On Sunday, Justin Bieber ascended the Grammys 2026 stage, marking his return to the awards show for the first time in four years. He wore a pair of silk underpants and socks for his stripped-down performance of “Yukon,” during which his wife Hailey Bieber looked on adoringly. During the performance, the camera caught her tapping her fingers in the universal sign for, as TikTok would say, “clock it.”
The last time the Canadian musician attended the annual ceremony was 2022, when he took the stage to perform an acoustic version of “Peaches” alongside Daniel Caesar and Giveon. This year, his album Swag garnered nominations for album of the year and best pop vocal album. He’s also up for best R&B performance for “Yukon” and best pop solo performance for “Daisies.”
Justin Bieber channels Tom Cruise in Risky Business with his intimate Grammys 2026 performance.Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Bieber walked the red carpet alongside Hailey, who last accompanied her husband to the awards show in 2022. The couple dressed in matching black, silver jewelry, and “ICE OUT” pins worn in protest of recent killings executed by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that have been happening across the country, particularly in Minneapolis.
It is a welcome return for the artist who has won two Grammys and has been nominated 27 times. Fifteen years ago, after losing best new artist to Esperanza Spalding in 2011, he took home his first statuette in 2016 for “Where Are Ü Now,” earning best dance recording with Skrillex and Diplo. That year, Bieber took the stage to perform “Where Are Ü Now” and “Love Yourself.” The following year, he earned a Latin Grammy Award for his global remix of “Despacito” with Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, which took home best urban fusion/performance.
Despite earning four nominations for his album Changes (2020) at the Grammys 2021, Bieber skipped the awards, joining artists like Nicki Minaj, The Weeknd, and Jay-Z in criticizing the annual ceremony. , Bieber took umbrage with the fact that the Recording Academy nominated his record in the pop category, instead of the R&B category. But a year later, in 2022, his album Justice (2021) was up for eight awards, including album of the year. Bieber attended and performed alongside Caesar and Giveon, but he left the evening empty-handed, losing to artists including Silk Sonic and Olivia Rodrigo.