Bad Bunny made Grammys history on Sunday night. His genre-bending DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, a defiant love letter to his home island of Puerto Rico, became the first Spanish-language album to win album of the year.
Sitting alone as his name was called, the 31-year-old seemed overcome with emotion before walking onstage and addressing Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena in Spanish.
"Puerto Rico, believe me when I say we're way bigger than 100 by 35," he said, referring to the island's mileage. "There's nothing we can't accomplish. Thanks to God, thanks to the Academy, thanks to all the people who have believed in me throughout my whole career. To all the people who worked on this album. Thank you, mami, for giving birth to me in Puerto Rico."
The singer, who did not perform during the ceremony due to his upcoming presentation at next week's Super Bowl halftime show, went on to dedicate the award "to all the people who had to leave their homeland, their country, to follow their dreams."
Kendrick Lamar, the other top contender for the night's biggest awards, set a record of his own. He became the most awarded rapper in Grammys history, winning five golden Gramophones on Sunday and bringing his total to 27. For the second year in a row, he scored the most wins of any nominated artist.
Earlier in the night, when presented with the best música urbana album award, Bad Bunny wasted no time in addressing the Trump administration's crackdown on immigrant communities.
"Before I say thanks to God, I'm gonna say ICE out. We're not savage. We're not animals. We're not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans," he said. "The hate gets more powerful with more hate. The only thing that's more powerful is love. We don't hate them – we love our people, we love our family. And that's the way to do it."
Other winners spoke up, too. Olivia Dean, who took home the award for best new artist, addressed her family's background in her speech. "I want to say I'm up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant. I wouldn't be here," the English singer said. "I'm a product of bravery and I think those people deserve to be celebrated." Dean delivered a bubbly performance of her soul-pop single "Man I Need" in a rundown of all eight best new artist nominees, cementing her status as a new kind of timeless pop star on the rise.
Billie Eilish, when accepting song of the year for "WILDFLOWER," made a more pointed statement. "As grateful as I feel, I honestly don't feel like I need to say anything but no one is illegal on stolen land," she said. Before walking offstage, she added, "F*** ICE."
In a throwback to the sound that built her career, Lady Gaga returned full force to her frenetic "Mother Monster" persona — a sound she hadn't presented at the Grammys in years — with a dazzling rock rendition of "Abracadabra." Later on, she won best vocal pop album for MAYHEM — her second trophy of the night. In her speech, she urged women artists to follow their intuition in male-dominated spaces.
"I just want to say for women in music that I know sometimes when you're in the studio with a bunch of guys it can be hard. So, I urge you to always listen to yourself and always fight for your ideas," she said. "Fight for your songs. Fight for yourself as a producer. Make sure that you are heard loudly."
Making her Grammys stage debut, Reba McEntire joined Brandy Clark and Lukas Nelson for a heartfelt version of her song "Trailblazer," kicking off the in memoriam portion of the evening. The tributes ranged from a rousing Black Sabbath cover in honor of Ozzy Osbourne — delivered by Post Malone, Slash, Andrew Watt, Chad Smith and Duff McKagan — to a star-studded celebration of D'Angelo and Roberta Flack, led by Lauryn Hill and featuring electrifying solos from Raphael Saadiq, Bilal and Leon Thomas.
Other outstanding performances of the night included Tyler, The Creator's transition from a black and white "Thought I Was Dead" through "Like Him" and into a literally explosive "Sugar On My Tongue," representing his two eligible albums up for awards on Sunday and paying homage to Michael Jackson.
In his first major public performance in several years, Justin Bieber delivered a stripped down rendition of "YUKON," literally and musically — clad in only a satin pair of boxer shorts and slouchy socks, he appeared to be looping his guitar live as he stood on an otherwise bare stage. Bruno Mars played twice: he opened the ceremony with a rock-fueled rendition of the nominated song "APT." alongside Rosé, and later pivoted to a full-band funk groove with "I Just Might."
Earlier on Sunday, during a pre-show ceremony where the majority of awards are handed out, several artists took home their first-ever Grammys, including Clipse, The Cure, FKA twigs, Kehlani and Tyler Childers.
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