LOS ANGELES – The hits came fast and furious. Rosé and Bruno Mars’ opened the 68th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday with an electric rendition of their multicultural pop hit ‘APT.’; the Blackpink singer channeled a pop-punk Gwen Stefani in her tie and platinum blonde hair.
Then, host Trevor Noah opened with a speech celebrating the incredible breadth of talent nominated this year, while making fun of them — at one point joking that Jelly Roll and Teddy Swims should be able to unlock each other’s phones, given their similar facial tattoos.
Noah will host the Grammy Awards for the sixth and final time live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
And what else could follow but another star-studded performance: Sabrina Carpenter with her “Manchild” kiss-off.
The television show’s first prize went to Kendrick Lamar for his rap album, hosted by Queen Latifah and Doechii. Could it be something other than the culture-making “GNX?”
“It is an honor to be here,” he said in his acceptance speech. “Hip-hop will always be here… We will have the culture with us.”
An exciting, early theme from the 68th Annual Grammy Awards? First time winners.
At the premiere ceremony held before the main show at the adjacent Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, the Dalai Lama won his first Grammy for audiobook, narration and recording of stories, defeating Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. You read that correctly.
“Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters” won a song written for visual media at the premiere ceremony, marking the first time a K-pop act won a Grammy. Songwriters delivered their acceptance speeches in both English and Korean, highlighting the song’s bilingual appeal.
Music Film went to ‘Music for John Williams’, meaning director Steven Spielberg has officially won his first Grammy. That makes him an EGOT winner: an artist with an Emmy, Grammy, Tony and Oscar.
Yungblud won his first Grammy for rock performance for his cover of Black Sabbath’s “Changes (live from Villa Park),” which he performed at Ozzy Osbourne’s final show. Hardcore band Turnstile also won their first Grammy for rock album and later metal performance.
“To Baltimore, thank you, we love you,” said frontman Brendan Yates.
FKA twigs won her first Grammy for dance/electronic album for “EUSEXUA,” becoming only the second Black woman to win in the category. “I didn’t expect to come here. I was so happy to be nominated,” she said in her speech. “Thank you so much – wow.”
“All the Latino kids in the neighborhood are watching, anything is possible,” said rapper Lefty Gunplay, who also won his first Grammy for rap performance for his role in Kendrick Lamar’s “TV Off.”
Latin rock or alternative album went to CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso for “Papota.” It is their first win after their first nomination. In their speech, in Spanish, they thanked their home country Argentina and all of Latin America.
During the premiere ceremony, performers offered pro-immigration and anti-ICE messages.
The country duo/group performance went to first-time winners Shaboozey and Jelly Roll. Shaboozey accepted the award with tears in his eyes. “I want to thank my mother, who as of today has retired from her job of 30 years… as a nurse in a psychiatric ward… as an immigrant to this country. Thank you, Mom.
“Immigrants literally built this country. So this is for them,” he concluded. “Thank you for bringing your culture, your music and your stories.”
Amy Allen won songwriter of the year, non-classical, for the second year in a row, wearing an “ICE Out” pin, an anti-immigration enforcement message. So did Kehlani – who won her first Grammy for R&B performance and later, her second, for R&B song.
“I’ve never won anything before, this is a really crazy feeling,” she said as she fought back tears and reflected on her first nomination a decade ago. She then shifted gears to focus on the current political moment: “I’ll leave this saying, (expletive) ICE.”
“I’m scared,” Gloria Estefan said of the current political moment backstage at the Grammys. “There are hundreds of children in detention centers. …I don’t recognize my country right now.”
The main show will air live on CBS.
The Grammys can also be watched via live TV streaming services that include CBS in their lineup, such as Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV and FuboTV. Subscribers to the Paramount+ premium plan can also stream it live.
Kendrick Lamar leads the 2026 Grammy Award nominations with nine. Lady Gaga, Jack Antonoff and Canadian producer/songwriter Cirkut follow with seven nominations each.
Sabrina Carpenter, Bad Bunny, Leon Thomas and Serban Ghenea all have six nominations. Andrew Watt, Clipse, Doechii, Sounwave, SZA, Turnstile and Tyler, the Creator each have five.
Doechii, Harry Styles, Carole King, Chappell Roan, Charli xcx, Jeff Goldblum, Karol G, Lainey Wilson, Marcello Hernández, Nikki Glaser, Q-Tip, Queen Latifah and Teyana Taylor will present at the 2026 Grammys.
Artists include Justin Bieber, Clipse, Pharrell Williams, Sabrina Carpenter Bruno Mars, Rosé, Tyler, the Creator, Lady Gaga and all eight nominees for this year’s Best New Artists: Leon Thomas, Olivia Dean, global girl group Katseye, The Marías, Addison Rae, sombr, Alex Warren and Lola Young.
Reba McEntire, Brandy Clark and Lukas Nelson will take the stage for the obituary. Ms. Lauryn Hill will pay tribute to D’Angelo and Roberta Flack. Post Malone, Andrew Watt, Chad Smith, Duff McKagan and Slash will honor Ozzy Osbourne.
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For more coverage of this year’s Grammy Awards, visit: www.apnews.com/GrammyAwards
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