The Recording Academy’s 68th Annual Grammy Awards took place on Feb. 1, 2026. A variety of the biggest names in the music industry attended the ceremony, many leaving with some of the most prestigious awards an artist can receive.
Record of the Year is not just awarded to artists because of their songs popularity over the past year. It all comes down to the recording, production, and engineering that goes on behind the scenes, as well as the performance of the song. This year, the Grammy went to Luther by Kendrick Lamar and SZA. Luther was released as the third single off of Kendrick Lamar’s sixth studio album, GNX. Making its debut in late November of 2024, many fans agree that the song carried on well into 2025, ultimately leading to Kendrick Lamar and SZA taking home the award.
Song of the Year is catered exclusively to artists based on the songwriting ability of some of the most listened to tracks throughout the year. The award went to WILDFLOWER by Billie Eilish. After receiving and losing her nomination for the same category in 2025 to Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish was renominated in 2026 for her song WILDFLOWER, leading fans to believe she finally got the recognition she deserved from the previous year.
The most highly regarded award within the Grammys is undoubtedly Album of the Year. The overall performance, technical production, engineering, and lyrics are all taken into consideration when determining the Album of the Year. The Grammy was given to Bad Bunny for his album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS. Released on Jan. 5, 2025 Bad Bunny’s sixth studio album serves as the most streamed album across all platforms in 2025, further cementing his place in mainstream music. The album’s ability to speak not only to millions of people, but millions of different backgrounds and stories led to its success.
Best New Artist is selected based on an artist’s rapid growth and success in mainstream music over the course of a year. This year’s Best New Artist is Olivia Dean. With her album The Art of Loving topping the UK Official Albums Chart, along with her song Man I Need securing a No. 2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, fans have seen much of her success stem from social media. With the rising popularity of social media, many artists find themselves promoting their music on apps such as TikTok, Youtube, or Instagram. This worked in Olivia Dean’s favor, making her one of the most talked about new artists to come into mainstream music
The award for Best Pop Solo Performance focuses on the vocal performance of an artist on a specific song. The award went to Messy by Lola Young. Lola Young has a unique voice compared to other artists in today’s era of music. Her overall vocal performance in the song Messy peaked the interest of many, leading to her rise in fame over the past year.
Similarly to the category for Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Duo/ Group Performance is awarded on vocal performance. However, it’s awarded to two or more artists who worked together on one song. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande took home the award for this category with Defying Gravity from the Wicked soundtrack. The film broke the record for the highest-grossing film adaptation of a Broadway musical, with a global opening weekend of around $164 million, so it’s no surprise that this song won the award for this category seeing as Wicked was one of the most talked about films in 2024 and 2025.
Best Pop Vocal Album is determined by the vocal performance from an artist’s entire album. The award went to Mayhem by Lady Gaga. Before 2026, Lady Gaga had previously won 14 Grammys since her first award in 2010 for her song Poker Face. Not only did she win Best Pop Vocal Album this year, but she also received the award for Best Dance Pop Recording, making her the owner of 16 Grammys since her musical debut in 2008.
Although the categories that are televised are mainly Pop music and Pop artists, there are over 80 categories that are not shown during the actual live ceremony that are awarded to other genres. The Grammy for the Best Alternative Music Album went to Songs Of A Lost World by The Cure, along with the award for Best Alternative Music Performance which went to their song, Alone. The Cure, founded by lead singer Robert Smith, began making music in 1976. After almost 50 years of making music, the band won both their first and second Grammy ever within the same night.
