The ceremony was hosted by Trevor Noah, who returned for the sixth year in a row.
The Grammy Awards 2026 opened with a rush of landmark firsts: the Dalai Lama won his first Grammy, K-pop secured a historic breakthrough in a major category, and Steven Spielberg completed his EGOT with a Grammy win.
The Dalai Lama won the global award for his spoken-word album, Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The album won in the category of Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording, at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards held in Los Angeles on February 1, 2026.
Produced by Kabir Sehgal, the album features sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and his sons Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash, besides American saxophonist Ted Nash, singer-songwriter Debi Nova, and percussionist-composer Tony Succar.
Singer Rufus Wainwright accepted the award in the category for ‘audio books, narration and storytelling’ on behalf of the Dalai Lama. He figures in the album along with singers Maggie Rogers and Andra Day.
In the category, other nominations included Kathy Garver (Elvis, Rocky & Me: The Carol Connors Story), Trevor Noah (Into The Uncut Grass), Ketanji Brown Jackson (Lovely One: A Memoir), and Fab Morvan (You Know It’s True: The Real Story of Milli Vanilli).
It was also the first Grammy win for director Steven Spielberg and for K-pop. Spielberg won in the ‘music film’ category for “Music for John Williams”, a documentary on his long-time collaborator, composer John Williams. With the Grammy, he joins the enviable EGOT list — those who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and a Tony.
Popular song “Golden” from “K-pop Demon Hunters won the Grammy for song written for visual media. Bad Bunny scripted history as he won the Album of the Year award for DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, making it the first Spanish-language album to win a Grammy. Kendrick Lamar, who was nominated for 9 awards this year, won 4 honors.
