To me, watching this year’s Grammy’s felt like a much different experience than that of past years. Often, watching awards shows can feel a bit like watching a spectacle glorifying the rich, famous, and powerful. Recently, as political matters continue to escalate with violence and fear-mongering, sitting down to watch these events has felt farther from a celebration of the art that moved the world in the past year, and instead felt more akin to witnessing a Hunger Games-esque ‘Capitol’ celebration. In such a time of turmoil, all eyes were on the 2026 Grammy’s to set the tone for the awards show season; in a surprising turn of events, this awards show felt, appropriately, more human than I had anticipated.
The differences between this year’s festivities and previous Grammy’s seemed to start before the show, on the famous red carpet. Of course, the fashion was extravagant and daring, notably with Chappel Roan’s risque look dropping jaws, but the more eye-catching element of this year’s celebrities’ carpet walks was the dominating presence of ‘ICE OUT’ pins. These black and white political pins adorned lapels, ensembles, and, if you are Lady Gaga, hairpieces, of all styles. Though subtle, these pins started conversations with reporters and made a clear statement to the audience at home. To me, this choice served as much-needed acknowledgement from these celebrities that they are aware of the world beyond their privacy bubble, as well as aware of their influence on the world and the layperson watching at home.
Perhaps, also, this heightened sensation of awareness coming from these celebrities was due to host Trevor Noah’s quick-witted, yet approachable, sense of humor. He opened this show with an on-the-nose comparison denoting how regressive American society seems to be, reflecting by saying, “Back in 1999, the president had a sex scandal, people thought computers were about to destroy the world, and Diddy was arrested. Boy, how times have changed.” His remarks throughout the night were rooted in bold digs at the state of American politics, as well as tongue-in-cheek criticisms of pop culture’s rich and famous, whom the Grammy’s might have previously lauded, including references to Jeff Bezos’ wedding and Nicki Minaj’s absence from the show. Noah seemed to justify his quips by explaining that this event would likely be his last opportunity to host, citing “changes in Washington” as a likely prevention factor of him hosting again.
Yet, Noah’s narration reminded me of another famous comedian and award show host: Ricky Gervais. Gervais is notorious for his cynicism and apparent disgust for his own inclusion in the world of celebrity, never shying away from promoting that mentality during his hosting duties. Further, he openly mocked the facade celebrities have often used to inflate and misrepresent their ideologies through unsubstantiated, ‘for-show’ political involvement, claiming that this demographic is too far removed from reality to weigh in on anything. In fact, this year Gervais has continued his public criticism of celebrity involvement in politics by tweeting his dissatisfaction for the ample political statements at the 2026 Grammy’s, saying, “They’re still not listening.”
An interesting dilemma arises from this perspective, creating ground for contradiction and scandal: should artists be making a political statement at the Grammys? Are they really too out of touch from reality? This complicates a standard narrative that the heightened social status of these artists comes with a social obligation to use their influence for good.
After watching this year’s Grammy’s award show, I felt more connected to the artists in attendance than ever before. It felt like a step in the right direction, as a breath of relief that these artists, at the very least, don’t want to appear complacent, and that somehow still felt validating. To see their acknowledgement of the turmoil and danger the layperson faces in our day to day about their engagement, and I want to say that even if their activism is performative for the cameras, we might need that performance as much as we need their music.