Cultural Commentary: This piece forms part of the recurring ‘Cultural Commentary’ series, which highlights the perspectives of Notre Dame students on salient issues. To inquire about writing a Cultural Commentary piece, please email ndirishrover@gmail.com.
Like all Grammy Awards, the 2026 Grammys were a mess, but nevertheless entertaining. This year saw some controversy (it would not be the Grammys without it), and, also as usual, everyone with access to the internet had something to say about the Awards, from PETA’s condemnation of Sabrina Carpenter’s live bird to critiques about Billie Eilish’s hypocrisy. If you didn’t spend hours of your precious study time scrolling through Grammy highlights, here is a quick recap of the night:
The Outfits: Unsurprisingly, many of the outfits were questionable. Per community guidelines, there will be no mention of Chappell Roan’s dress. Addison Rae sported a low-high dress (yes, the opposite of a high-low), which was rather unflattering in my opinion. Sabrina Carpenter went with a sheer floor length dress, which, compared to the night’s other bizarre outfits, screamed ‘modest is hottest.’ Justin and Hailey Bieber went with black suit and dress respectively, nicely accessorized with “ICE OUT” pins (more on that later). Olivia Dean stunned the crowd with a black and white ballroom dress with black sparkly fringe embellished around the waist—definitely the most elegant fit of the night.
The Performances: Sabrina Carpenter’s impressive performance of “Manchild” would have been perfect if not for one unforgivable sin: she used a bird. Animal rights organization PETA courageously called out Carpenter for her “stupid, slow, useless … and cruel” actions. They requested that the bird be returned to where it belongs, “flying free in the open sky.” The Rover has not verified if Carpenter has complied. “The ‘Manchild’ singer is giving childlike behavior,” PETA complained. I can admire the pun, but are we serious? The bird gimmick is the least of Carpenter’s issues.
This year’s Awards featured back-to-back performances from the nominees for Best New Artists, some more organized than others. During the medley, former TikTok star Addison Rae performed “Fame is a Gun,” which got more provocative as the performance went on. If you watch the replay, I’d recommend covering your eyes after the second verse. Alex Warren performed “Ordinary” but unfortunately had issues with the instrumentals being off in his earpiece, so he was singing off beat. It became a meme for good reason.
Of all the new artist performances, Olivia Dean’s “Man I Need” was by far the most put-together and the classiest. Her stage presence was amazing, and you could tell how ecstatic she was to perform. While not nearly as elaborate as other performances, the quality of the band, vocals, and set was incredible. Bruno Mars performed twice: “APT.” with Rosé and “I Just Might.” While “APT.” did not do Rosé and Bruno Mars justice, “I Just Might” was a fun performance and Bruno sounded outstanding.
Reba McEntire gave her first ever Grammy performance alongside Brandy Clarke and Lukas Nelson as a tribute to numerous late musical artists, including her stepson Brandon Blackstock. It was a heartfelt performance, and Reba was the perfect person to give the tribute.
The Awards: The first award given was for Best Rap Album, taken by Kendrick Lamar, making him the winningest rapper in Grammy history. (Editor’s note: Since when was “winningest” a real word?) Bad Bunny also made history as the first recipient of Album of the Year for a Spanish album.
Jelly Roll, who won the award for Best Contemporary Country Award with Beautifully Broken, gave a beautiful testimony to his faith, saying, “God had the power to change my life.” He concluded his speech by professing, “I love you, Lord.”
Best Pop Solo Performance winner Lola Young had the sweetest reaction to her first Grammy win. She was in utter disbelief, nearly falling over when she found out. Sure, it wasn’t the most professional, but it felt raw and relatable, which is uncommon amongst celebrities these days.
Snubs: Two-time Grammy winner Sabrina Carpenter was nominated for six Grammys this year, but left the show with zero wins. While some thought that Sabrina was cheated, her 2025 album was not Grammy-worthy, especially when compared to her 2022 album Emails I Can’t Send, which had far better lyrics. She has potential for future Grammy wins, but 2025 was not her year.
One Grammy win that shocked me was Billie Eilish’s “Wildflower” winning Song of the Year. Even though it was first released in the 2024 album Hit Me Hard and Soft, it was released as a single in 2025, making it eligible for this year’s ceremony. Nevertheless, it was annoying to see a song that could have been nominated a year ago win Song of the Year. “Luther,” “APT.,” and even “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters should have won the Grammy before “Wildflower” did.
Now for the elephant in the room—the politics. From the get-go, celebrities showed up to the red carpet sporting black and white “ICE OUT” pins. Many celebrities also addressed the recent national controversies surrounding ICE and immigration in their speeches. However, ICE was mentioned so much and so irrelevantly that it was hard to tell if these celebrities were truly genuine. For some, like Best New Artist winner Olivia Dean, the mention of immigration just felt forced. Dean said in her victory speech, “I want to say I’m up here as a daughter of an immigrant. … I’m a product of bravery, and I believe those people deserve to be celebrated.”
One authentic speech that should be acknowledged was Bad Bunny’s address after winning Album of the Year: “Hate gets powerful with more hate. … If we fight we have to do it with love. … We don’t hate [ICE].” I think that this is the most admirable thing that was said all night. Liberals and conservatives alike have an issue with forgetting how to love those who disagree with them. Whether you agree with Bad Bunny’s position or not, it is good to recognize the truth in his speech, a sentiment which stands in stark opposition to Billie Eilish’s insipid “F— ICE.” Some have also pointed out the slight hypocrisy of Eilish saying, “Nobody is illegal on stolen land” whilst owning a gated mansion worth millions on the ancestral land of the Tongva tribe.
The celebrities present also made sure to call-out the “Queen of Rap” and 12-time Grammy nominee Nicki Minaj for her support of the Trump administration. Within the first 10 minutes of the show, Trevor Noah pointed this out as celebrities cheered for Minaj’s absence. All of these efforts of activism and erasure of anything conservative seemed entirely performative. Of course Billie Eilish would say a generic political slogan and the Biebers would wear the “ICE OUT” button… because if they did not, they might be treated like Nicki Minaj.
The 68th annual Grammy Awards made me feel all the feels: laughter, cringe, shock, awe, confusion, and joy. I learned where to not get fashion advice, was reminded of some good tunes from the past year, eyerolled at the performative speeches, and got to see some phenomenal performances from my favorite artists. Even though it’s the same year by year, the Grammys never cease to entertain me.
Aly Rothfus is a freshman Gateway student studying history. In her free time, you might catch her singing karaoke in a Hes study room or at Cafe J getting an iced brown sugar latte. If you want to hear any hot takes on coffee or music you can reach her at arothfus@nd.edu.