The 68th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony unfolded in Los Angeles with a night of spectacular victories and unexpected upsets, headlined by Kendrick Lamar’s remarkable five-award sweep and Bad Bunny’s triumphant capture of the coveted Album of the Year honor.
Kendrick Lamar solidified his status as a contemporary music titan by securing five golden gramophones, making him the ceremony’s most decorated artist for the second consecutive year. His collaborative masterpiece ‘Luther’ with SZA earned Record of the Year, while his innovative rap collection ‘GNX’ claimed Best Rap Album. Despite this dominance, the evening’s most prestigious award eluded him as Puerto Rican global phenomenon Bad Bunny captured Album of the Year for his critically acclaimed work ‘Debí Tirar Más Fotos’.
The British music scene celebrated early success with Yungblud’s victory for Best Rock Performance alongside legendary musicians Nuno Bettencourt and Frank Bello for their electrifying live rendition of ‘Changes.’ This win marked a significant moment for the UK artist on music’s biggest international stage.
In the pop categories, Lady Gaga’s ‘Mayhem’ secured Best Pop Vocal Album, while emerging talent Lola Young earned Best Pop Solo Performance for her raw and emotional track ‘Messy.’ The collaboration between Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande on ‘Defying Gravity’ received recognition for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
The ceremony highlighted remarkable diversity across genres, with Tyla winning Best African Music Performance for ‘Push 2 Start,’ and Natalia Lafourcade taking home Best Latin Pop Album for ‘Cancionera.’ The jazz world celebrated Samara Joy’s ‘Portrait’ as Best Jazz Vocal Album, while Sullivan Fortner’s ‘Southern Nights’ claimed Best Jazz Instrumental Album.
In the visual media categories, Ludwig Göransson’s score for ‘Sinners’ earned Best Score Soundtrack, while the animated film ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’ produced the winning track ‘Golden’ by Huntr/x for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
The awards also recognized technical excellence, with Cirkut earning Producer of the Year and Amy Allen receiving Songwriter of the Year honors for their contributions to multiple chart-topping projects throughout the eligibility period.