HISTORY AT GRAMMYS

LOS ANGELES. —Bad Bunny has become the first Latin artist to win Album Of The Year in the 68-year history of the Grammy Awards, at a ceremony where dozens of stars railed against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

The shape-shifting musician beat Lady Gaga and Kendrick Lamar to win the night’s top prize for his sixth album, Debí Tirar Mas Fotos, a personal and powerful exploration of Puerto Rico’s musical history.The 31-year-old, who will headline next week’s Super Bowl half-time show, dedicated the award to immigrants who “leave their home, land, their country, to follow their dreams”.

British singer Olivia Dean, who was named best new artist, also used her speech to defend immigrants.“I’m up here as the granddaughter of an immigrant,” said the singer, whose grandmother Carmen was part of the Windrush generation.

“I’m a product of bravery and I think those people deserve to be celebrated. We’re nothing without each other.”

Bad Bunny took home three awards in all — a significant milestone for Latin music which, for many years, was sidelined by the Anglophone music industry. But the advent of streaming has helped to demolish language barriers. Last year, Bad Bunny was the most-played artist on Spotify, racking up a staggering 19.8 billion streams.

Accepting album of the year, the artist addressed the themes of grief and loss that informed his latest record (whose title translates as “I should have taken more photos”).

“For all the people who have lost someone close to them and had to continue forward with lots of strength, this award is for you,” he said in Spanish.

It is the first time a Spanish-language record has been named album of the year.

Stars including Kehlani, Gloria Estefan and Billie Eilish also spoke in support of immigrants, while many musicians wore badges reading “ICE out” on the red carpet.

Meanwhile, other British winners included Lola Young, Yungblud, FKA Twigs, Cynthia Erivo and The Cure. Bad Bunny, real name Benito Ocasio, seemed to be stunned when Harry Styles read out his name for the album of the year prize.

He took a few moments to collect himself before walking to the stage, and there were tears in his eyes during his speech. Earlier, winning the prize for best musicá urbana album, he had spoken more directly about his feelings towards immigration enforcement.

“Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ICE out,” he said, referencing weeks of tension in Minneapolis, including the deaths of two civilians. “We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens, we are humans and we are Americans.”

Billie Eilish, winning song of the year for Wildflower, also addressed the turmoil gripping America. “It’s just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now,” she said.

“And I feel like we just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting. Our voices really do matter, and the people matter.”

Wildflower, a sleeper hit from Eilish’s 2024 album Hit Me Hard And Soft, became her third track to win song of the year this decade.

She previously won in 2020 for her breakthrough single, Bad Guy, and in 2021 for the ballad Everything I Wanted. Earlier in the ceremony, Kendrick Lamar won best rap album for GNX, at which point he overtook Jay-Z as the rapper with the most Grammy Awards— 26 in total.

He later added a 27th trophy to his shelf, winning record of the year for Luther, a soulful duet with R&B singer SZA.

Cher’s confusion

Their victory came after a confusing couple of minutes onstage at the Crypto.com arena in Los Angeles. Cher, who had just received a lifetime achievement prize, was supposed to announce the record of the year nominees — but she left the stage instead.After being called back to complete her duties, the star was unsure who had won.

“They told me it would be on the teleprompter,” she said, before opening the envelope and misreading the card. For a moment, it appeared the prize had gone to the late soul singer Luther Vandross, who was sampled on Lamar’s track.

Lamar took the fumble in his stride, and paid tribute to Vandross on stage.

“I gotta take my time, because (he’s) one of my favourite artists of all time,” said the rapper, revealing that he had shed “a tear” when he received permission to sample Vandross’s vocals.

“They said ‘no cursing’, though,” he recalled. “That was the only thing. We couldn’t curse on it.”

Lady Gaga’s Mayhem was named best pop album, and the star rushed to the stage to breathlessly accept her 16th golden gramophone trophy.

“Every time I’m here, I still feel like I need to pinch myself,” she said. Gaga also used her speech to urge women in music to stand up for their creative vision, noting:

“I know sometimes when you’re in the studio with a bunch of guys, it can be hard.

“I urge you to… fight for your songs, fight for yourself as a producer [and] make sure that you are heard loudly.”

Meanwhile, Golden, a hit song from the film KPop Demon Hunters, became the first K-Pop song to earn a Grammy.The inescapable earworm was named best song for visual media — but hopes for other K-Pop nominees, including singer Rosé and girl group Katseye, went unfulfilled. —BBC