Grammy winners 2026: Bad Bunny takes Album of the Year as Kendrick Lamar leads night

The 2026 Grammy Awards wrapped on Sunday, February 1, 2026, delivering a top-field shakeup at the very top of the show: Bad Bunny won Album of the Year, while Kendrick Lamar and SZA claimed Record of the Year and Lamar finished the night with the most trophies overall. The ceremony ran in prime time from 8:00 to 11:30 p.m. ET, following an earlier afternoon premiere ceremony where most categories were handed out.

Grammys 2026 winners in the top categories

Bad Bunny’s Album of the Year win stood out as a milestone moment for the academy’s biggest prize, while the broadcast’s marquee singles honors split between Kendrick Lamar’s collaboration with SZA and Billie Eilish’s songwriting win.

Beyond the “big four,” rap was again a headline driver: Kendrick Lamar swept the rap field and won Best Rap Album for “GNX,” reinforcing how central hip-hop remained to the main telecast conversation this year.

Kendrick Lamar Grammys 2026 and other major winners

Kendrick Lamar entered the night as the leading nominee and left as the most-awarded artist of the show, with his wins anchored by “Luther” and a clean run through rap categories. That combination—major-field validation plus genre-category dominance—has become the clearest blueprint for a “big night” at the Grammys.

Several other wins drew attention for what they signaled about where the academy’s voting is moving:

• Durand Bernarr earned a career-defining moment with his first Grammy, winning Best Progressive R&B Album for “BLOOM.”

• Lady Gaga added to her total with a pair of genre wins, including Best Pop Vocal Album for “Mayhem,” and a dance/pop honor tied to “Abracadabra.”

Meanwhile, Sabrina Carpenter’s Grammys 2026 storyline centered more on visibility than trophies: she was a prominent nominee and performer, but did not take home an award on the night.

Grammy nominations 2026 and the Album of the Year nominees

The 2026 Grammy nominations—covering an eligibility year that spanned late 2024 through much of 2025—set up a crowded Album of the Year race that mixed blockbuster pop, rap, and global stars. Bad Bunny’s win ultimately resolved one of the evening’s biggest suspense points: whether the academy would reward a mainstream, Spanish-language project with its highest album honor. It did.

The nominations picture also mattered for the telecast’s pacing: with so many top-category contenders also slated to appear on stage, the show leaned into performance-driven momentum rather than long stretches of back-to-back awards.

Grammy performers 2026 and standout onstage moments

The Grammys 2026 performers list was built around current nominees and high-wattage pop sets, with a notable showcase featuring the Best New Artist class. The show also leaned into legacy and tribute beats, weaving memorial segments into the broadcast’s middle and late acts.

One moment that quickly became widely discussed was the Record of the Year presentation: a brief onstage mix-up preceded Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s acceptance for “Luther,” then the show moved on without derailing the live broadcast.

Where to watch the Grammys 2026 replay, and what time the Grammys started

For viewers still asking where can I watch the Grammys 2026 or where to stream the Grammys 2026:

• Main show: aired Sunday, February 1, from 8:00 to 11:30 p.m. ET on the U.S. broadcast network that carries the Grammys each year, with a simultaneous stream on its companion subscription service.

• Premiere ceremony: began earlier on February 1 at 3:30 p.m. ET on official digital channels.

• Rewatch: the full show remained available to stream after the broadcast window, with access depending on subscription tier (live + on-demand for higher tiers; on-demand beginning the next day for basic tiers).

In other words, if you missed it live, you can still watch the full telecast after the fact—just not necessarily for free, unless it’s included in a trial or a bundled live-TV streaming package.

Sources consulted: Recording Academy, Associated Press, CBS News, Pitchfork