The artists who made history at the Grammy Awards 2026

For me, the Grammy Awards 2026 began and ended with Lady Gaga. I drifted into restless dreams with the image of her spectacular Alexander McQueen Fall 2009 outfit as she performed “Abracadabra,” the song that has now officially made her the first artist to win every award in the pop category. Still, the biggest night in the music industry was historic for many other artists as well. Ahead of the ceremony itself, Kendrick Lamar led with nine nominations and went on to win enough awards to break the major record previously held by Jay-Z. Although she had only two nominations this year, Billie Eilish surprised everyone with a win and also shattered an unexpected record. And for film lovers, perhaps the most notable news was that another legend joined the prestigious EGOT list. Steven Spielberg won his first Grammy, completing his collection of awards: Emmy, Oscar, and Tony. Below, we highlight the artists who made history at this year’s Grammy Awards.

Kendrick Lamar surpasses Jay-Z

A favorite rapper of the fashion world, Chanel knows it best, Kendrick Lamar became the most awarded rapper in Grammy history, winning Best Rap Album for GNX along with three additional awards, thereby surpassing Jay-Z’s former record of 25 statuettes. Lamar now has a total of 27 Grammys on his shelf, having also won Record of the Year for the song “Luther,” although, according to Cher, it was actually Luther Vandross who won.

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Steven Spielberg becomes an EGOT winner

The legendary film director received the award for Best Music Film as the producer of the documentary Music by John Williams during the pre-ceremony, officially becoming a recipient of the golden EGOT collection, as he already has three Emmy Awards, three Oscars, and one Tony in his archive. Spielberg is the 22nd person to achieve this honor, joining, among others, his frequent collaborator Rita Moreno.

A Song of the Year win for Billie

After having six nominations but no wins at the 2025 ceremony for the album Hit Me Hard and Soft, Billie Eilish won Song of the Year this year for the single “WILDFLOWER” from that same 2024 album. Not only was this win a surprise, but she and her brother and collaborator Finneas also made history as the first artists ever to win Song of the Year three times, following victories for “bad guy” in 2020 and “What Was I Made For?” in 2024. Congratulations!

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Lady Gaga confirms she is the queen of pop

That Lady Gaga is the next queen of pop in music history, even without Madonna’s endorsement, was proven once again. After winning Best Dance Pop Recording for “Abracadabra” during the pre-ceremony, Lady Gaga broke a unique record. She became the first artist in history to have won every category in the pop field, which includes Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Traditional Pop Album, Best Pop Duo or Group Performance, and Best Pop Vocal Album. She claimed the latter award once again this evening for the album MAYHEM, which brought her back into the spotlight at the beginning of March.

Bad Bunny pushes boundaries

By winning the biggest award of the night, Album of the Year for Debí Tirar Más Fotos, Bad Bunny became the first Spanish-language artist to win in this category. Symbolically and movingly, he delivered the first part of his speech in Spanish, paying tribute to his homeland, Puerto Rico, while also sending an important political message with the words: Before I thank God, I will say this: ICE out. We are not savages, we are not animals, we are not aliens. We are people and we are Americans. Prior to this win, he was also the first Spanish-language artist to receive nominations for Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year in the same year.

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The first Grammy for K-pop

K-pop has finally broken through a major barrier. During the pre-ceremony, the song “Golden” from the Netflix film KPop Demon Hunters won the award for Best Song Written for Visual Media, becoming the first K-pop song in history to win a Grammy. Songwriter EJAE, who is also one of the three vocalists of the film group HUNTR/X, called it a historic moment on the red carpet.