The 68th annual Grammy Awards took place on Sunday in the Los Angeles Crypto.com Arena, with Trevor Noah hosting for the sixth and final time. Hopes from the nominations were either celebrated or mourned after waiting a rough three months since Nov. 7, 2025 when nominations were released.
Categories at the awards range from Album and Record of the Year, to Best New Artist, showcasing both popular and up-and-coming artists. The people behind the scenes are also appreciated through the Grammys, as producers and songwriters have award categories when they are sometimes overshadowed by the actual artist.
The Album of the Year was a close draw this year, with nominations of “Man’s Best Friend” — Sabrina Carpenter, “Swag” — Justin Bieber”, “Chromakopia” — Tyler, the Creator and more, but “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” — Bad Bunny took the win. Bad Bunny’s album reflected on the political reality of his home territory, Puerto Rico. This album mixes Puerto Rican music genres such as plena, bomba, salsa and reggaeton. Bad Bunny also includes some house and urban styles, reflecting his residency in the United States.
“Luther” — Kendrick Lamar With SZA beat a killer list of nominations for the Record of the Year award. Some of the nominations included: “DtMF” — Bad Bunny, “Manchild” — Sabrina Carpenter, “The Subway” — Chappell Roan and more. Luther is a widely acclaimed track, and the production of this song was undeniably great: a perfect combination of SZAs beautiful voice and Lamar’s smooth rap verses. It served as a more pure, romantic track among the rest of the album’s rather aggressive tone. Kendrick Lamar also became the first rapper to win Record of the Year twice.
“I love how Kendrick and SZA come together,” James Halpern (12) said. “Their voices blend nicely.”
The Record of the Year and song of the year may be commonly confused, but the record of the year analyzes the overall production of the track and the song of the year is about the songwriting and melody.
The Song of the Year award went to “Wildflower” — Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish). “Wildflower” is a soulful and gloomy song, notable for its mature songwriting and emotional depth. It explores complex themes of haunting, guilt and the breakdown of “girl code.” Eilish has now received 34 Grammy nominations and 9 Grammy awards in her career of roughly 10 years.
The Best New Artist was Olivia Dean, with the international breakthrough of “The Art of Loving” set in motion by her viral hit, “Man I Need.” Dean is a London born singer/songwriter with a profound and relatable sound and a distinctly warm musical style.
“Olivia Dean is one of my current favorite artists and I was so excited to see her win the artist of the year award,” Taylor Faassen (12) said. “She is so deserving of this award, I love her entire discography and vibe as a whole.”
The Best Pop duo/group Performance was a close call with a nomination of “30 for 30” — SZA With Kendrick Lamar, which fans adored. “Defying Gravity” — Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande ultimately won the award. The duo performed the iconic song for “Wicked,” which erupted the internet. Fans of all ages crazed about the movie in general, but more specifically the soundtrack. The song emphasises rooting for outsiders, adding a universal appeal to this overarching theme.
“I don’t know ‘Defying Gravity,’ but I was very sad about ‘30 for 30’ not winning as I am a huge fan of Kendrick Lamar and SZA,” Halpern said.
The Dance/electric Recording Award went to “End of Summer” — Tame Impala, project of the Australian multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker. “End of Summer” was released on July 25, 2025 through Columbia Records, as the lead single and final track to Tame Impala’s fifth studio album, “Deadbeat.” The track is a seven-plus minute house-influenced track that acts as a synth-heavy comeback. Some call it a “vibe” and others think it is rather underwhelming, but regardless, it won the award.
The 2026 Grammy awards were an honest mix of uproars of applause and disappointment.
“The Grammys are always a good time to watch; the live performances mixed with the eccentric outfits and subtle impatience for each award is just so fun all around,” Faassen said.
