‘KPop Demon Hunters’ makes K-pop history at 68th Grammys
K-pop scored its first Grammy with "Golden" and many winners of the evening called out ICE in their acceptance speeches
(L-R) Audrey Nuna, EJAE, Rei Ami, and Mark Sonnenblick attend the 68th GRAMMY Awards on February 01, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Words by Daniel Anderson
Hosted for the final time by Trevor Noah at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena, the 68th Grammy Awards on Sunday evening celebrated a mix of standout performances and historic wins for Asian diasporic artists.
The evening kicked off with a high-energy collaboration as Rosé and Bruno Mars performed their song “APT.” Rosé was nominated three times for the track, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Mars returned later in the evening for a solo performance of his latest hit, “I Just Might.”
A landmark moment for K-pop came as songwriters Ejae, Teddy Park, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo, and Mark Sonnenblick of KPop Demon Hunters, alongside the team behind Huntr/x, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami, took home the Grammy for Best Written Song for Visual Media for “Golden.” This marked the first time a K-pop song has won a Grammy. Though “Golden” also received nominations for Song of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, it lost to Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell’s “Wildflower” and Cynthia Erivo with Ariana Grande’s “Defying Gravity,” respectively.
Speaking to the press backstage, Ejae reflected on the significance of the win: “Growing up, people didn’t know where Korea was. Singing the Korean lyrics word by word, it means so much. I think this award is about that representation. Today’s about celebrating culture.”
A surprise came when Lola Young, of mixed Chinese descent, won Pop Solo Performance for her song “Messy,” beating established stars including Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Sabrina Carpenter, and Chappell Roan. Young also performed as part of the Best New Artist medley, alongside fellow nominee KATSEYE, who performed “Gnarly.”
Laufey earned her second Grammy in Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for A Matter of Time, having won her first in 2024. In her acceptance speech, she highlighted the importance of arts education, telling the audience: “I owe everything to my music education…we cannot cut arts funding, it’s so important. What you all do here is so important. I love you all so much.”
Instrumental duo ARKAI, consisting of Jonathan Miron (violin) and Philip Sheegog (cello), both of mixed Asian heritage, celebrated their first Grammy win for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album with Brightside.
Other notable winners included Tyla, who took home Best African Music Performance for “Push 2 Start,” and Yo-Yo Ma, who won Best Classical Instrumental Solo for Shostakovich: The Cello Concertos, with Andris Nelsons conducting. The band Turnstile, with drummer Daniel Fang, won two Grammys for Best rock album for Never Enough and best metal performance for “Birds.” Outside of music, the Dalai Lama earned a Grammy for Spoken Word Album with Meditations: Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Kehlani, who is of mixed Filipino heritage, won two Grammys for R&B Song and R&B Performance for “Folded.” In her acceptance speech, she joined other artists in speaking out against injustice, particularly around ICE, saying: “Together, we’re stronger in numbers, (and must) speak against all the injustice going on in the world right now…F*ck ICE.”
Capping the night, Bad Bunny made history as the first artist to win Album of the Year for a primarily Spanish-language work, Debí Tirar Más Fotos (I Should Have Taken More Photos). Earlier in the evening, accepting the Grammy for Best Música Urbana Album, he directly addressed ICE, telling the crowd, “Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say, ‘ICE out. We’re not savages. We’re not animals. We’re not aliens.’”
Published on February 2, 2026
Words by Daniel Anderson
Daniel Anderson is a disabled Chinese American adoptee based in Seattle. His freelance writing specialties include K-pop, entertainment, and food. He believes that any restaurant can be a buffet, and the key to success is to take a nap each day. Follow his adventures on Instagram @danzstan.