US pop star Billie Eilish has said “no one is illegal on stolen land” as she won song of the year at the 2026 Grammy Awards for her track Wildflower.
The 24-year-old, whose winning track features on her album Hit Me Hard And Soft, urged people to keep protesting in her winning speech at the ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday, where she was joined by her brother Finneas, with both wearing “Ice out” badges.
She said: “Thank you so much, I can’t believe this, everyone else in this category are so amazing, I love you so much. I feel so honoured every time I get to be in this room, and as grateful as I feel, I honestly don’t feel like I need to say anything.
“But that no one is illegal on stolen land… it’s just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now, and I just, I feel really hopeful in this room, and I feel like we just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting, and our voices really do matter, and the people matter.”
Eilish follows British pop singer Olivia Dean, who called for immigrants to be celebrated after she won the best new artist gong
Their comments come as artists protested against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officers being deployed in US cities at Sunday’s awards ceremony.
Becoming emotional after scooping the award, Dean said: “Thank you, I never really imagined that I would be up here, let alone nominated, so thank you so much, I just want to say that an artist is really nothing without their team.
“Emily, my best friend, my manager, we’ve been doing this for 10 years, so this is for you too, and my family.
“I guess I want to say, I’m up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant, I wouldn’t be here (if it were not for immigration).
“Yeah, I’m a product of bravery, and I think those people deserve to be celebrated, so yeah, we’re nothing without each other. Thank you so much, I love you, thank you so much.”
Puerto Rican star Bad Bunny won album of the year for Debi Tirar Mas Fotos, and delivered the majority of his winner’s speech in Spanish, before saying he wanted to dedicate the award to “all the people that had to leave their homeland, their country, to follow their dreams” in English.
Earlier, he called for “Ice out” after winning best musica urbana album for the same record.
He said: “We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens, we are humans and we are Americans.”
Singers Joni Mitchell and Kehlani, and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon were also among artists wearing “Ice out” and “Be Good” pins at the annual ceremony, held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Ice officers have been deployed in US cities as part of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation initiative, most notably in Minnesota and Minneapolis, where about 2,000 federal agents have been deployed.
Officers have come under strong criticism over their aggressive approach. Most recently, Ice agents fatally shot two people on the streets of Minneapolis: Renee Good on January 7 and Alex Pretti on January 24.
Vernon, 44, whose group Bon Iver is nominated for best alternative music album, said he wore a whistle as a tribute to the legal observers documenting the actions of federal agents in the streets.
“I think there’s a reason that music exists and it’s to heal and to bring people together,” he told The Associated Press. “But the real work are those observers on the on the ground in Minneapolis. We just want to shout them out.”
Kehlani, 30, cursed Ice in her acceptance speech as she won her first Grammy for best R&B performance for Folded.
She said: “I hope everybody’s inspired to join together as a community of artists and speak out against what’s going on. F*** Ice.”
Kendrick Lamar won record of the year for his song Luther, featuring R&B singer SZA, after a humorous moment in which veteran singer Cher mistakenly called the rapper Luther Vandross, the late soul star who is actually sampled on the track.
The award was the star’s fifth gong of the night, having been the most nominated artist at this year’s ceremony with nine nods. He also took home awards for best rap album for GNX; best rap song for TV Off, featuring Lefty Gunplay; and best melodic rap performance for Luther.
He also won best rap performance for Chains & Whips with Clipse, Pusha T, Malice and Pharrell Williams.
Pop superstar Lady Gaga, who was the second-most nominated artist with seven nods, took home best pop vocal album for her record Mayhem, having already won best dance pop recording and best remixed recording for Abracadabra and its Gesaffelstein remix.
Performances during the night included Tyler, The Creator, who crashed a Ferrari F40 on stage while singing Sugar On My Tongue; Justin Bieber, praised for his return to the Grammys after four years away; and tributes paid to Ozzy Osbourne, D’Angelo and Roberta Flack.
