Grammys 2026: Best and Worst Moments

Working for SCA sure looks like fun. For her “Manchild” performance, Sabrina Carpenter came sliding in on a baggage claim belt just in time to pull a dove out of a magician’s top hat and get bleeped for saying “Fuck my life.” The scene saw a surgeon, a magician, a priest, an astronaut, an explorer, and a Hawaiian-shirted dude, among others; they danced and raised questions about the security protocol at the airport, but everybody’s having so much fun (especially Nikki Glaser, who joyously mouthed along with Carpenter’s F-bombs), so who cares. Plus, it ended with Carpenter holding the magician’s dove, which is difficult to do, making this an automatic best. 

Justin Bieber took the radical opposite approach to the Best New Artists nominees who’d performed minutes earlier by eschewing choreography, backing musicians, and even most of his clothes for his performance of “Yukon.” Taking a page from the Ed Sheeran playbook, he created an electric guitar loop live on the stage, brought the entire arena to a hushed silence, and sang every note of the song live. It can be hard to root for Justin Bieber at times, but this was a truly sensational moment. “What a captivating performance,” Trevor Noah said at the end, as Red Hot Chili Drummer Chad Smith gave a standing ovation behind him. “You could feel it in the room. It was amazing.” And it bodes well for his Coachella set in April.

When Bad Bunny got onstage to accept his award for Best Música Urbana Album, he didn’t take long to get to the point: “Before I say thanks to God,” he declared in English, “I’m gonna say, ICE Out.” After a long standing ovation, he continued: “We’re not savage. We’re not animals. We’re not aliens. We’re humans and we are Americans.” It was a powerful rejoinder on a night that had been light on actionable political demands to that point (even if it was heavy on Trump jokes courtesy of Trevor Noah). Bad Bunny’s declaration of “ICE Out” (followed by his plea for protests filled and imbued with love) was timely and courageous, especially given his incredibly high-profile (and already much politicized) Super Bowl halftime show next weekend. 

Only an artist like Lady Gaga could make a performance feel both larger-than-life and intimate all at once. A year after the artist premiered “Abracadabra” as a music video during the 2025 Grammys, she returned Sunday night with a small rock ensemble that included producer Andrew Watt on guitar and Gaga herself on Roland synth. The arrangement echoed both the bouncy disco-pop of Nile Rodgers’ guitar on “Let’s Dance” and beat-heavy Nine Inch Nails. The fact that she wore a headpiece that looked like a giant wicker eyeball (a nod to the Residents?) gave the performance an uncanny weirdness that somehow tied it all together. 

Neither Grammy voters nor the show’s producers seemed to recognize country music’s dominance this year. There wasn’t a single country nominee represented in the Big Four categories, and the three-hour CBS spectacle lacked a dedicated country performance. Yes, Reba McEntire, Brandy Clark, and Lukas Nelson performed a gorgeous version of Reba’s “Trailblazer” to soundtrack the In Memoriam segment, but in a year when some of the best all-around music came out of Nashville — Zach Top’s Grammy-winning Ain’t in It for My Health, Margo Price’s Hard Headed Woman, and Tyler Childers’ Snipe Hunter, among them — it was a head-scratcher to not afford the genre its own performance slot. What’s more, all the talk about this being Reba’s first time ever performing on the Grammys is less something to be celebrated than asked: What on earth took so long?

Tyler, the Creator has a knack for memorable visuals, from his 2020 Grammy performance, where he trotted out an army of platinum-blond Tyler clones, to the starkly haunting cover of his 2024 album Chromakopia (which won the first-ever Best Album Cover award earlier in the evening). But his performance tonight took things to the next level. He kicked off with black-and-white versions of “Thought I Was Dead” and “Like Him,” dressed as his Saint Chroma character from Chromakopia. Then the set switched to a gas-station setup (with a Regina King cameo) as black-and-white gave way to color. The switch was cool enough — but then a red-leather-clad Tyler promptly ran over Saint Chroma in a sports car. Tyler launched into “Sugar on My Tongue,” a track from the other standout album Tyler released in the past 18 months. From there, things stayed wild (the gas pump was labeled “War Juice”), climaxing with Tyler blowing up the gas station with himself inside. Tyler stumbled out and fell to the ground, leather red suit smoking. Performance of the night.

As Trevor Noah noted at the start of the evening, this was Lauryn Hill’s first appearance at the Grammys since 1999, when she won Album of the Year for The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. But all those years faded away the instant she kicked off the D’Angelo tribute segment by singing “Nothing Even Matters,” which they recorded together nearly three decades ago. She sounded exquisite. She stuck around for the Roberta Flack tribute, which she launched with a tender “The First Time Ever Saw Your Face.” And she closed it out by bringing Wyclef Jean onto the stage for “Killing Me Softly.” They started it out in the traditional arrangement, before breaking into a joyous rendition of the Fugees’ remake. It brought the entire arena to their feet. (Poor Pras. Their Fugees bandmate was sentenced to 14 years in prison a couple of months ago, and then he had to watch this take place without him.)

What is this, the CMAs? The Grammys have historically done a decent job of recognizing country music that doesn’t fit the mold of country radio and Music Row: Sturgill Simpson, Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, and Tanya Tucker have all won the Best Country Album category over the past decade. So, when that category was split in two for the first time this year (Traditional vs. Contemporary), there was much handwringing about what that might mean for the genre’s representation. More nominees should mean a greater breadth of country artistry getting acknowledged, right? As it turns out, not really. We ended up with two major-label Nashville men, Jelly Roll and Zach Top, taking home the Grammys. As much as we love the latter’s Ain’t in It for My Health, during a year where everyone from Tyler Childers to Kelsea Ballerini to Margo Price to Eric Church released exemplary records, it was hard not to wish the voters were a little more adventurous.

Few moments in this show were as purely blissful as watching the shock and joy on Lola Young’s face when she won her first Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance, thanks to the power of her viral hit “Messy.” She bounced out of her chair, spun around the room, and finally made it to the stage through laughter and tears. It was absolutely clear she didn’t have a speech prepared and didn’t expect such a massive moment. Still, all of it was even more poignant given how open Young has been about her struggles with sobriety, which shape a lot of the song’s emotional message. She took time off to prioritize her health late last year, and her gorgeous rendition of “Messy” earlier in the night marked her first performance back since then. It all paid off: When she finished a stripped-back version of the song on a grand piano, showcasing her voice and vulnerability, the Grammy audience gave her a standing ovation — making the trophy at the end feel even more deserved.

Pusha T and Malice have come a long way in the music industry; once they were the kind of act that made generational classics and still got bounced from label to label, now they’re the toast of the town. Their ongoing victory lap after returning from a 16-year hiatus with 2025’s Let God Sort Em Out brought them to the Grammys stage tonight, where they made it all the way to the Album of the Year nominations. And while they didn’t win that category, they did take home Best Rap Performance for “Chains & Whips” before the show, and they gave a must-see performance on the air with their childhood friend (and fellow honoree) Pharrell Williams. “So Far Ahead,” the song they did, is both a thoughtful look back at their journey through life as brothers, and a best-in-class series of snaps, sneak disses, and subtle punchlines. These guys were so far ahead of the game for a long time, but these days awards shows have finally caught up, not a moment too soon.

No one seemed more surprised to see Cher onstage at the Grammys than Cher herself. Her appearance wasn’t scheduled, and neither was host Trevor Noah’s bizarre “I’m going to let you finish” Kanye West callback when he handed her a lifetime achievement award right as she was supposedly going to announce the Record of the Year nominees. “I don’t do this part very well,” she said ahead of a rambling thank-you speech, which she capped with the message “Live it; be it,” about people’s dreams. Then she left. “I guess I’m supposed to walk off now.” Then Trevor Noah called her back for the Record of the Year presentation. A stagehand seemed to push her back. Then, after the nominees were named, she didn’t know she needed to open the envelope to see the winner, only to recognize the winner as “Luther Vandross … No, Kendrick Lamar,” whose song “Luther” samples Vandross. It was all so very Cher.