, and dozens of specialised categories. Below is a comprehensive breakdown of the major category winners that defined the night.

Pop Categories

Category	Winner	Nominees
Best Pop Solo Performance	“Messy” — Lola Young	Justin Bieber, Sabrina Carpenter, Lady Gaga, Chappell Roan
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance	“Defying Gravity” — Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande	KATSEYE, ROSÉ & Bruno Mars, SZA with Kendrick Lamar, HUNTR/X
Best Pop Vocal Album	MAYHEM — Lady Gaga	Justin Bieber, Sabrina Carpenter, Miley Cyrus, Teddy Swims
Best Dance Pop Recording	“Abracadabra” — Lady Gaga	Selena Gomez, Zara Larsson, Tate McRae, PinkPantheress

Rap Categories

Category	Winner	Nominees
Best Rap Album	GNX — Kendrick Lamar	Doechii, Clipse, Tyler the Creator, and others
Best Rap Song	“tv off” — Kendrick Lamar ft. Lefty Gunplay	Multiple nominees
Best Melodic Rap Performance	Kendrick Lamar	Multiple nominees

Rock, Country, R&B, Dance & Other Major Categories

Category	Winner
Best Dance/Electronic Album	EUSEXUA — FKA twigs
Best Dance/Electronic Recording	“End of Summer” — Tame Impala
Best Contemporary Country Album	Beautifully Broken — Jelly Roll
Best Traditional Country Album	Ain’t In It For My Health — Zach Top
Best R&B Album	“Folded” — Kehlani (Best R&B Performance)
Best Americana Performance	“Beautiful Strangers” — Mavis Staples
Best American Roots Song	“Godspeed” — Mavis Staples
Best Remixed Recording	“Abracadabra (Gesaffelstein Remix)” — Gesaffelstein
Best Music Video	“Anxiety” — Doechii
Best Music Film	Sinners (Various Artists)
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media	Sinners — Ludwig Göransson
Best Song for Visual Media	“Golden” (KPop Demon Hunters)
Best Comedy Album	Your Friend, Nate Bargatze — Nate Bargatze
Best Gospel Song	“Hard Fought Hallelujah” — Brandon Lake with Jelly Roll
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical	Cirkut
Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical	Amy Allen

Bad Bunny’s Historic Night: Breaking the Language Barrier

The significance of Bad Bunny’s Album of the Year win cannot be overstated. In the 67 previous editions of the Grammy Awards, no album performed primarily in a language other than English had ever taken the top prize. Latin music has been represented by dedicated categories since the late 1990s, but the General Field — particularly Album of the Year — had remained an English-language stronghold. Bad Bunny’s victory changes that permanently.

DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, which translates roughly to “I should have taken more photos,” is an album rooted in Puerto Rican identity, culture, and nostalgia. Its sonic landscape blends reggaetón, dembow, salsa, and indie rock influences, drawing on the sounds of Bad Bunny’s upbringing in Vega Baja. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 upon release and has remained one of the most-streamed records of the past year.

Bad Bunny at the Grammys — Career Trajectory

Year	Nomination / Award	Category	Result
2023	Un Verano Sin Ti	Album of the Year	Nominated
2024	nadie sabe lo que va a pasar mañana	Best Música Urbana Album	Won
2026	DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS	Album of the Year	Won (Historic First)
2026	DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS	Best Música Urbana Album	Won
2026	“DtMF”	Best Global Music Performance	Won

Bad Bunny’s refusal to perform at the ceremony — contractually obligated to save his voice for the upcoming Super Bowl Halftime Show — only heightened the drama. When Trevor Noah asked him about it on camera, Bad Bunny confirmed the restriction with a smile. The moment humanised what can sometimes feel like an overly produced event: here was the biggest winner of the night, unable to take the stage as a performer, winning on the sheer power of his recorded art.

Kendrick Lamar: The Winning Streak Continues

If Bad Bunny’s victory was the emotional centre of the evening, Kendrick Lamar’s dominance was its backbone. The Compton artist entered the 2026 ceremony as the reigning champion — he had swept five awards at the 2025 Grammys, including Record and Song of the Year for “Not Like Us” — and proceeded to defend his territory with methodical precision.

His four wins spanned the rap and general categories, anchored by the Record of the Year triumph for “luther,” his soulful collaboration with SZA that samples Luther Vandross. GNX, his latest studio album, won Best Rap Album, making it five consecutive Lamar studio releases nominated for Album of the Year — the first artist ever to achieve that streak, according to Variety. The album ultimately lost the top prize to Bad Bunny, but Lamar’s consistency at the Grammys is now without parallel in the hip-hop genre.

Kendrick Lamar — 2026 Grammy Wins

Category	Winning Work
Record of the Year	“luther” (with SZA)
Best Rap Album	GNX
Best Rap Song	“tv off” (ft. Lefty Gunplay)
Best Melodic Rap Performance	“luther” (with SZA)

Night of Milestones: Cher, Spielberg, and Social Commentary

The ceremony produced several additional moments of historic significance. Cher, the 79-year-old pop icon, received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award after an 18-year absence from the ceremony. Her acceptance speech was characteristically unscripted, and her attempt to announce Record of the Year — during which she misread “luther” as “Luther Vandross” — provided one of the evening’s most endearing moments. The crowd erupted, and Cher herself seemed delighted by the slip.

Steven Spielberg’s Grammy for Best Music Film, awarded for his role in producing “Music By John Williams,” made the legendary director only the 19th person in history to achieve EGOT status. The win was widely applauded as a recognition of Spielberg’s lifelong commitment to the intersection of music and cinema, particularly his decades-long collaboration with the now-93-year-old composer Williams.

The evening was also marked by political undertones. Multiple nominees and winners, including Billie Eilish and Bad Bunny, made references to ongoing tensions surrounding immigration enforcement operations across the United States. The references were not scripted by the Recording Academy but reflected the charged political atmosphere in early 2026. Bad Bunny’s dedication of his Album of the Year win to immigrants who left their homelands landed as the evening’s most politically resonant statement.

Special Awards & Notable Milestones — 68th Grammys

Recipient	Award / Milestone	Significance
Cher	Lifetime Achievement Award	First Grammy ceremony appearance in 18 years
Steven Spielberg	Best Music Film (producer)	Achieved EGOT status (19th person ever)
Joni Mitchell	Best Historical Album	11th career Grammy Award
Dalai Lama	Best Audio Book / Narration	Beat host Trevor Noah in the category
Carlos Santana	Special Lifetime Honouree	10-time Grammy winner, Kennedy Center Honoree
RAYE	Best Song for Social Change	“Ice Cream Man” — Harry Belafonte Award

Album of the Year — Full Nominees and Analysis

This year’s Album of the Year race was considered one of the most competitive and diverse in Grammy history. All eight nominees were first-time contenders for the top prize (in terms of winning), spanning hip-hop, Latin, pop, and alternative. The full slate reflected a Recording Academy that has increasingly embraced genre diversity following years of criticism about its mainstream pop bias.

Album of the Year — All Nominees

Album	Artist	Genre	Result
DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS	Bad Bunny	Latin / Reggaetón	Winner
SWAG	Justin Bieber	Pop / R&B	Nominated
Man’s Best Friend	Sabrina Carpenter	Pop	Nominated
Let God Sort Em Out	Clipse (Pusha T & Malice)	Hip-Hop	Nominated
MAYHEM	Lady Gaga	Pop / Dance	Nominated
GNX	Kendrick Lamar	Hip-Hop	Nominated
MUTT	Leon Thomas	R&B	Nominated
CHROMAKOPIA	Tyler, The Creator	Hip-Hop / Alternative	Nominated

Performances and Production Highlights

The 2026 Grammys featured a performance lineup that matched the breadth of its nominees. Justin Bieber made headlines by debuting a massive new back tattoo during a shirtless performance of “Yukon” from his album SWAG. Lady Gaga delivered a theatrical rendition of “Abracadabra” that involved an elaborate stage set and pyrotechnics. Sabrina Carpenter performed “Manchild” in a stripped-back piano arrangement that drew a standing ovation, and Doechii closed out the pre-telecast with an electrifying run through “Anxiety.”

Notably, Bad Bunny did not perform, honouring his contractual obligations ahead of the Super Bowl Halftime Show — a revelation that only added to the sense that his Album of the Year win was earned entirely through the work itself. The Super Bowl, scheduled for the following Sunday, will mark the first time a predominantly Spanish-language artist headlines the halftime show, making February 2026 a landmark month in Latino representation in American mainstream culture.

2026 Grammy Ceremony — Key Performers

Artist	Song(s) Performed	Notable Moment
Justin Bieber	“Yukon”	Debuted new back tattoo, shirtless performance
Lady Gaga	“Abracadabra”	Theatrical staging with pyrotechnics
Sabrina Carpenter	“Manchild”	Stripped-back piano arrangement; standing ovation
Doechii	“Anxiety”	Won Best Music Video for the same track
Kendrick Lamar	“luther” / “tv off”	Medley performance with SZA
Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande	“Defying Gravity”	Won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

What the 2026 Grammys Tell Us About the Music Industry

Several trends emerged from the 68th Grammy Awards that are worth noting for anyone tracking the trajectory of the global music business. First, the language barrier in the General Field has been decisively broken. Bad Bunny’s win comes at a time when Latin music accounts for an ever-larger share of global streaming revenue, and the Recording Academy’s voters have finally acknowledged what the market has been saying for years. Second, Kendrick Lamar’s sustained dominance underscores the depth and ambition of contemporary hip-hop — a genre that now routinely produces the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful records in the world.

Third, the evening demonstrated that the Grammys remain capable of producing genuine cultural moments. Cher’s misread, Bad Bunny’s tears, Spielberg’s EGOT — these are the kinds of events that transcend the music industry and enter the broader cultural conversation. Whether the ceremony’s shift to ABC, Hulu, and Disney+ starting next year can sustain that momentum remains to be seen, but the 68th edition delivered on its promise of being “Music’s Biggest Night.”

Grammy Awards — Historical Context: Album of the Year Firsts

Year	Album	Artist	Historic Significance
1999	The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill	Lauryn Hill	First hip-hop album to win AOTY
2004	Speakerboxxx/The Love Below	OutKast	Last hip-hop album to win AOTY before 2026
2008	River: The Joni Letters	Herbie Hancock	First jazz album to win AOTY in 43 years
2020	When We All Fall Asleep…	Billie Eilish	Youngest AOTY winner (18 years old)
2026	DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS	Bad Bunny	First Spanish-language album to win AOTY