By Sofia Abdelrahim

Award season is something that many pop-culture obsessed people, like myself, eagerly anticipate. This year was no disappointment. The Grammys were jam-packed with many talented artists this year, like Zara Larsson, Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter, and much more. However, with the Grammys comes controversy. There’s always going to be an audio malfunction, that one niche influencer who paid their way in, and of course, people getting snubbed.


Bad Bunny, who won Album of the Year for “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” had a lot of competition with other amazing contenders such as Justin Bieber for “Swag,” Sabrina Carpenter for “Man’s Best Friend,” Lady Gaga for “Mayhem,” Kendrick Lamar for “GNX,” Tyler, the Creator for “Chromakopia,” and more.
Bad Bunny was a good pick given that his album, as of February of this year, has garnered over 8.97 billion streams on Spotify. The album was able to exceed 7 billion streams within the first nine months of its release.


This win was very much deserved, considering the controversy surrounding his upcoming SuperBowl performance, to the point that he was personally attacked by President Donald Trump on social media. However, Spanish-speakers and non Spanish-speakers alike, felt connected to this album and Bad Bunny was able to transcend any sort of language barrier with this win.


The winner for Record of the Year was “Luther” by Kendrick Lamar featuring SZA. The song exceeded 1 billion streams on Spotify in June of 2025. As of February 5, it has 1,380,650,951 streams. Lamar’s song outperformed another popular track of his, “Not Like Us,” which was his previous personal record. Despite being released in 2024, Lamar’s “Luther” was releasedwithin the Grammy’s eligibility window. In order to be nominated for the 2026 Grammys, the music had to have been released between August 31, 2024, and August 30, 2025.


Olivia Dean won Best New Artist this year. Dean won from an impressive field of impressive artists including The Marias, Addison Rae, KATSEYE, Leon Thomas, Alex Warren, Lola Young, and sombr. There was not much doubt that Dean would win, however. Her second album, “The Art of Loving,” gained a lot of attention through TikTok. Especially her song “Man I Need.” It also helped that she opened for highly respected stars like Sabrina Carpenter.


Her music especially touched Gen Z through her lyrics about love and genuine connection, executed by way of jazz and contemporary music. She reflects the needs of our generation, making her the perfect winner for the best New Artist Grammy. “Man I Need,” has exceeded 600 million streams on Spotify, making it her most streamed song.


Some years, a single artist sweeps the major categories like Eilish did in 2020, when she won Album, Record, and Song of the Year, plus Best New Artist. This year, there was a bigger assortment of artists winning, however.


With that variety came many different speeches, some heartfelt and others political.
The winner for Song of the Year was “WILDFLOWER” by Billie Eilish. She had republished the song as a single in February of 2025 in order to be eligible for a Grammy. At the 2025 Grammys, her loss to Beyoncé caused a lot of backlash. Many felt that Eilish was snubbed, as many say this was her comeback.


During her acceptance speech, Eilish acknowledged the country’s political climate. “No one is illegal on stolen land,” Eilish said during her acceptance speech. “


Our voices really do matter, and the people matter, and f*** ICE is all I want to say, sorry.” This speech left Eilish facing calls to hand over her multi-million dollar Los Angeles home, however, many online argue that she does not technically own it if it is on “stolen land.”


These were just some of the top awards this year. There were many more amazing, deserving artists who won Grammys.The night was filled with performances, iconic outfits, memorable, and heartfelt speeches, which will be expected of next year.