The 2026 Grammy Awards wasn’t just a celebration of hits — it also brought the hits all night.
Some of the biggest artists on the planet took the stage to perform, including Sabrina Carpenter, Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber — while even more superstars were honored with trophies or performed in the In Memoriam tributes. And all the while, Trevor Noah kept the jokes landing, the audience energy was high and Cher continued to demonstrate why she is the icon, even while delivering one of the more memorable bloopers in recent awards show history.
Read on for some of the highest highs, most full-body cringes and silly asides we’ll still be talking about all day Monday: The best, worst and most oops moments of the Grammys.
Best Way to Bring the Energy: Rosé and Bruno Mars
Though (at least in my house) it seems “APT.” has never gone off rotation, the two musicians made it feel brand-new with this revved-up version of their super-smash song. So now this version will be the one on constant rotation.
Best Slutty Little Glasses: Kendrick Lamar
By now, it seems almost a given that we’re going to catch at least one hot guy wearing one adorable pair of spectacles at every major event. We had Andrew Garfield, then Jonathan Bailey, and tonight, Kendrick Lamar made our own glasses fog up.
Best Cute Conveyor Belt: Sabrina Carpenter
“Manchild” is fun enough on its own — but Sabrina Carpenter keeps topping herself by performing it on increasingly inventive sets. Tonight’s interactive airport gave us some ideas for how to pass the time on our next flight delay.
Best New Artists: The Best New Artists
All eight nominees for Best New Artist (The Marias, Addison Rae, Katseye, Lola Young, Alex Warren and, pictured above from left, Sombr, Leon Thomas and Olivia Dean) got a moment to shine and show off just why they earned their nomination. Though Dean walked home with a trophy, all of the performances were winners.
Oops: Alex Warren’s Earpiece Issues
Of course, while the medley was a success, Alex Warren still looked visibly disappointed to have experienced sound issues that caused him to be singing out of sync with the chorus towards the beginning of “Ordinary.” At least he still got to ascend at the end!
Worst Timing: The CBS Censors
From silencing long stretches of “Manchild” despite the fact that Sabrina Carpenter was self-censoring, to completely missing the actual F-bomb in Lola Young’s acceptance speech, whoever was manning the “bleep” button clearly didn’t limber up ahead of time.
Loudest Audience Reaction: Bad Bunny’s Speech
Many artists took their moment onstage to acknowledge the tense political moment to cheers from the crowd, but the standing ovation was deafening for Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny, whose upcoming appearance at the Super Bowl has earned backlash in conservative media.
“Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say ICE out. We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens—we are humans, and we are Americans. Also, I wanna say to the people: I know it’s tough not to hate these days, and I was thinking sometimes we get contaminado. I don’t know how to say that in English. The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love. We have to be different. If we fight, we have to do it with love. We don’t hate them. We love our people, we love our family, and that’s the way to do it—with love. Don’t forget that, please. Thank you. Thank you, God, and thank you to the Grammys,” he said.
Worst Night to Try to Get to Sleep Early
Lady Gaga was back in fine form for her performance of “Abracadabra,” which is to say, she was just as theatrical and unsettling as she ever has been. From under what one editor described as a Pier 1 (RIP) lampshade she sang directly into our souls … and guaranteed we’ll be seeing this picture when we close our eyes tonight.
Oops, Over Here! Justin Bieber
No shirt, no shoes, no problem — we embraced this raw, stripped-down version of Justin Bieber’s “Yukon.” But for whatever reason, the camera seemed unable to capture an angle of the performance that wasn’t either right up his nose or directly of his back.
Most Fun One Can Have Onstage: Tyler, the Creator
Spanning multiple eras, getting a lecture from Regina King and putting himself through some serious onscreen pummeling, Tyler, the Creator’s performance was artistic, humorous and had something for everyone.
Most Fun One Can Have, Period: Jelly Roll
Meanwhile, nobody was happier to be in the room than Jelly Roll, who had a PDA-packed date night with wife Bunnie Xo, rejoiced in his three Grammy wins and was the most in-demand star for celebrities to snap selfies with, posing with everyone from Miley Cyrus to Pharrell Williams to Yungblud.
“I’m late to the carpet because it took me about 30 minutes to emotionally regulate,” the musician said of his excitement for the evening on E! ahead of the show. “I haven’t cried like that in a long time, happy tears. Just a cathartic cry.”
Oops … If Only She Could Turn Back Time: Cher’s Presenter Blunders
Cher was onstage to present Record of the Year, but after Trevor Noah handed her a Lifetime Achievement Award while she was up there, she took a brief detour to deliver some motivational words reflecting on her own career ups and downs. Then she sauntered away, before Noah called her back to remind her why she was up there in the first place.
She read off the nominees, then paused for a moment … before realizing the answer would be in her envelope, not on the teleprompter.
For the third act, she read off the name “Luther Vandross” — the artist sampled in Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “Luther,” the Record of the Year winner — before giggling through her flubs and mouthing “I’m so sorry.”
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