There were some genuine high points at the 68th annual Grammys on Sunday night. And there was a lot of music. 18 distinct performers or combos, with a couple of them pulling double-duty, performing multiple numbers. However, though several of the performances flirted with transcendence, there wasn’t that one moment.
There was no Doechii doing “Catfish/Denial is a River.” There wasn’t Luke Combs bowing down to Tracy Chapman or Bad Bunny being Bad Bunny. (Though his running gag with host Trevor Noah was pretty funny.)
The recent tradition of having all eight Best New Artist nominees is a nice idea, but it needs a bit of a rethink. That was especially true this year when the nominees were more homogenous than they have been of late.
2026 Grammy performances, from the ordinary to the spectacular
Still, if it didn’t soar to the heights, the entire program provided plenty a fine moments. Here’s my ranking of all the performances at the 68th Grammy Awards.
20. Addison Rae – “Fame is a Gun”
Rae made a bigger splash on the red carpet in her eye-catching Alaia dress than she did on stage. Or on the loading dock, which is where she was stuck performing as the second of the new artists to sing.
19. KATSEYE – “Gnarly”
Hitting the stage right after Rae did not help the sextet KATSEYE. “Gnarly” is not a great stand-alone song. It’s barely a song at all – more of a beat, a pulse. It needs better staging to work. The performance was fine, but crammed into the middle of a bunch of other numbers, some of which had a very similar vibe, didn’t let the song develop.
18. Alex Warren – “Ordinary”
There’s a cheap joke to be made about this song being what its title implies. Another very odd production that began with Warren walking down an empty corridor to the stage and ended with him ascending to the rafters. This actually was the least memorable performance of the night, but he does have a nice voice, which bumped him up a tiny bit.
17. SOMBR – “12 to 12”
I am not a fan of SOMBR, so take this for what it’s worth. I don’t think “12 to 12” is much of a song, nor do I think his efforts to rev up the crowd were nearly as effective as those of several other performers. Still, I give him credit for effort. And for style.
16. The Marias – “No One Noticed”
The shoe-gazey, subdued performance had a sweet, hypnotic effect, owing to Maris Zardoya’s compelling vocals. They were significantly more effective than Khruangbin, who filled this outlier slot in last year’s lineup.
15. Leon Thomas – “Mutt”
Coming on after Addison Rae and KATSEYE, Thomas brought a genuine R&B vibe to the stage. It was more smooth than explosive.
14. Olivia Dean – “Man I Need”
Astute readers may notice that every song I’ve discussed thus far has come from the New Artists. I’m going back and forth on whether this is a function of a generally weak year for new artists or a problem with a format that crams them all together regardless of timing or flow. Perhaps a bit of both.
Dean – who eventually won the Grammy – was one of two new artists whose performances could stand up next to the veterans who took the stage during the night. She was classy and classic.
13 Tyler the Creator – “Sugar on My Tongue”
I’m splitting Tyler into two parts. He performed two distinct songs. “Sugar…” was the second, and I have to admit the concept simply flew a mile or two over my head. It was colorful. There was a corpse, a girl, some rather crude sexual imagery involving a gas pump, and an explosion. The song itself was decent.
12. Lauryn Hill – D’Angelo medley
I’m splitting Lauryn Hill’s two performances up as well. Unfortunately, I thought the basic idea to do medley tributes was misguided. The collection of talent was staggering but each artist came and went so fast, and each song received such a short snippet, that the momentum stopped every time it seemed ready to speed up. The songs and the talent still managed to transcend the awkwardness of the production, but it could have and should have been much better.
11. Justin Bieber – “Yukon”
Bieber’s vocal performance was outstanding. On a night of excess, there was a certain pleasure in seeing a touch of minimalism, right down to his costume, which was a pair of boxer shorts and nothing else. I think I might have enjoyed it even more if I wasn’t getting the vibe that Bieber really did not want to be there.
10. Reba McEntire – “Trailblazer” (In Memoriam)
McEntire performed on the Grammy stage for the first time ever, with Brandy Clark and Lukas Nelson backing her with guitars, along with a cello and violin. It was a beautiful song, performed by a genuine pro. If you score a ten by making listeners cry at a moment like this, I’m not sure it hit a home run. But a very solid double.
9. Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
Carpenter, as we have come to expect in the short time we have known her, put on a show. I don’t know why the performance was staged in an airport, but “Manchild” is insanely catchy, and she delivered a rousing version, even if her refusal to cut the profanity left a few awkward gaps in the music.
8. Lola Young – “Messy”
Young is the only New Artist nominee who made it out of the basement. Sitting at a piano, she delivered a simple rendition of her hit song that showcased her powerhouse voice and some brilliant neo-soul singing.
When she took the award for Pop Solo Performance over such monster names as Bieber, Gaga, Carpenter, and Roan, it was one of the biggest surprises of the night. But if you had heard her singing a couple of hours earlier, you would have agreed it was well-deserved.
7. Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
She premiered this song on last year’s Grammys, in a commercial spot. (Noah Kahan got to do that this year with his new song “The Great Divide” fronting a MasterCard commercial.) It was good then. It is good now.
6. Tyler the Creator – “Thought I Was Dead”
I’ve had debates with some people about how good this song it. I love it, and seeing it dramatically staged in a grim monotone color scheme makes me believe I am right, and the haters are wrong.
5. Lauryn Hill – Roberta Flack tribute
I had the same problem with this medley that I had with the D’Angelo tribute mentioned above. If anything, this one was even more disjointed, with star after star after star crowding the stage and singing for a few seconds before being displaced.
And then Wyclef Jean walked out of the audience with his guitar and they all eventually joined in on “Killing Me Softly,” a song which was major hit for both Flack and the Fugees. It was the single most transcendent moment of the night.
4. Clipse – “So Far Ahead”
With Pharrell Williams playing the role of preacher in front of a gospel choir and Pusha T and Malice delivering ferocious raps, this was a powerful way to close out the performances.
3. Bruno Mars – “I Just Might”
Sometimes things just aren’t that complicated. If you have a musical slot to fill and you have Bruno Mars available, don’t overthink it. You put him on stage and magic will happen. This blissful ‘70’s R&B throwback is just a small sampling of what he can do.
2. Rosé and Bruno Mars – “APT.”
And here’s another somewhat larger sample. This one, of course, features vocals by Rosé. This was an excellent choice to open the show. They got the energy in the room immediately cranked up to eleven.
1. Post Malone and friends – “War Pigs” (Ozzy Osborne tribute)
This is how you do a tribute. Get some outstanding talent and do a first-rate version of a classic song. The number began with Slash and Andrew Watt on guitar, while Duff McKagan and Chad Smith locked down the rhythm section. Then Post Malone came out to sing “War Pigs,” which has a relevance that will never go away, and seems particularly prescient today. I’m not sure it was truly transcendent, but it was some truly great rock and roll.