The Grammys Should Do Better

If you're having trouble viewing this email, view in browser

The 2026 Grammys Gave Purpose to a Weird Year in Music

So the rumors of Bruce Springsteen opening the Grammy Awards with his new anti-ICE protest anthem "Streets of Minneapolis" proved to be unfounded. The night's big statement still came, though, courtesy of MAGA's nemesis of the moment, Bad Bunny. Between his history-making Album of the Year win, host Trevor Noah dragging him onscreen so often he was virtually a sidekick, and the most direct political speech of the night, the Puerto Rican superstar gave a story to an evening that was otherwise as scattered as Cher's memorably chaotic appearance.

Debí Tirar Más Fotos is the first-ever Spanish-language project to win the Album category, and in the acceptance speech for his Best Musica Urbana Album win, Bad Bunny—one week before his Super Bowl halftime show—spoke to our current horrible moment. "We are not savages," he said. "We're not animals. We're not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans."

This is what people will remember from the 58th annual Grammys, and probably not much else. Kendrick Lamar further secured his legacy with wins that bring his total Grammy haul up to 27 trophies, passing Jay-Z as the most honored rapper in the awards' history. His Record of the Year win for "Luther" (with SZA) made him one of only four acts in Grammy history who've gone back-to-back in the category, along with Billie Eilish, U2, and Roberta Flack.

The other awards handed out during the broadcast—which ran more than three and a half hours—were as diffuse as this weird year in music. It was the first time in ten years without eligible music from Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, or Adele, leading to a major reduction in superstar drama, and no new luminaries emerged last year at the altitude of Chappell Roan or Sabrina Carpenter in 2024. British pop soulstress Olivia Dean was the worthy, if less exciting, winner of Best New Artist.

In a year when so many singles climbed the charts and then parked there for months—so much so that Billboard made some changes to its ranking process—some of the Grammys' weird rules and timelines were especially evident. Both Song of the Year winner "Wildflower" by Grammy favorite Billie Eilish and Best Pop Solo Performance winner "Messy" by Lola Young were released in May 2024, almost a full two years ago, not exactly a scenario that's going to get viewers excited.

In the end, the actual awards don't make much of an impact on listeners unless an artist really dominates the night. A memorable performance is what really inspires consumers, streamers, or whatever else we call the music audience. And while the general caliber of the live music was solid, it's hard to know which tracks stuck with viewers when they woke up the next morning. The show opener was about as far away from a protest song as you can get—Bruno Mars and Rosé (in full early Gwen Stefani drag, complete with undone suspenders) doing a rocked-up version of their duet "APT," born from a Korean drinking game. Mars later returned with his new single "I Just Might," a flawlessly crafted retro jam that begs the question of whether his music will ever again look forward instead of back.

Tyler, the Creator performed a medley of Don't Tap the Glass hits on the Grammys stage in Los Angeles, CA / photo by: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Undeniably strange but undeniably memorable was Justin Bieber's rendition of "Yukon," staged to present his vulnerability all too literally as he appeared in just boxer shorts and socks, posing awkwardly in front of a mirror, odd but oddly affecting. (Also possibly worth noting, or maybe not, was a recurring industrial theme to the sets: Sabrina Carpenter singing on a staged baggage-claim carousel; Addison Rae cavorting in the Crypto.com arena's loading dock; Tyler, the Creator blowing up a gas station.)

Two segments were given major blocks of airtime. All eight of the Best New Artist nominees played in sequence, adding up to more than 18 uninterrupted minutes. It was no favor to the moody L.A. band the Marías to be put in the opening spot, but young acts like Leon Thomas and pop dynamos Katseye benefited from having some real time to make an impression.

The "In Memoriam" section ran even longer, pushing 25 minutes in total—it could have been a stand-alone show of its own. The two big tributes were interesting but ultimately unsatisfying, for entirely different reasons.

Ozzy Osbourne was honored with a version of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" sung by Post Malone, backed by guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan from Guns n' Roses, superproducer Andrew Watt on guitar, and drummer Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was more than adequate, even convincing, but felt too modest coming after last year's massive final Sabbath celebration concert and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Ozzy tribute.

At the other extreme, the homage to D'Angelo and Roberta Flack, anchored by Ms. Lauryn Hill, suffered from excessive ambition. So many guests were cycled through—a who's who of contemporary R&B—that Hill's role was largely reduced to shouting out names like an elementary school teacher taking attendance. Bilal's quick run through D'Angelo's "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" was a showstopper, but other vocalists felt unrehearsed and struggling for pitch.

Beyond Reba's appearance singing over the "In Memoriam" montage, country music was barely present during these ceremonies. Jelly Roll went into full-on preacher mode when Beautifully Broken won in the Best Contemporary Country Album category, waving a tiny Bible and declaiming, "Jesus is for everyone!"

This apparently wasn't enough to placate the TV critic in chief in the White House, who posted that the show was "virtually unwatchable" and threatened Trevor Noah (serving as host for the final time) for making a Jeffrey Epstein joke. "It looks like I'll be sending my lawyers to sue this poor, pathetic, talentless, dope of an M.C., and suing him for plenty$," Donald Trump whined on Truth Social.

It's enough to give you hope that Bad Bunny's wins, and his words, registered and gave focus and purpose to a hit-or-miss year in music. When Harry Styles called his name for Album of the Year, Bad Bunny sat silent for a full 20 seconds and seemed to tear up. His acceptance speech was mostly delivered in Spanish, but he flipped to English in the middle to say, "I want to dedicate this award to all the people that had to leave their homeland, their country, to follow their dreams." The right guy at the right time saved Music's Biggest Night from feeling blithely out of touch with the present moment. Bring on the Super Bowl.

When Harry Styles called his name for Album of the Year, Bad Bunny sat silent for a full 20 seconds and seemed to tear up. / photo by: CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

Mailbag!

What did you think of this year's Grammy Awards? More importantly, did you watch the show? It's tough to tell just how many people are tuning in to awards shows nowadays. We put together a breakdown of our favorite moments from the night here, but let me know which part of the show you liked the best by writing to me at josh.rosenberg.@hearst.com.

Did someone forward you this email? Sign up here.

The Continuing Adventures of the Esquire Entertainment Desk

A$AP Rocky talked to Esquire editor-in-chief Michael Sebastian for the latest episode of "What I've Learned," piggybacking off his debut as Esquire's latest cover star. The rapper and fashion icon spoke about living in homeless shelters as a teenager, falling in love with Rihanna, and finally becoming a girl dad. Watch the full video here.

Queer Eye's Antoni Porowski spoke to me about the end of the Netflix series after ten seasons, and what he's cooking up next. "It's like I got the job that I needed as opposed to the job that I wanted," he said. Read the interview here.

Catherine O'Hara shockingly died on Friday, January 30, at the age of 71. Veteran entertainment writer Anthony Breznican wrote a lovely obituary for the Schitt's Creek actress, writing: "Catherine O'Hara made us laugh at women who, for the most part, were smart enough to know better. As an actress, she very rarely played dumb, but even when she did—she was a genius." Read the full tribute here.

Rest in peace Catherine O'Hara / photo by: Michael Kovac//Getty Images

The Cliff-Hanger's Winners and Losers of the Week

Winner: Steven Spielberg

The celebrated director quietly became an EGOT last night, when he won the Grammy Award for Best Music Film. He produced Music by John Williams, which beat out the Devo documentary and Pharrell Williams's Piece by Piece Lego biopic.

Loser: Punxsutawney Phil

The immortal groundhog saw his shadow this Groundhog's Day after emerging from his hollow on Gobbler's Knob. That means six more weeks of Winter, folks. Bummer.

Winner: Chris Messina

The AIR and Based on a True Story actor booked a ticket to star in season 4 of The White Lotus. I had to do a double-take after reading the announcement, because he seemed so perfect for the role that I could have sworn he was in a previous season already.

Loser: The Creepy Manscape Hairball

I'd recommend turning away from the TV once Manscape's insane ad airs during the Super Bowl, but I'm sure their disgusting hairball with eyes will probably speak as well. So cover your ears, too.

Winner: Rising Platforms

Multiple artists at the 2026 Grammy Awards ascended high above the crowd during last night's show, including Sombr, Sabrina Carpenter, and Best New Artist nominee Alex Warren. The stage lifted the "Ordinary" singer's platform so high that I thought it malfunctioned. This is the Grammys ... not Skyscraper Live!