By: Dahlia Deener
It’s one of the most talked-about weeks of the year. It was featured on social media for almost a month afterwards. It combines those who admire art and music with the sports and football fanatics. This past week held the Grammy awards and Bad Bunny’s iconic half-time show, both of which stunned the nation.
Last week, on February 1st, the 68th annual Grammy Awards were held. The Grammys, awarded to the most talented and decorated artists, are presented each year and hold some of the most famous jargon and schtik. Hosting this year’s Grammys was South African comedian Trevor Noah, who initiated most of the night’s jokes and camera time. Most notable was Noah’s constant request for Puerto Rican Artist Bad Bunny to sing the week before his huge performance at the Superbowl. The entire night consisted of the constant pestering and then Bad Bunny’s eventual surrender, leading to a locked and loaded band to play his most famous song, DTMF, behind his reluctant voice. Some more of his notable moments include his eluding the cheating scandal at a Coldplay concert last year and Kendrick Lamar’s famous feud with Drake that caught the country’s attention for the better part of 2025. This year’s host of the Grammys brought fun and lighthearted comments to a night of immense pressure for hundreds of artists.
Aside from Trevor Noah’s wit, there were numerous other singers, rappers, and artists who made history at the Grammys for their performances and awards. Known as the “big four” awards, Billie Eilish Won Song of the Year for her song Wildflower, Kendrick Lamar and SZA won Record of the Year for their song Luther, Bad Bunny won Album of the Year for his album Debí Tirar Más Fotos, and Olivia Dean won the award for Best New Artist. Each of these artists were monumental in their wins as they were up against huge singers and rappers from the year that gained immense popularity, including Lady Gaga, Doechii, Sabrina Carpenter, Bruno Mars, Tyler the Creator, and Sombr. Some other huge wins of the night included Lola Young’s win for Best Pop Solo Performance for her song Messy, and the duo that has been blowing up recently, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, for Best Pop Duo Performance for their song, Defying Gravity, in Wicked.
Lastly, the night of the Grammys holds some of the year’s most famous performances between the actual awards. Starting the show was Sabrina Carpenter performing her song, Manchild, while bringing out a plane on the stage and showing up in her usual glamor. People have recently noted Carpenter’s lack of recognition at the Grammys, as she was nominated for six awards and ended up receiving none of them. Another incredible performance was done by Tyler the Creator. He showed up in his Chromakopia album cover outfit and performed with the utmost craze and emotion that he usually brings to his art. He also won the Grammy for Best Album Cover for this very album. Lastly, Bruno Mars brought his usual charm and style while performing his new song, I Just Might. The crowd was seen grooving and dancing to Mars’s song and style of performance.
As if the Grammyswasn’t enough for one week, just seven days later, one of the most famous days of the year was held: the Superbowl. With it, receiving just as much hype and anticipation, came Bad Bunny’s Superbowl halftime show. This year, Bunny’s performance included multiple allusions to Puerto Rican culture and the style of music that Bad Bunny grew up on. The Puerto Rican American artist performed songs such as NUEVAYoL, Tití Me Preguntó, Yo Perreo Sola, Safaera, Monaco, and El Apagón through a variety of sets strategically placed on the field. He also invited guest star Lady Gaga, who sang Die With a Smile to vibrant Hispanic music. The performance also featured an elaborate wedding scene with a real couple getting married in front of an audience of 70,000 people. He was also seen handing his Grammy won just a week prior to a boy playing the child version of himself who always dreamt of success. The ending of his show included his mentioning of each of the countries in North and South America with a message “The only thing more powerful than hate is love” lit up on the screen behind him. However, Bunny’s jaw-dropping talent didn’t end with the halftime show. Since that very day, his streams have skyrocketed by 175% as millions tuned into his music after watching his performance.
This week brought laughter, tears, awe, and astonishment as a combined 142.1 million people tuned into the Grammys and the Superbowl. This past week not only gave us just one more thing to watch instead of doing our work, but also brought another year of history to our country.
