It’s music’s biggest night—that means stars, songs, and … some unfortunate gaffes. Bad Bunny, gearing up for his Super Bowl performance next weekend, was the night’s biggest victor, while Billie Eilish, Olivia Dean, and Lady Gaga also collected trophies. But that’s not all that happened—on or off the stage. Here are the winners and losers of the night’s festivities.
Winner: Bad Bunny
There was no contest: This was Benito’s night. Even though he didn't have a performance slot on Sunday, the Puerto Rican genre bender made two memorable appearances on the Grammys telecast. First was when he won Best Música Urbana Album for Debí Tirar Más Fotos, his great 2025 record that topped the Billboard 200 a year ago. He used his acceptance speech to succinctly protest and criticize ICE: “We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans.” This was far from Bad Bunny’s first time speaking out about ICE—for one, he didn’t tour in the continental United States at all last year out of fear that ICE would raid his concerts. But on a night when many opted to make vague references to “what’s going in the world,” the fact that Benito was so clear and pointed in his speech—as he is in his music, which often addresses Puerto Rican politics—made his message appropriately urgent and impactful.
His next time onstage? He became the first Spanish-language artist to win the Grammys’ top honor of Album of the Year. Benito soaked in the moment—it was genuinely moving to see him take a beat as tears came to his eyes before he walked onstage. His coronation is coming at a pivotal time in his career, too: Next weekend, he’ll be in Santa Clara to headline the Super Bowl halftime show—a performance that’s already become a political flashpoint. Donald Trump won’t be attending the game (because it’s “too far,” he claims) and has criticized the NFL for choosing Bad Bunny to perform. As Sunday proved, Trump’s words have hardly affected Benito’s continuous ascent into one of the biggest global stars ever—I’d say it’s safe to assume that will continue next weekend.
Loser: The Grammy Calendar
Billie Eilish added yet another Grammy to her trophy shelf on Sunday when she won Song of the Year for “Wildflower.” It’s a single from her album Hit Me Hard and Soft—you know, the one that was nominated at last year’s Grammys? Yep, apparently music from one album can be eligible for two Grammy cycles. While Hit Me Hard and Soft was released during last year’s eligibility window, “Wildflower” was released as a single during this year’s. And that’s how we end up in February 2026, handing out an award for a song that came out in May 2024.
But even music that wasn’t jumping through any loopholes felt dated due to the Grammys’ ever-puzzling calendar. Sunday night’s awards were (supposed to be) given out to music that came out between August 31, 2024, and August 30, 2025. Kendrick Lamar won four awards for GNX, an album that came out in November 2024. Leon Thomas’s Mutt, released in September 2024, won Best R&B Album. Tyler, the Creator received nominations for his 2024 and 2025 albums. Thought Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl got completely blanked? It came out in October and thus is not eligible until next year. It’s totally nonsensical! Many have criticized the Grammys over the years for being behind the times, but by operating on this calendar, they quite literally are.
Winner: Lauryn Hill’s Return
This year’s ceremony offered a number of tribute performances in memory of the musicians who passed away over the past year. Reba McEntire made her debut on the Grammys stage with a rendition of “Trailblazer,” which went into Post Malone, Slash, and Chad Smith ripping through Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs,” in memory of Ozzy Osbourne. But it all culminated in the night’s best performance: Lauryn Hill returned to the Grammys stage for the first time since 1999 to lead an all-star tribute to D’Angelo and Roberta Flack. Jon Batiste, Chaka Khan, and John Legend all took part—Bilal’s rendition of “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” in particular was completely electric. Then, Wyclef Jean joined Hill onstage for a Fugees reunion and, with all the history between the two, performed “Killing Me Softly,” made famous by Flack and later covered by the Fugees. The “In Memoriam” section of awards shows can, by nature, be a bit of a downer, but as a sing-along of Flack’s hit broke out, it really felt like a celebration of life. The Grammys are always at their best when it looks like people are having fun! And the audience clearly agreed—a shot of the crowd after the performance showed Este Haim literally bowing down. Hopefully it’s not another 20-plus years until Lauryn Hill is outperforming everyone else at the Grammys again.
Winner: Gaffes
Outside of Bad Bunny, the most prolific attendee at the 68th Grammy Awards may have been the humble gaffe. Things weren’t off to a great start when, before the main telecast even started, Glee alum Darren Criss awarded Best Dance/Electronic Album to [checks notes] FKA Twigs’s Ek-zoo-uh:
Come on, man, have some respect for Eusexua, one of the best albums of 2025! OK, but at least that one was kept off CBS—things would go smoothly during the televised ceremony, right? Well …
Let me defend Cher for a second: Is it not bizarre that they had her accept a lifetime achievement award, make an acceptance speech, and then present Record of the Year? I can’t remember ever seeing someone win an award only to then present another one. That’s confusing for anyone! Cher, of course, played it off extremely charmingly, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the last of her flubs.
Apparently mixing up the title and the artist while reading the Record of the Year card, she ended up announcing the award to a garbled version of Luther Vandross, rather than Kendrick Lamar and SZA for “Luther.” Welcome to the club, Cher—“The Grammy goes to Luther Vandross” is immediately going in the “My eyes see Oppenheimer” Hall of Fame.
Loser: TikTok
Last year’s Best New Artist race was a pop diva duel for the ages when Chappell Roan faced off against Sabrina Carpenter; this year’s slate of nominees was … more of a dance (trend) battle. If the Best New Artist medley performance sounded a lot like scrolling through your FYP, you’re not wrong: Hype House veterans Addison Rae and Alex Warren were there, as were Katseye (who was recently named “TikTok’s Global Artist of 2025”—perhaps a more prestigious award than anything that was given out on Sunday?) and Lola Young, whose viral hit “Messy” won Best Pop Solo Performance. Alas, the likes and clicks weren’t enough to snag the Best New Artist trophy—that went to Olivia Dean, the British soul-pop crooner who broke through stateside with her second album, The Art of Loving. For all of the 2020s, TikTok has held unmitigated influence over popular music—is that power slipping, or are the Grammys just out of touch? (OK, it’s probably the latter.) Either way, better luck next year, influencers!
Loser: Paramount (and Trevor Noah)
In more “Paramount losing things” news, this is the last year the Grammys will air on CBS for the foreseeable future—the show will start airing on Disney channels and streamers in 2027 as part of a 10-year deal. But this isn’t just a loss for Paramount—comedian Trevor Noah is also losing a regular gig. After six years helming the show, the host said on Sunday that this is his last Grammys. (Noah hasn’t blatantly said that he’s stepping away from his hosting duties because of the change in networks, but he does have a close relationship with Paramount due to his work on The Daily Show.)
Look, Noah hasn’t been a groundbreaking Grammys host, and he can maybe lean a bit overexcited—his opening monologue was essentially going from table to table and saying how awesome it was that everyone was there. (Kinda relatable!) But I can appreciate that he took a positive spin on his hosting approach when so many comedians often lean smugger and snarkier on awards shows. (Anyone who’s tired of Oscars hosts joking about the movies being long and boring will know what I’m talking about.) So I say happy trails, Trevor—I hope there are people you can gas up wherever you end up going next.
Winner: Nudity
Chappell Roan left Sunday’s ceremony empty-handed, but she still managed to turn heads on the Grammys’ red carpet. She arrived essentially topless, wearing only a sheer garment held up by nipple clamps. (OK, she looked great, but … does that hurt?) While Chappell went the ethereal route with her threadbare look, Justin Bieber’s nearly nude ensemble during his performance of “Yukon” evoked your college boyfriend playing 2K in a room furnished only by a patio chair:
It must be nice to roll right into bed after your Grammys performance.
