Before the Grammys 2026 handed out a single statue, Bad Bunny had already made history at the awards show. Bad Bunny, who had three US Grammys on his shelf already, is the first Spanish-language artist ever to be nominated in the three biggest categories of the night: album of the year, record of the year, and song of the year. He scooped up five total nominations this year.
In his first televised win of the night, for best música urbana album (before the show, he was also announced as the winner of best global music performance), Bad Bunny delivered a heartfelt speech criticizing ICE’s anti-immigration activities.
“Before I say thanks to God, I gotta say ICE out,” he began. “We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans. Also, I will say to people, I know it’s tough to know not to hate on these days and I was thinking sometimes, we get contaminados [contaminated], I don’t know how to say that in English. Hate gets more powerful with more hate. The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love. So please, we need to be different. If we fight we have to do it with love. We don’t hate them. We love our people. We love our family, and that’s the way to do it: With love. Don’t forget that, please. Thank you.”
No matter how many statues he comes home with by the end of the night Sunday, there’s no doubting that Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is already having a banner year. The Debí Tirar Más Fotos singer is gearing up to headline the Super Bowl halftime show in a week’s time, a performance that’s as controversial as it is hotly anticipated. As Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on immigration and amps up ICE activity, recently with lethal consequences, the NFL’s pick for entertainment has drawn the ire of the MAGA set.
Bad Bunny has been vocal in his criticisms of both ICE and Trump, even saying that he chose not to include US dates on his most recent tour because he worried about fan safety amid ICE activity. Trump has been vocal in his own criticism, telling the New York Post recently that he wouldn’t be attending the Super Bowl, calling out both Bad Bunny and fellow halftime performer Green Day. “I’m anti-them,” Trump said. “I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible.”
Conservative group Turning Point USA has pledged to stage its own counterprogrammed “All-American Halftime Show,” though few details were confirmed a week before the day of the big game.
Bad Bunny didn’t just make an impression with his political statements from the Grammys stage: His corseted tuxedo, Daniel Roseberry’s first menswear effort for Schiaparelli, earned him a place on Vanity Fair’s Grammys 2026 best-dressed list.
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