The 68th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held in Los Angeles, recognizing achievements across 96 categories in the music industry. The event featured multiple performances and saw Bad Bunny receive Album of the Year for Debà Tirar Más Fotos. Billie Eilish was awarded Song of the Year for "Wildflower," and Kendrick Lamar with SZA won Record of the Year for "Luther." Olivia Dean was named Best New Artist.
Event Overview
The ceremony took place on a Sunday, with the main telecast broadcast from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. This followed a Premiere Ceremony held at the Peacock Theater. Darren Criss hosted the Premiere Ceremony, where the majority of the 96 Grammy categories were announced.
Trevor Noah hosted the main telecast for his sixth and final time, which was scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
Starting next year, the Grammy Awards are scheduled for exclusive simulcast on ABC, Hulu, and Disney+, all subsidiaries of The Walt Disney Company.
Key Nominations
Kendrick Lamar led the nominations with nine nods, which included a nomination for Album of the Year for his album GNX. Lady Gaga, Jack Antonoff, and Cirkut each received seven nominations.
Nominees for Album of the Year included Bad Bunny, Clipse, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Leon Thomas, Sabrina Carpenter, Tyler, the Creator, and Kendrick Lamar.
Performances
Performers for the ceremony included Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Sabrina Carpenter, and Clipse. A medley segment featured performances by Best New Artist nominees, who included Addison Rae, KATSEYE, Alex Warren, Leon Thomas, Lola Young, Olivia Dean, and sombr.
Tribute performances featured Lauryn Hill honoring D'Angelo and Roberta Flack, while Reba McEntire, Brandy Clark, and Lukas Nelson performed during the In Memoriam segment.
Major Award Recipients
- Album of the Year: Bad Bunny — Debà Tirar Más Fotos
- Record of the Year: Kendrick Lamar feat. SZA — "Luther"
- Song of the Year: Billie Eilish — "Wildflower"
- Best New Artist: Olivia Dean
Selected Winners by Category
Pop & Dance Categories- Best Pop Solo Performance: Lola Young — "Messy"
- Best Pop Vocal Album: Lady Gaga — Mayhem
- Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande — "Defying Gravity"
- Best Dance Pop Recording: Lady Gaga — "Abracadabra"
- Best Dance/Electronic Recording: Tame Impala — "End of Summer"
- Best Dance/Electronic Album: FKA twigs — Eusexua
- Best Rap Album: Kendrick Lamar — GNX
- Best Rap Performance: Clipse — "Chains & Whips" (ft. Kendrick Lamar & Pharrell Williams)
- Best Rap Song: Kendrick Lamar ft. Lefty Gunplay — "TV Off"
- Best Melodic Rap Performance: Kendrick Lamar & SZA — "Luther"
- Best Contemporary Country Album: Jelly Roll — Beautifully Broken
- Best Country Solo Performance: Chris Stapleton — "Bad As I Used to Be"
- Best Country Song: Tyler Childers — "Bitin’ List"
- Best Traditional Country Album: Zach Top — Ain’t In It for My Health
- Best R&B Album: Leon Thomas — Mutt
- Best R&B Performance: Kehlani — "Folded"
- Best Traditional R&B Performance: Leon Thomas — "Vibes Don’t Lie"
- Best R&B Song: Kehlani — "Folded"
- Best Rock Album: Turnstile — Never Enough
- Best Rock Performance: Yungblud — "Changes (Live from Villa Park, Back to the Beginning)"
- Best Metal Performance: Turnstile — "Birds"
- Best Rock Song: Nine Inch Nails — "As Alive as You Need Me to Be"
- Best Alternative Music Album: The Cure — Songs of a Lost World
- Best Alternative Music Performance: The Cure — "Alone"
- Best Música Urbana Album: Bad Bunny — Debà Tirar Más Fotos
- Best Global Music Performance: Bad Bunny — "EoO"
- Best African Music Performance: Tyla — "PUSH 2 START"
- Best Jazz Performance: Chick Corea, Christian McBride & Brian Blade — "Windows (live)"
- Best Orchestral Performance: Andris Nelsons, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra) — Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie
- Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media: Sinners
- Best Music Video: Doechii — "Anxiety"
- Best Song Written for Visual Media: Huntr/x — "Golden" (from KPop: Demon Hunters)
- Producer of the Year: Cirkut
- Songwriter of the Year: Amy Allen
- Best Spoken Word Poetry Album: Skillz: Words for Days, Vol. 1
- Best Folk Album: I’m With Her — Wild and Clear and Blue
- Best Comedy Album: Nate Bargatze — Your Friend, Nate Bargatze
New Categories Introduced
New categories introduced for this year's awards included Best Album Cover. Additionally, the Best Country Album category was divided into Best Contemporary Country Album and Best Traditional Country Album.