Later this morning, as dawn descends on the hamlet of Punxsatawney PA where the thermometer currently reads a balmy 3 degrees, we will learn via a nocturnal mammal whether there will be only six more weeks of that sort of chill. Last night, we most certainly began a stretch of at least one week where another one will be a far bigger story.
Plenty of deserving winners graced the stage of Crypto.com Arena last night for the final Grammy Awards to be broadcast on CBS. There were plenty of fabulous moments, some gripping, a few emotional, at least one hilarious. Props to the teleprompter crew who allowed Cher to flub on the network on a Sunday night for the second time in the half-century (Google it, kids) and help educate the less musically knowledgable ones among us why Kendrick Lamar and SZA were deserving of Record of the Year and reminded the younger ones why Luther Vandross was pretty great in his day. Heartfelt kudos to Jelly Roll for his haul, and as for the Little Monsters who feverishly expected that Lady Gaga was going to run the table, at least you got a chance to revere her yet again for Best Pop Vocal Album. You’ll simply have to settle for the fact that she now has a mere 17 of those golden victrolas.
But far and away the night and the attention belonged to Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, the dapper dude better known as Bad Bunny. He was honored with one of the night’s signature awards–Album of the Year– for his scintillating Debí Tirar Más Fotos, the first time a Spanish-language album received such an honor. And it provided him the chance to kickstart a seven-day stretch where he will no doubt be in the headlines more than ever. CBS NEWS’ Kiki Intarasuwan took note of what her employer was broadcasting in a piece that reached far fewer eyeballs than did her subject in a subtly worded piece that dropped early today:
Bad Bunny used his Grammy acceptance speech on Sunday to denounce U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and call for the end of the ongoing immigration crackdown. “Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ICE out,”… “We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans.”. “Also, I want to say to the people, I know it’s tough to know, not to hate on these days,” Bad Bunny said. “And I was thinking, sometimes we get ‘contaminado,’ I don’t know how to say that in English. The hate get more powerful with more hate. The only thing that’s more powerful than hate is love.” I n closing, he said: “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 there’s a way to do it, with love, and don’t forget that.” His statement was met with applause and standing ovations.
He also provided one of the night’s more refreshing moments and one last opportunity for Trevor Noah to shine as the show’s host, as PEOPLE’s Jack Irvin and Madison E. Goldberg observed:
After continuously asking if Bad Bunny could perform…Noah convinced the Puerto Rican musician to sing a line from the title track of his album…as a salsa band made a grand entrance. Before the musician sang the lyric, Noah hinted at the song by translating the lyrics to English. “Wait, is that my song?” Bad Bunny asked with a smile….Noah said that he could not perform at the 2026 Grammys because of his “contract.” When Noah asked if Bad Bunny was “jealous” seeing other artists perform at the Grammys, he paused, before quipping, “No, maybe a little.”
It was a wonderful reminder of how genuine and endearing Bad Bunny is, at least to those not in locked goosestep with the informed opinions of one nearly octogenarian hate-watcher. Late last week ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler reminded us how at least one would-be power couple feel:
N LATE SEPTEMBER, the NFL announced that Puerto Rican superstar rapper and singer Bad Bunny, who has openly criticized the Donald Trump administration for its immigration policies, would perform this year’s Super Bowl halftime show. Five days later, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem admonished the NFL for its decision. “They suck, and we’ll win,” Noem told right-wing podcast host Benny Johnson, who had asked what message she wanted to send to the league. “They won’t be able to sleep at night because they don’t know what they believe. And they’re so weak, we’ll fix it.” Department of Homeland Security adviser Corey Lewandowski said on the same podcast: “It’s so shameful that they’ve decided to pick somebody who just seems to hate America so much to represent them at the halftime game.”
As you can now see, Bad Bunny is far more capable of articulating and expressing himself coherently and impactfully than people to whom English isn’t a second language, and he will indeed have the chance to continue his streak for a second consecutive Sunday night in front of the largest audience of his life and perhaps the largest to ever watch a halftime show. And yeah, I’m allowing for the whole Turning Point USA counterprogramming thingy. In an era where even older and less tech-savvy households now have several screens and devices at their disposals, even all of those millions who raced out to the movies to thrill to MELANIA–yes, including the ones who actually didn’t get paid to attend or may have been gifted seats by Jeff Bezos– will be able to multitask and propel Bunny to even greater prominence and potential impact.
And as THE ATHLETIC’s Jayna Bardahl shared yesterday, for a change the NFL is actually standing by their man:
NFL senior vice president and global head of major events Jon Barker detailed the league’s selection process and ambition for Bad Bunny’s upcoming performance. “What we really look at first and foremost is who’s the right artist for that moment,” Barker said. “And we absolutely 100 percent believe and know that Bad Bunny is the right artist for this moment, for this show. We’re already successful, having Bad Bunny a part of it.”
There are plenty of factors to consider when selecting a performer. Jay-Z and Roc Nation are known to value what is culturally relevant at the time of the show, and what might resonate with the specific host city. Barker added entertainment value and global reach as other pillars of selection, and said early rumblings of Bad Bunny as the headliner were “met with sheer excitement.”
“We always say football is for everybody. And so is music. Music is for everybody,” Barker said. “Between (the NFL), Roc and eventually who that artist is, we’re all unified in that mission, which is to deliver a global entertainment moment that really unifies the world around this sport and this game and that particular moment in time.”
America’s Number One Couch Potato may not be all that thrilled about all of this. He doubled down on the bitching and moaning when he declared that the Bay Area was too much of a schlep for him to show up in person. But no doubt he’ll be watching. He apparently watched the Grammys last night, too. Quelle surprise, he developed an even greater dislike for Bunny’s comedy partner Noah, enough to send him in a Truthing Tourette where apparently his legal beagles will be adding yet another person of color with better writers than he has access to to their hit list. As PENNLIVE.com’s Brian Linder reported, this was the straw that broke the elephant’s back:
“Song of the Year — that is a Grammy that every artist wants almost as much as Trump wants Greenland, which makes sense because Epstein’s island is gone,” Noah said late in the show. “He needs a new one to hang out with Bill Clinton.”. “Oh, I told you it was my last year,” Noah added as the crowd reacted. “What are they going to do about it?”
May Senor Ocasio take that lead.
Until next time…