Denunciations of ICE dominate a Grammy Award night that sees Bad Bunny emerge triumphant

ICE and the Trump administration we=ere the chief losers at last night's Grammy Awards, held in the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

Among the artists who spoke out against ICE was Bad Bunny, who became the first Latin artist to win Album of the Year at the Grammies.

Announced first as the winner of the award for Best Musicá Urbana Album, for his widely acclaimed Debí Tirar Mas Fotos, he spoke about what's currently happening in the United States of America.

"Before I say thanks to God," he said, "I'm going to say ICE out. We're not savages, we're not animals, we're not aliens, we are humans and we are Americans."

Bad Bunny aka Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio pipped Lady Gaga and Kendrick Lamar to win the night's top prize for what is his his sixth album, which has been described as a powerful exploration of the musical history of Puerto Rico, where Ocasio was born.

The 31-year-old Latino star is set to headline next week's Super Bowl half-time show. At the Grammies, he dedicated the award to immigrants who "leave their home, land, their country, to follow their dreams" – a further clear rejection of the current ICE campaign which targets immigrants, and has already resulted in two killings on the streets of Minneapolis.

Bad Bunny won three awards in all – in what was a major victory for Latin music – against which the Anglophone music industry has consistently discriminated.

With streaming effectively demolishing language barriers, Bad Bunny was the most-played artist on Spotify in 2025, racking up a phenomenal 19.8 billion streams.

Accepting the Album of the Year award, Bad Bunny talked about the experience of grief and loss that informed Debí Tirar Mas Foto (which translates as "I Should Have Taken More Photos").

"For all the people who have lost someone close to them," he said, speaking in Spanish, "and had to continue forward with lots of strength, this award is for you."

This is the first time that a Spanish-language record has been named Album of the Year.

Olivia Dean, the UK singer who was named Best Bew Artist, also made her feelings about ICE's suppression of immigrants plain.

"I'm up here as the granddaughter of an immigrant," Dean, whose grandmother Carmen was part of the Windrush generation, said. "I'm a product of bravery and I think those people deserve to be celebrated. We're nothing without each other."

Kehlani (the subject of a brilliant eponymous song by the Belfast rapper Jordan Adjetundi), Gloria Estefan and Billie Eilish were among the other artists who spoke in support of immigrants.

Eilish was also one of a number of artists who wore badges reading "ICE out" on the red carpet. Having snatched the Song of the Year gong for 'Wildflower', Eilish was characteristically honest and direct in her observations.

"It's just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now," she reflected. "And I feel like we just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting. Our voices really do matter, and the people matter."

'Wildflower', originally released on Eilish's 2024 album Hit Me Hard And Soft, became her third track to win Song of the Year since 2020 – when she first broke through at this level with 'Bad Guy'. Her second win was with 'Everything I Wanted' in 2021.

Kendrick Lamar won best rap album for GNX, becoming the rapper with the most Grammy Awards – 26 in total – thereby outstripping Jay-Z. He then added a 27th trophy to his list, snaffling the Record of the Year award for 'Luther', a soulful duet with R&B singer SZA. Presenting the award, hte ever-glamorous Cher slipped up by misreading from the envelope and announcing Luther Vandross as the winner before quickly correcting herself to name Lamar correctly

Lady Gaga's Mayhem was named Best Pop Album, notching up her 16th Grammy.

"Every time I'm here, I still feel like I need to pinch myself," she said.

Gaga went on to speak to and for women in music. "I know sometimes when you're in the studio with a bunch of guys, it can be hard," she reflected. "I urge you to... fight for your songs, fight for yourself as a producer [and] make sure that you are heard loudly."

The host for the night, Trevor Noah, risked the opprobrium of Donald Trump by highlighting his connections to the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein with whom the current President was photographed on a number of occasions. Needless to report, Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. He has not been accused of any crimes by Epstein's victims.

Noah quipped that Trump wants ownership of Greenland because "since Epstein's gone, he needs a new island to hang out."

Reacting later oh his own so called Truth Social platform, Trump insisted that he had "never been to Epstein Island, nor anywhere close, and until tonight's false and defamatory, statement, have never been accused of being there, not even by the Fake News Media.

"It looks," he added, "like I'll be sending my lawyers to sue this poor, pathetic, talentless, dope of an M.C., and suing him for plenty$... Get ready Noah, I'm going to have some fun with you!"

British winners on the night included FKA Twigs, who came dressed to kill, Lola Young, Yungblud, Cynthia Erivo and The Cure. Among those who were disappointed were Sabrina Carpenter and Justin Bieber. Doubtless, they will be back in the not too distant future...