My Thoughts On the 2026 Grammys

As I walked out from my dorm to watch the Grammys with my fellow members of WVUA 90.7 FM, I’ll admit I did not have many expectations. I believed the Grammys would get some things right and some things wrong; some artists would finally get their due recognition and others would remain underrated; some choices by the Academy would be praised and others would be despised (but both would become the topic of social media discourse for at least the next week). That’s how it always felt to me. Yes, the Grammys are important (or at least they feel important), but the performances and awards, in my opinion, always seemed to end up a mixed bag that riled people up online, for better or worse. However, I must admit this much: I was pleasantly surprised this year.

Highlights/Notable Moments:

Best Rap Album – “GNX” by Kendrick Lamar

The award for Best Rap Album was presented and awarded to Kendrick Lamar. I do not think there was a bad nomination for this category, and as a big fan of Kendrick Lamar’s music myself, I think this album deserved the win. Still, seeing JID, another one of my personal favorite rappers right now, win a Grammy would have been very well earned (listen to “God Does Like Ugly” and “The Forever Story” if you’re a rap fan reading this and have not heard them).

Best New Artist – Olivia Dean

Afterwards, a medley of artists, all nominated for the “Best New Artists” category, performed their own songs. The artists were: The Marías, Addison Rae, Katseye, Leon Thomas, Alex Warren, Lola Young, Olivia Dean, and Sombr. The warm, smooth underwater atmosphere created by The Marías and the passionate, fiery performance given by Leon Thomas were my personal favorite parts of the medley, but they all did a good job of showcasing their own strengths and appeals. Olivia Dean was then crowned “Best New Artist,” which I am very happy with. Please listen to her album “The Art of Loving.” It’s a very sweet, relaxing, and soulful listen that more than makes a good argument for her winning this award.

Song of the Year: “Wildflower” by Billie Eilish

Thanks to Lakeside Dining Hall, I’ve had “Wildflower” stuck in my head a lot this year. You won’t hear me complain about that. It’s a very touching and immersive ballad that always feels powerful. Although I personally would have chosen “Abracadabra” by Lady Gaga or “DtMF” by Bad Bunny, this is a really great song and seeing Billie Eilish get recognition this year after coming away without a Grammy last year was great to see.

Performance: “Thought I Was Dead”/ “Like Him”/ “Sugar On My Tongue” by Tyler, the Creator

This was just a really fun and creative performance. After Tyler’s strict, tyrant-like persona from his 2024 album “Chromakopia” gets hit by a car, he dresses up as his new fun, playful persona from his 2025 album “Don’t Tap The Glass”, dances on top of the car, and blows up a gas station. What more is there to say? It’s dramatic but infectious, and it’s executed in a way only Tyler can accomplish.

In Memoriam:

Ozzy Osbourne

Even though Post Malone was a perplexing choice to have sing in tribute of Ozzy Osbourne, the overall performance was cool to see. The performance was brought by a full band consisting of Slash and Duff McKagan from Guns N’ Roses, Chad Smith from Red Hot Chili Peppers, producer Andrew Watt, and Post Malone. These are interesting choices to say the least, but the group rocking out to “War Pigs” with flames in the background felt oddly fitting, and they did a good job of harkening back to the dark aesthetic Ozzy and Black Sabbath brought to the table. Post Malone’s vocals were decent, and the overall energy, especially the guitar solos, was electric. Rest In Peace, Ozzy Osbourne.

D’Angelo & Roberta Flack

This was my personal favorite moment of the night (though I am probably biased. I am a big fan of D’Angelo). Led by Ms. Lauryn Hill, a huge group of guest artists including Raphael Saadiq, Anthony Hamilton, Leon Thomas, Bilal, Jon Batiste, Leon Bridges, Alexia Jay, Lalah Hathaway, October London, John Legend, Chaka Khan, and Wyclef Jean run through a medley of classic D’Angelo and Roberta Flack tracks.

I actually lit up and started moving my head when they performed songs like “Brown Sugar” and “Another Life,” but even the songs I didn’t know were very moving. You could really see the passion, talent, and heart behind all of these musicians as they gave such a powerful tribute. Rest In Peace, D’Angelo and Roberta Flack.

Record of the Year: “luther” by Kendrick Lamar & SZA

Similarly to the Song of the Year pick, there were a couple others I would have chosen (“The Subway” by Chappell Roan or “DtMF” by Bad Bunny), but “luther” is a great track and at this point an iconic hit song. The vocal chemistry between Kendrick Lamar and SZA on the song is great, and their melodies blend together in such a hypnotizing way. I also want to note that Cher almost walking off the stage and announcing the pick as “Luther Vandross” was one of my favorite moments of the whole ceremony.

Album of the Year: “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” by Bad Bunny

I have no complaints here at all. Even if I preferred albums like “GNX” and “Chromakopia” in terms of personal listening, this is such an important and refreshing album that it winning Album of the Year really does feel like an accomplishment. The album brings a great diversity of genres to the table with its combination of reggaeton, dembow, and salsa, and functions as a love letter to Puerto Rico and Puerto Rican culture. Its win is significant culturally, as it is the first all Spanish language album to win Album of the Year, and the homage Bad Bunny pays to his home country both during his speech and throughout the album is so heartfelt that it makes it hard not to root for him. I am also a big fan of the album, and I highly recommend you give it a good few listens.  

Low Lights:

Performance: “Yukon” by Justin Bieber

Honestly this is my one main criticism. I either liked or had nothing to comment on most of everything else that happened during the ceremony. But this album made me want to fly to Yukon so that I would be far away from this performance. The performance pretty much consisted of Bieber looping one guitar rhythm and almost nervously singing into the microphone, and as a whole it felt awkward, uncomfortable, and a bit lazy. I understand the appeal of a more stripped back performance, but I think there still could have been more effort put into it, especially in comparison with the other performances that night.

Overall:

As you can see, I had a lot more positive things to say about the Grammys this year. I was surprised by how little I objected to many of the award decisions, which is common for me, and I was moved by a lot of the performances as well. But if there’s one theme I would give to this ceremony, it would be: Being Human.

A lot of what charmed me about the ceremony, beyond the award picks, was just the sheer humanity on display. In a world becoming more and more encompassed by technology and the prevalent and somewhat frightening rise of AI, seeing people be themselves and seeing the human faces behind so many important pieces of music was so refreshing. The humanity there showed itself in the form of Bad Bunny’s casual and humorous interactions throughout the night. It was him giving an acceptance speech purely in Spanish. It was him, Billie Eilish, and Olivia Dean speaking up on ICE and for immigrants. It was Jelly Roll stating that Jesus does not belong to a political party. It was Ozzy Osbourne, D’Angelo, and Roberta Flack all receiving powerful, heartfelt tributes by musicians clearly passionate about their work. It was Cher almost walking offstage and working through possible technical difficulties. It was Lola Young accidentally swearing during her acceptance speech. And even, to some extent, it was Justin Bieber walking onto the stage shirtless, only a guitar, and singing into the mic over a looped guitar melody. Thank you for reading, and I’m excited for the 2027 Grammys.

Brian Mignogna

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