The Grammy 2026 ceremony, the biggest award in the music industry, honored Brazilians Caetano Veloso and Maria Bethânia, Kendrick Lamar and was also marked by speeches by artists against ICE (North American immigration police) and strong speeches against President Donald Trump.
For Brazil, the night was historic, with the victory of Caetano Veloso and Maria Bethânia as Best Global Music Album for the album Caetano and Bethânia Ao Vivo, with the show from the joint tour they did in 2024/2025 and which filled stadiums in the country.
Caetano has already received the award in the past, but Bethânia became the first Brazilian singer to win a Grammy.
Caetano appeared in a video on social media moments after being awarded. He was lying in bed with his grandson, watching a cartoon. The singer commented:
“Did we win the Grammy? Oh my God!.”
Then he called Bethânia and said “hi, Betha! We won the Grammy”. She replied: “Lie!”
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Trump and ICE
The handover ceremony, broadcast around the world on Sunday night (1), was also marked by protests by artists against Donald Trump and the actions of ICE, the immigration police who have been “hunting” foreigners and who recently killed two Americans.
The evening’s host, comedian Trevor Noah, made several criticisms of the US president, who is mentioned many times in the Epstein files, released last week.
“This is a Grammy that every artist wants almost as much as Trump wants Greenland. Which makes sense, since Epstein’s island no longer exists, he needs another one to hang out with Bill Clinton on,” Noah said.
Trump reacted to the presenter’s speech in a post on Truth Social, his social network. He wrote:
“The Grammy Awards suck, no one watches it! The host, Trevor Noah, whoever he is, is as bad as Jimmy Kimmel. Noah INCORRECTLY said of me that Donald Trump and Bill Clinton went to Epstein’s island. WRONG!!! I can’t speak for Bill, but I’ve never been to Epstein’s island, I haven’t even come close. Until tonight, I’ve never been accused of having been there. It looks like I’m going to have my lawyers sue this pathetic, talentless idiot, and I’m going to sue him for a lot of money.” Get ready, Noah! I’m going to have a lot of fun with you. President DJT.”
But Noah wasn’t the only one to quote Trump negatively. Bad Bunny, Puerto Rican singer and one of the most popular singers today, took the stage to receive his award for Best Urban Music Album for Debí Tirar Más Fotos, and spoke about the persecution of immigrants promoted by the US government:
“We are not savages, we are not animals, we are not aliens. We are human beings and Americans. Hate strengthens hate. Only love is stronger than hate. So please, we need to be different.”
Bunny dedicated his win “to all the people who had to leave their homes to follow their dreams. To all the Latinos in the world, to all the artists who came before and who deserved this award. Thank you very much.” The singer received a lot of applause.
Singer Billie Eilish, who won the Grammy for Best Song of the Year for “Wildflower”, went to the microphone and commented on ICE’s performance:
“No one is illegal on stolen land. It’s really hard to know what to say and what to do right now, and I feel like here in this place we need to keep fighting and speaking and protesting. Our voices matter and people matter. And f**k ICE is all I want to say. Sorry.”
The biggest winner of the night was musician Kendrick Lamar, who won five awards: Best Rap Album, Best Melodic Rap Performance, Best Rap Song and Record of the Year.
