Bad Bunny, king of the 2026 Grammys with intense allegations towards Trump and his immigration insurance policies | Culture | EUROtoday

The 68th Grammys will likely be remembered as an evening of music, of surprises, however above all because the evening when a lot of the music world stood up towards President Donald Trump and his immigration insurance policies. Whether primarily based on off-color jokes, just like the case of presenter Trevor Noah, or highly effective and critical speeches, like that of Bad Bunny, the tradition was upset by the fear sown towards migrants within the final 12 months, and particularly in current weeks, with the raids in Minneapolis, the political and social epicenter of the United States.

Politics and protest had been blended with the awards. They had been distributed, and with surprises. The most vital of the 12 months, album of the 12 months, was gained by him, Bad Bunny. Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio could not rise up from his chair or cease crying when Harry Styles mentioned his identify. His album is the primary in Spanish to attain this recognition. He went on stage critically, very critically, to obtain the sixth Grammy of his profession. He had already carried out it a couple of hours in the past for an additional award, in an excellent denunciation speech. This time, he mentioned the whole lot in Spanish, apart from a couple of phrases. “Puerto Rico,” he started, to applause, “believe me when I tell you that we are much bigger than 100×35,” he mentioned, referring to a well-liked approach of referring to his native island attributable to its approximate measurements in miles. “There is nothing we cannot achieve. Thank God, thanks to the Academy and thanks to the people who have believed in me throughout my career, to all the people who worked on this album; Thank you, mom, for giving birth in Puerto Rico, I love you.” “I want to dedicate this award to all the people who have had to leave their country,” he mentioned, in a phrase, the one one, that he repeated in English. “For all the people who have lost a loved one and have had to move on. I love them. For all the Latinos who deserved to be on this stage, collecting this award.”

In the previous gala, where most of the awards are given, Ocasio already won the best global song with his song EoOand at the gala itself the best Latin urban album, for I SHOULD TAKE MORE PHOTOS. That’s where the most powerful moment of the night took place. “Before thanking God, I need to say: ICE out,” he began his speech, with the Los Angeles audience standing and bursting with applause: “We should not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are people. We are Americans.” And he assured: “The solely factor extra highly effective than hate is love. Please, now we have to be completely different. If we battle, now we have to do it with love. We don’t hate them. We love our folks, we love our households, and that’s the technique to do it.”

Minutes before him, Kendrick Lamar won the award for best recording of the year for lutheralong with SZA, which they collected together and accompanied by collaborators such as Jack Antonoff, the star producer of the moment. He dedicated it to the late musician Luther Vandross, one of his favorite artists, he said. For her part, SZA said on stage: “I do know it is a troublesome time. Don’t give in to despair.” The singer ended with: “We want one another. The Government doesn’t govern us, God governs us.”

Kendrick Lamar broke records before the ceremony began. Already in the pre-gala, he won the best rap song for TV Offthe best melodic rap performance by lutherwith SZA, and rap performance for his participation in Chains & Whipsfrom Clipse. At the gala, he won the first of the night, presented by Queen Latifah and Doechii, for best rap album, thanks to GNX. Lamar, dressed in an elegant tuxedo and with the usual comb of African-American communities stuck in the middle of his hair, thanked God and everyone present. In total, he has 27 gramophones in his career, and therefore surpasses Jay Z, who has 24, as the rapper with the most Grammys.

Carole King, wearing an ICE OUT button, presented the award for best song of the year. It ended up at Wildflower of Billie Eilish, with enormous surprise, because she was competing against giants like I SHOULD TAKE MORE PHOTOS de Bad Bunny, luther by SZA and Kendrick Lamar or the viral Golden. Not even she herself seemed to understand the award. In the dedication, he stated: “No one is illegal on stolen land.” Numerous applause followed. “It’s very difficult to know what to say and do right now, I hope we continue to fight with the music.” After her, Tyler the Creator gave a spectacular performance in which he made a car jump into the air.

The British Olivia Dean, 25 years old and with Jamaican and Guyanese parents, won the award for best new artist, without stopping crying and remembering the immigrants. “I believe these folks needs to be celebrated. We are nothing with out one another,” he said. Since 2017, all the winners of this award, from Dua Lipa to Chappell Roan last year, have been women.

Even the president of the Recording Academy, Harvey Mason Jr., referred to the situation, although more discreetly. “We come collectively at a time marked by uncertainty, division and drama. It’s simple to really feel overwhelmed and breathless. But the music would not go away: it strikes, it pushes us ahead. It’s time to keep in mind that it helps us,” he said. “When the world fails, music helps us, restores us. And once we regain hope, music improves us.”

The host of the evening, Trevor Noah, started what was his sixth and last time at the awards with a certain grace, asking Pharrell Williams for discount codes for his Louis Vuitton designs. But then he didn’t stop: in his opening monologue he commented that Nicki Minaj had missed the party because she was still in the White House discussing important issues with Trump. And it grew: “Welcome to the Grammys, dwell, rigorously dwell, as a result of if we edit this program in any approach, the president will sue us for 16 million {dollars},” he stated, in reference to Trump’s complaint to the program. 60 Minutes for editing an interview with Kamala Harris in a way that he did not find appropriate and suing her for an exorbitant $20 billion; Finally, last July, he won 16. He went so far as to talk about why he thinks Trump wants to take over Greenland: “Since Epstein is gone, he needs a new island to stay with Bill Clinton.”

Noah not only thanked Bad Bunny for his speech, but also praised him for having boosted Puerto Rico’s economy with his residence on the island and for having made affordable prices for Puerto Ricans. And he asked him to perform at the gala. He said no. Then he came back and insisted, and even sang parts of his song in English and Spanish. He even brought out a band. But he didn’t succeed: the Puerto Rican has to take care of his voice to perform at the Super Bowl next Sunday.

In French politics, the performances were also powerful. The first to take the stage were Rosé and Bruno Mars, loaded with guitars and great vibes, with that viral song from last year that was Apt.and with which they put half Crypto.com Arena on its feet. He would return later with his I Just Might. Then, with Sabrina Carpenter, who—after being the absolute queen of the red carpet—sang Manchild in a great staging between airport belts and suitcases.

Then the nominees for new artists began to be heard one after another, such as the melodic pop of The Marías, with the hypnotic voice, in English and Spanish, of Puerto Rican María Zardoya at the helm, and Addison Rae, new pop star, who entered in a truck from the backstage. The Katseyes also started their performance there, and then went out on stage with their Gnarly. Leon Thomas, with electric guitars, sang from the center of the stalls (actually, tables with drinks), and Alex Warren brought his famous Ordinary from the halls, to sing with violins and choir and rise to the heavens on a platform. Then, Lola Young performed her Messy on the piano in a very clean version (so much so that he didn’t say one of the many swear words in his song). The medley was rounded off by the elegant Olivia Dean with her Man I Needand Sombr, with 12 to 12the two most listened to.

Another of the most anticipated performances of the night was that of Justin Bieber to present his work Swag. He appeared on stage half-naked, covered only by his tattoos and underwear, singing and accompanied by a guitar and a synthesizer. Much more spectacular was the Abracadabra Lady Gaga rocker, dressed in black and red feathers, with a giant eye-shaped grille as a hat, playing the piano with two hands and playing with the camera. Minutes later, he would take the award for best pop vocal album for Mayhem. “I have so much respect for every person in this room,” she said, dedicating it to her fiancé, Michael Polansky, and her producers. “When women are in a studio with many men it can be hard, so I encourage you to always take into account what you think and fight for your ideas.”

The award for best individual pop performance goes to Lola Young with Messyby surprise even for herself, when competing against greats like Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan. Best Contemporary Country Album went to Jelly Roll for Beautifully Broken. With a Bible in his hand and as a televangelist, he began to proclaim that Jesus saved his life, that he is for everyone, that anyone has a relationship with him, and he thanked God infinitely.

The honorary award for global impact was collected by Pharrell Williams, who would later perform with a gospel choir. Then came the long and intense in memorydivided into three. The first part was performed by Reba McEntire, a country legend in the United States, who sang at the age of 70 for the first time at the Grammys, 18 nominations and three awards later.. It ended with a great applause for Ozzy Osbourne and from his hand came the second part, with a performance by Slash, Andrew Watt and Duff McKagan, accompanied by Post Malone, in his honor. The third was performed by Lauryn Hill and Jon Batiste, who sang for D’Angelo and Roberta Flack. Then there was another honorary award: the entire career award for Cher, who told how she had been up and down throughout her career. “What I want to tell you is that do not stop fighting for your dreams, because if it does not happen now, it will happen sooner or later,” he stated, presenting an award in which he stammered and gave rise to misunderstandings.

Among crucial awards that had been introduced on the earlier, non-televised gala, stands out the one gained by Steven Spielberg, the primary of his profession, for the very best music documentary because of The music of John Williamsin regards to the nonagenarian composer. Thus, he turns into one of many few folks, simply 27, who’ve managed to attain that unofficial recognition known as EGOT: the one held by the holders of the Emmy, the Oscar, the Tony and, now, the Grammy. Doechii gained finest video for his AnxietyLady Gaga wins finest pop recording for Abracadabra and Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo for finest pop duo for the Defying Gravity, from the primary a part of Wicked. That in a 3 and a half hour occasion, adopted by one other three and a half hour gala, to current 95 awards which might be already a part of music historical past.