The Grammy Awards

The 68th Annual Grammy Awards took place on Sunday, February 1st at the Crypto.com Arena in LosAngeles, celebrating some of the biggest achievements in music. The show, hosted by six-time host Trevor Noah, was broadcasted on Paramount+, as well as CBS. Alongside celebrating music, the ceremony often became an opportunity for artists to express their political opinions. 

Awards this year went to many notable artists such as Kendrick Lamar who took home five awards, including Record of the Year. Bad Bunny also made history by winning Album of the Year for his album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, marking the first time a primarily Spanish album has received this award. 

“The only thing more powerful than hate is love… If we fight, we have to do it with love,” Bad Bunny said in his acceptance speech.

While Lamar won the most awards of the night, he also led in nominations when they were announced in November of 2025, receiving a total of nine. Other artists like Sabrina Carpenter and Tyler, the Creator, followed closely, each receiving six.

The ceremony opened with a performance from Bruno Mars and Rosé of their song “APT”. Others, such as Justin Bieber and Post Malone, also performed on the Gramm’ stage. In addition to these performances, artists like Harry Styles, Carole King and Marcello Hernández presented awards during the evening.

“I really enjoy watching the performances more than the actual awards being presented. The performances show what the artists have been working so hard on,” NHS senior Faith Weir said.

This year’s ceremony introduced two new categories; Best Traditional Country Album and Best Album Cover. Of the 95 total awards presented, only the top ten were broadcasted globally. Of these ten include what is known as the Big Four; Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist. 

“I believe that music had the power to change my life, and God had the power to change my life,” Jelly Roll, winner of Best Contemporary Country Album, said in his acceptance speech.

The other 85 awards are presented at a three hour show known as The Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony. This ceremony took place at Peacock Theater, where awards like Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Rap Album and Best African Music Performance were given out prior to the main show. It was here that Tyler, the Creator received the award for Best Album Cover for his album Chromakopia. 

“The elements judged in this Category include the creativity, design, illustration, photography, and/or graphic art of the album cover. The album cover must be predominantly new: If the album cover art has been previously released, or the recording is being re-issued with only minimal new cover art, it is not eligible,” the official eligibility for the Best Album Cover explains.

During this Premiere Ceremony, many young and new artists were shown winning awards such as Lola Young winning the award for Best Pop Solo Performance for her song “Messy” and Leon Thomas winning the award for Best R&B Album for his album MUTT. The actual award for Best New Artist, however, went to up and coming artist Olivia Dean. 

"I'm up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant… I'm a product of bravery, and I think those people deserve to be celebrated,” Dean said in her acceptance speech.

Other notable speeches came from artists Billie Eilish and SZA as they accepted their awards for Song of the Year and Best Melodic Rap Performance. 

“It’s just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now, and I feel really hopeful in this room, and I feel like we just need to keep fighting and speaking and protesting. Our voices really do matter, and the people matter,” Eilish said in her acceptance speech for Song of the Year.

While the Grammy’s stage brought impactful speeches, the red carpet prior to the award show brought about impactful looks. Artists such as Zara Larsson and Addison Rae took to the carpet in designer brands like Kevin Germanier and Alaïa. Other artists like Rosé, who showed up in Giambattista Valli Couture, wore costume made looks.

“I enjoy watching the Grammys to see all of the celebrities’ looks on the red carpet and just seeing all of the different music artists and how they perform,” NHS senior Zoe Shapiro said.

The night finished with an after party hosted by Charli XCX, W Magazine’s Sara Moonves and Yves Saint Laurent creative director, Anthony Vaccarello. The party, hosted at Bar Marmont, had many special appearances from actors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Connor Storrie to other musical artists like 2Hollis and Katseye. 

The 2027 Grammys are scheduled to air on February 7th of next year, with the ceremony moving from CBS to being broadcast on ABC, Hulu and Disney+. Until then, many artists featured during the 2026 Grammys have revealed they are working on future projects.