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Bad Bunny makes Grammy history as he wins best album
02nd February, 2026 08:45 AM
Bad Bunny, the shape-shifting Puerto Rican musician, has made Grammy Award history by becoming the first artist to win album of the year with an album sung entirely in Spanish.
He was rewarded for his sixth album, Debí Tirar Mas Fotos, a deeply personal exploration of Latin musical history that beat Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar and Sabrina Carpenter to the ceremony’s main prize.
The 31-year-old, who will headline next week’s Super Bowl halftime show, dedicated his award to immigrants, capping a ceremony where many artists railed against the US administration’s current immigration crackdown.
Among them was British star Olivia Dean, who was named best new artist.
“I’m up here as the granddaughter of an immigrant,” said the singer, whose grandmother Carmen was part of the Windrush generation.
“I’m a product of bravery, and I think those people deserve to be celebrated. We’re nothing without each other.”
Stars including Kehlani, Gloria Estefan and Billie Eilish also spoke in support of immigrants, while several stars wore badges reading “Ice out” on the red carpet.
Bad Bunny, real name Benito Ocasio, seemed to be stunned when Harry Styles read out his name for the album of the year prize. He took a few moments to collect himself before walking to the stage.
Even so, there were tears in his eyes as he dedicated the award “to all the people that had to leave their home, land, their country, to follow their dreams”.
Earlier, winning the prize for best musicá urbana album, he had spoken more directly.
“Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ICE out,” he said, referring to US immigration officers, after weeks of tension in Minneapolis, including the deaths of two civilians.
“We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens, we are humans, and we are Americans.”
Billie Eilish, winning song of the year for Wildflower, also addressed the current turmoil gripping America.
“It’s just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now,” she said.
“And I feel like we just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting. Our voices really do matter, and the people matter.”
Wildflower, a sleeper hit from Eilish’s third album, Hit Me Hard And Soft, became her third track to win song of the year this decade.
She previously won in 2020 for her breakthrough hit, Bad Guy, and in 2021 for the ballad, Everything I Wanted.
Earlier in the ceremony, Kendrick Lamar won best rap album for GNX, at which point he overtook Jay-Z as the rapper with the most Grammy Awards – 26 in total.
He later added a 27th trophy to his shelf, winning record of the year for Luther, a soulful duet with the R&B singer SZA.
The victory came after a confusing couple of minutes onstage at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Cher, who had just received a lifetime achievement prize, left the stage without reading out the nominees and was unsure how to find out who had won.
“They told me it would be on the teleprompter,” she said, before opening the envelope and misreading the card. For a moment, it appeared the prize had gone to the late soul singer Luther Vandross, who was sampled on Lamar’s track.
