The 2026 Grammys are easiest to understand if you follow five artists. Between them, they basically tell the story of the entire night.

Bad Bunny

Bad Bunny defined the ceremony. His album Debí Tirar Más Fotos won Album of the Year, making history as the first Spanish-language album ever to take the Grammys’ top prize and beating out nominees like Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, and Tyler, the Creator. The win marked his first time taking home a “Big Four” (Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist) category and underscored the global dominance of Latin music. He also won Best Música Urbana Album and Best Global Music Performance, making it clear that his impact wasn’t limited to one category.

Kendrick Lamar

If Bad Bunny had the biggest single win, Kendrick Lamar had the biggest overall night. He won Record of the Year for “Luther” with SZA and Best Rap Album for “GNX”. Those victories pushed him past Jay-Z to become the most-awarded rapper in Grammy history, with 27 career wins. Kendrick opened the televised awards with his rap album win and kept returning to the stage. His speech emphasized hip-hop’s cultural longevity, reinforcing his position as one of the genre’s defining artists.

Billie Eilish

Billie Eilish took home Song of the Year for “Wildflower,” adding another major Grammy to her already stacked résumé. The category included heavy competition from Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar, and Bad Bunny, but Eilish’s songwriting secured the win. She also appeared throughout the night wearing an “ICE OUT” pin alongside other artists, reflecting the subtle but noticeable political messaging that threaded through the ceremony.

Olivia Dean

British singer Olivia Dean won Best New Artist, one of the most anticipated categories each year. While not the most commercially dominant nominee, her win signals that the industry sees her long-term potential. Best New Artist often predicts future headliners, and the Grammys clearly positioned Dean as someone to watch moving forward.

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga didn’t sweep the night, but she remained a constant presence. She won Best Pop Vocal Album for Mayhem and was nominated across multiple major categories, including Song and Album of the Year. Her continued success highlights her staying power: nearly two decades into her career, she is still competing with and winning against a new generation of artists.

The 2026 Grammys weren’t chaotic or shocking. Through those five artists, the night felt less like a turning point and more like a confirmation of where music already is.

The 64th Annual Grammy Awards were held April 3, 2022, in Las Vegas. It was a night of high anticipation, as the awards for artist, album and song of the year were to be announced. Going into it, expectations were high for Olivia Rodrigo who had several nominations and was being considered for the top awards. BTS – the Korean pop boy band – was probably the most anticipated performance of the night. Although incomparable to the drama at this year’s Oscars, the Grammy Awards was full of their own memorable moments.

It ended up being a big night for Oliva Rodrigo, going home having won three Grammys – Best New Artist, Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album. Silk Sonic, a duo made of Burno mars and Anderson Paak, also found a lot of recognition, especially for their song “Leave the Door Open,” which won Record of the Year and Song of the Year. 

Jon Batiste’s album “We Are” was awarded Album of the year. Best Pop Duo/Group Performance went to Doja Cat and SZA for their song “Kiss Me More,” beating out BTS as the fan favorite. Glass Animals lost out to Olivia Rodrigo in the Best New Artist category, another award not given to the fan favorite of the night. A notable win was Baby Keem for his song “Family Ties”, featuring Kendrick Lamar, proving his spot as an up-and-coming name in the rap industry.

In between the awards were performances from many well-known names. On their big night, both Silk Sonic and Oliva Rodrigo performed towards the beginning of the ceremony. BTS performed their popular English-language hit “Butter,” once again dazzling audiences with their perfected dance moves. 

After suing her producer, Dr. Luke, for sexual assault in 2014, the court denied her the ability to void her contract, which restricted her from releasing music with any company but Kemosabe Records, a partnership between Dr. Luke and Sony Music Entertainment. Kesha began recording again in 2016 after Sony Music assured her that Dr. Luke would not be involved in the production. He was removed as CEO in April 2017. She released her first album in five years, “Rainbow,” Aug. 11, 2017, and it was full of all the feels.

Much of “Rainbow” was written during her time in rehab for an eating disorder. The album explores the topics of physical and emotional recovery, female empowerment and moving on, but tracks like “Godzilla” and “Boogie Feet” are a reminder that the old Ke$ha isn’t completely dead.

The themes on this album are especially relevant given the rising #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. Celebrities have banded together to show support for these movements at awards shows, like the Golden Globes where many individuals wore all black and Time’s Up pins to fight not only sexual harassment in the workplace but also workplace inequality. White roses were the representation for the movements at the Grammys.

Kesha’s Grammy performance of “Praying” fully embodied the celebrity support of the #MeToo movement. The performance featured a diverse, all-female chorus dressed in white. “Praying” was the first single she released from “Rainbow” and is about her healing process, allegedly after her trauma involving Dr. Luke, but she has never confirmed nor denied this.

“Rainbow” was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album, and “Praying” was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance. Ed Sheeran took home both these awards for “÷” and “Shape of You,” respectively.

Given the atmosphere of society right now, a white man receiving awards for a song that is strictly about the female body doesn’t bode well with me. I’m not a musician, and I don’t know know how the Grammys are judged, but I know enough to understand that there were enough qualified candidates that not all men should have won. Only 20 percent of the awards went to women.

Alessia Cara received Best New Artist, but she was the only female to win a major award. SZA, the most nominated female artist, was nominated for five awards, but didn’t receive any. Meanwhile, Bruno Mars was nominated for six awards and won them all.

#GrammysSoMale started trending on Twitter.

“I think it has to begin with women who have the creativity in their hearts and souls — who want to be musicians, who want to be engineers, who want to be producers, who want to be part of the industry on the executive level — to step up,” said Recording Academy President Neil Portnow, who has received criticism for his response.

Many female executives in the music industry have now called for his resignation in light of this comment.

Now, let me be clear. I’m not opposed to giving credit where credit is due. I’m not saying that some of these men did not deserve their awards. I don’t believe that women should be given awards just because they are women. But I do believe that women don’t need to step up. I believe that there were nominated women who are superior to their winning male counterparts. Like Kesha says in “Praying,” “And you said that I was done. You were wrong and now the best is yet to come,” and I can’t wait to see what Kesha and the rest of the female music industry do next. 

I realize how subjective music is, just as subjective, if not more so, than film. If the criteria for winning a Grammy were marketability and record sales, then sure, Taylor Swift’s win would probably be justified, although that would throw Beyoncé’s snub last year into question, but that’s another point. But what if the criteria were about something more meaningful, such as artistry or political impact? Surely that winner would be, without question, Kendrick Lamar.

It’s no secret that what’s selling in the music industry right now are glossy, auto-tuned tracks with electronic dance beats and high production value. Which I have no problem with that. Music is meant to be enjoyed, and I won’t pretend like I don’t enjoy the same media.

But isn’t music, and all art for that matter, meant to challenge us as well?

Lamar’s performance at the ceremony was provocative, political and unapologetic. At the beginning of his performance he led a train of black men across the stage, all chained to each other, eerily evoking the image of slavery and the mass incarceration of black men. Without a doubt, his raps, his music, his performances are challenging and meaningful. So why didn’t he win?

It’s easy to direct our anger at historically white institutions such as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Grammys. There has been much resentment at the Academy for not nominating any black actors for two years in a row. But why is that?

Yes, the Academy is overwhelmingly white. Also, though, our culture as a whole prioritizes white media over all else. That’s why Taylor Swift won.

When it comes down to it, the Grammys have become a celebration of mediocrity and cosmetics. As glitzy and fun as “1989” may be—I’ll admit it, I know all the words to “Blank Space”— is it what we want in music? And when are we going to stop pretending like Meghan Trainor’s sound isn’t the product of decades of black artists? But we should all realize that the Grammys, that the Oscars, are celebrating what our culture prioritizes—sanitized, apolitical, white art.