Grammy Awards 2026: Historic Wins and Anti-ICE Speeches [Buzz]

[00:00] Lila Grant: Welcome to Buzz, your daily deep dive into the digital pulse. I am Leela Grant. [00:06] Jonah Klein: And I'm Jonah Klein. If your feed looks like mine this morning, it is absolutely screaming one word, Grammys. [00:13] Lila Grant: Jonah, my 2026 bingo card, just got completely torched. [00:18] Lila Grant: Last night was not just about the music. It was a full-scale cultural collision. [00:23] Jonah Klein: The energy was wild, Lila. [00:26] Jonah Klein: We saw historic wins that we've been tracking for months, but the headlines today are dominated by the speeches that went way beyond thank you to the academy. [00:34] Lila Grant: Let's start with the records, because we have to give flowers where they're due. [00:38] Lila Grant: Watching Elzila sweep all four major categories, that's the first time we've seen that kind of dominance in years. [00:46] Jonah Klein: The El Zyla Sans is real. [00:49] Jonah Klein: Her win for album of the year felt like a crowning moment for that new age hyper soul sound [00:54] Jonah Klein: that's been dominating TikTok. [00:56] Jonah Klein: But Lila, the vibe shifted the moment she stepped up for her third trophy. [01:00] Lila Grant: Because that's when the night stopped being a concert and started being a protest. [01:05] Lila Grant: When El Zyla and three other major winners used their mic time to deliver those searing [01:11] Lila Grant: anti-ice speeches, the internet basically broke. [01:14] Jonah Klein: It was visceral. [01:16] Jonah Klein: Seeing a best new artist winner spend their entire 60 seconds calling out deportation policies, [01:22] Jonah Klein: that's a massive pivot from the usual thinks mom energy. [01:26] Jonah Klein: Lila, how is the Youth Culture Desk seeing the reaction? [01:30] Lila Grant: Um, it's a total split, Jonah. [01:32] Lila Grant: On one side, you have Gen Z creators on TikTok hailing it as the most real Grammy moment ever. [01:39] Lila Grant: They're already clipping the no music on Stolen Landline into thousands of edits. [01:45] Jonah Klein: And on the other side, I'm seeing this shut up and sing crowd making a lot of noise on the legacy platforms. [01:50] Jonah Klein: There's a real debate about whether the Grammys is the place for such heavy political rhetoric. [01:55] Lila Grant: But that's the thing, Jonah. In 2026, everything is the place. [02:00] Lila Grant: Artists aren't just performers anymore. [02:02] Lila Grant: They're central nodes in these digital political movements. [02:05] Lila Grant: They know that a 30-second clip from the Grammys has more reach than a month of traditional campaigning. [02:11] Jonah Klein: Valid point. And the data backs you up. [02:14] Jonah Klein: Searches for... [02:15] Jonah Klein: Ice Policy 2026 spiked by 4,000% during the broadcast. [02:21] Jonah Klein: That's the power of the platform, even if it makes some of the sponsors nervous. [02:24] Lila Grant: That's insane. [02:26] Lila Grant: I saw a few brand accounts go completely dark the moment the speeches started. [02:30] Lila Grant: They didn't want any part of that comment section firestorm. [02:33] Jonah Klein: It just shows the risk-reward ratio of being plugged in today. [02:37] Jonah Klein: If you're a brand, you can't just buy a commercial and ignore the cultural context of the show you're sponsoring. [02:43] Lila Grant: Jonah, do you think this sets a precedent for the rest of the award season? [02:46] Lila Grant: Are the Oscars going to be just as charged? [02:49] Jonah Klein: Absolutely. The anti-ice sentiment is just the tip of the iceberg for what's brewing in the digital underground. [02:55] Jonah Klein: Artists are feeling more emboldened than ever. [02:57] Lila Grant: It's a brave new world for the industry. [03:00] Lila Grant: That's all for today's Roundup. I'm Leela Grant. [03:02] Jonah Klein: And I'm Jonah Klein. Keep your eyes on the feed, and we'll catch you tomorrow on Buzz. [03:06] Jonah Klein: Check out buzz.neuralnewscast.com. [03:09] Jonah Klein: Neural Newscast is AI-assisted human-reviewed. [03:12] Jonah Klein: Your AI transparency policy at neuralnewscast.com.