Since 2025’s historic Grammys, many people had an eye out for the newest nominees of the 2026 season. From Beyonce winning her first Album of the Year to Kendrick Lamar gathering Grammys like collectables, history was made with every announcement of the night.
Another monumental win went to Chappell Roan for Best New Artist, making history for queer artists and consumers alike. Followed with a huge theatrical performance, it was truly a night to remember.
A year later, Chappell Roan passes the crown to music’s sweetheart, Olivia Dean. Her hit record, “Man I Need,” stole the hearts of established musicians, music connoisseurs, and essentially anyone who had not heard her unique sound yet. Though “Man I Need” boosted her visibility, her career started a decade ago, when she began to craft a discography I would describe as straight from heaven. Her song “It Isn’t Perfect But It Might Be” played at the end of the Bridget Jones movie, finishing it off with the whimsical and hopeful feel of having your life be truly yours again.
One song that has always stuck with me, though, is Carmen. Coming last but never (ever) least on her 2023 album Messy, the song is a message of gratitude and celebration for her grandmother, who immigrated to the UK from Guyana at only 18 years old to build a bigger life for herself and her children.
“Carmen” opens with an audio from her grandmother describing how scary it was for her to immigrate on her own to a new continent. The inflection in Carmen’s voice almost makes you feel the memories with her, and envision how it’d be to leave all you know and love behind for a future that is not here yet. Immediately after, Dean pays her respect, gratitude, and love for her grandmother’s contributions and bravery, which have truly gone unnoticed in the world we currently live in. In Dean’s words, “there’s no way to know how to make a home in someone else’s motherland” which rings true no matter where you are from, or where you end up.
This message holds a powerful and stinging message with the brutality we are witnessing daily from ICE. Innocent and undeserving immigrants’ lives are in the hands of merciless, cruel, and half-trained “officers” with a personal agenda to fulfill. Every day, new stories, footage, and heartbreak flood the media with another senseless killing, beating or injustice. And with no shame or second thought, we see ICE separating families, “losing” people during deportations, raiding former safe spaces, and much more.
Celebrities against this terrorization wore “Ice Out” pins throughout the 2026 Grammys show. Notably, one of the largest awards went to Bad Bunny for Album of the Year: Debi Tirar Mas Fotos. A love letter to his home, Puerto Rico, a sign of hope for all Latinos and immigrants, and a breath of fresh air in these times, his album changed the world in every language possible. Upon announcing his victory, Bad Bunny was immediately brought to tears and gave thanks to all the people and culture who made it all possible.
Olivia Dean made sure to take a similar approach in her acceptance speech too. With teary eyes she says “I’m up here as the granddaughter of an immigrant…I’m a product of bravery and I think those people deserve to be celebrated. We’re nothing without each other.” Her message was not for show or for fear or cancellation, but a true reflection of her story. In the chorus of “Carmen,” she sings, “You’re stronger than I’ll ever be, never got a Jubilee, I’ll throw it for you Carmen” to express how much celebration we should have for the work, dedication, and bravery only an immigrant can attest to.
Olivia most definitely lived up to her promise, and in a sense, Bad Bunny is fulfilling that promise too. With this history being made just a week before the 2026 Super Bowl, it is a glimpse into what joy will be brought during Bad Bunny’s halftime show. His heartwarming trailer features all types of people, dances, and cultures, and finishes with the words “the world will dance.”
For lack of better words, Bad Bunny’s performance will not only be a sign of resistance, but a time for us to simply just dance and have one party all together—a jubilee dedicated to the Carmens of the world. For those who go unseen and unheard, for those who create new opportunities and life, and for those who built the world we have today—something so simple yet so crucial in a time where our hearts feel heavier and the skies seem darker.
From my experience, the hate and pushback we see against immigrants comes from a place of ignorance about who they are. And to that, I say it is crucial to make yourself and your communities aware of the truth. Find it within yourself to see these moments as more than a good soundbite, but a call for unity when our friends and neighbors are suffering daily.
Between Olivia Dean making Black history and Bad Bunny being a beacon of hope in these nightmarish times, I truly believe the 2026 Grammys is a sign that hope is not to be lost. Both of these artists fought to be in the spaces they inhabit to give us music filled with empowerment. Now, they’ve made history that brought thousands of people to tears. That is the true value of representation and giving flowers where they are due. For Black women, for immigrants, for those we’ve lost, and for those to come, the Grammys gives reassurance that the fight is not over and that we are more than the hate we face.