There are three kinds of people: Those who are completely tapped into the popular music of the Grammys; those who use it as a crash course in modern pop; and those who could not care less and will be doing something else on Sunday night.

There are also those who are looking to be outraged about something, but whatever.

If you’re tuning in on Sunday, this year’s ceremony marks the 68th annual Grammys and there will be a lot more than trophies handed out. The performer list is kept under wraps, but is likely to include such top nominees as Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish, Bruno Mars and Sabrina Carpenter.

Comedian Trevor Noah will host the show for the sixth consecutive time, and also the last time. The four-time Grammy nominee is also up for best audio book, narration and storytelling for the children’s story “Into The Uncut Grass.” His competition includes a Supreme Court justice (Ketanji Brown Jackson), the Dalai Lama and a member of Milli Vanilli, so that’s a wild one.

A lot of interesting awards — ones with real musicians — are handed out before prime time in the premiere ceremony at 3:30 p.m. ET on the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel and on live.grammy.com.

The main show will air live on CBS beginning at 8 p.m. Here’s a look at some Grammy storylines:

1. Kendrick’s record-breaking run

The rapper leads the field with nine nominations, putting him in a good spot to become the most Grammy-decorated hip-hop artist of all time. Jay-Z currently tops that list with 25 wins, followed by his former friend and collaborator Kanye at 24. The Kanye total, incidentally, hasn’t moved since he won best rap song with Jay-Z in 2022 for the single “Jail” and best melodic rap performance for “Hurricane.” For whatever reason, Kanye’s 2025 single “Heil Hitler” was not nominated.

In November 2024, a few months before headlining the Super Bowl halftime show, Lamar surprise-released a sixth album, “GNX” (named after his 1987 Buick Grand National Experimental), that topped the charts and landed Top 5 in numerous year-end best-of lists.

Last year, he swept all five of the categories he was nominated in, including his first two wins in the top categories of record of the year and song of the year for his Drake diss track “Not Like Us.”

2. Album of the year is a wide open

Bad Bunny performs during the iHeartRadio Music Awards in Los Angeles on March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

The last 10 winners have been Taylor Swift (thrice), Beyonce, Harry Styles, Jon Batiste, Billie Eilish, Kacey Musgraves, Bruno Mars and Adele.

None of them are in the picture this year in a category where someone is going to win their first album of the year award. Lady Gaga and Kendrick will get their fifth crack at it — Kendrick now having had five consecutive AOTY nominations.

Only two rap albums have won it — Lauryn Hill’s “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” (1999) and Outkast’s “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below” (2004) — so this would also be the first win for a solo male rapper.

Gaga and Kendrick will compete with Bad Bunny (second time), Justin Bieber (third time), and first-timers Sabrina Carpenter, Tyler, the Creator, Leon Thomas and Clipse (Pusha T & Malice).

3. Gaga watch

Lady Gaga performs during her free concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Speaking of Gaga, despite her 14 prior Grammys and status as a pop culture icon, she has never scored a win in one of the major categories: album, song or record of the year.

This year, the singer-songwriter is nominated in all three with “Abracadabra” (record and song) and “Mayhem” (album). Her wins, including two with Tony Bennett and three with Bradley Cooper, have all been in the pop and visual media categories.

As a reminder, song of the year is a songwriter’s award.

4. Best new artist leans Dean

This once-derided category — it was won by Starland Vocal Band and Milli Vanilli — now belongs to the ladies, who swept the last eight in a row and are likely to make it nine.

The prediction platform Kalshi gives Olivia Dean about a 70% chance of winning, with Leon Thomas and Alex Warren a distant second and third. Dean — a British R&B/neosoul singer who has a touch of Sade to her tone and a maturity beyond her 26 years — released her second album, “The Art of Loving,” last year and was in Pittsburgh in October to open for Sabrina Carpenter.

In the unlikely event of a Katseye upset, it would become the first all “girl group” to win the best new artist Grammy.

Also nominated are the Marías, Addison Rae, sombr and Lola Young.

5. K-pop and Spanish breakthroughs

Bad Bunny, who will headline the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show, is in the running for Album (“DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS”) Record and Song of the Year (“DTMF”) — marking only the second time an all-Spanish-language project has been nominated in these top slots.

Meanwhile, Rosé and “KPop Demon Hunters” are the first K-pop acts nominated in the Grammys’ general field categories, with Rosé’s collaboration “APT.” and the “KPop Demon Hunters” hit “Golden” both in contention for song of the year and record of the year.

6. Let there be rock

No one seems to care about rock anymore — except the people who pack arenas and stadiums.

Unlike the top categories, rock has an interesting blend of young blood (Turnstile, Wet Leg, Yungblud) and grizzled veterans (Nine Inch Nails, the Cure, Deftones).

The Cure, which has never won a Grammy, is nominated for the first time in 24 years, for “Songs of a Lost World” (best alternative album) along with best alternative music performance for “Alone.”

Turnstile, one of the best bands to break out this decade, has five nominations and is the first band to be nominated across rock, metal and alternative categories in the same year.

The Kalshi favorite in alternative rock categories is Hayley Williams, the Paramore frontwoman who released her third solo album, “Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party,” in 2025.

The site also favors first-time nominee Yungblud to win best rock performance for his cover of “Changes” from the Back to the Beginning concert that honored Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. It would be a sentimental choice, for sure.

7. Father vs. son

This likely won’t get much attention in the broadcast, but there is a father-son showdown in the newly added category best traditional country album.

Willie Nelson is nominated for his 77th album, “Oh What a Beautiful World,” and his son Lukas, of Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, is nominated for his solo debut “American Romance.”

Asked about being up against his legendary dad, Lukas told the Los Angeles Times, “‘Against’ is a strong word. ‘Alongside’ is better. I mean, the Nelsons have a 40% chance of winning, which is pretty good.”

The only prior example of a father and son being nominated in the same category for separate projects was in 1998, when Julio Iglesias and his son Enrique Iglesias were both nominated for Best Latin Pop Album.

That Grammy went to Luis Miguel for “Romances.”

8. Return of the cover

The other new category is best album cover, which is actually making a comeback.

At the inaugural Grammys in 1959, this award went to the artists behind the moody “Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely.”

Then, the Academy made it complicated. From 1962 to 1965, the award split into classical and non-classical albums. Then, from 1966 to 1968, it split into graphic arts and photography subcategories, before going back to best album cover in 1969.

Of all the iconic rock album covers, only three have ever won: The Beatles’ “Revolver” and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club” and “Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits.”

In 1974, it became best album packaging — thus de-emphasizing the cover — and in 1994 it became best recording package.

The first to win best album cover since 1973 will be either the artists behind Tyler, the Creator’s “CHROMAKOPIA,” Bad Bunny’s “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” Djo’s “The Crux,” Perfume Genius’ “Glory” or Wet Leg’s “Moisturizer.”

9. Mac artistry

The ’26 Grammy slate is short on Pittsburgh connections. No Dan + Shay, no Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, no Code Orange (still on hiatus) and no Mac Miller.

Sort of.

There are two competing nominees in best recording package related to the late Pittsburgh rap star: art directors Bráulio Amado and Alim Smith are nominated for the posthumous release “Balloonerism”; and Mac’s brother, Miller McCormick, is up for “The Spins” (Picture Disc Vinyl).

Mac was nominated for one Grammy for a project he worked on personally, for 2018’s “Swimming,” but never won one. It would be pretty wild if his brother did.

10. People you know

The main categories have a lot of young star power. It’s in the Lifetime Achievement Awards where the legends get some stage time.

The Grammys will be honoring Paul Simon (a 16-time Grammy winner), Carlos Santana (a 10-time winner), Chaka Khan (10), Cher (1) and the late Whitney Houston (6) and Fela Kuti, the first African musician to win a Lifetime Achievement Grammy.

They will also honor Pharrell Williams, who began his career in 1992 as part of the production team The Neptunes, with the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award. Black Music Icon Awards will go to Brandy and Kirk Franklin.

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For those who think about politics in terms of ideology and rigid categories, the extraordinary events in Venezuela pose an uncomfortable question: what is the morally correct position to take in a drama this complex?

Some celebrate Nicolás Maduro’s removal simply because he was a brutal dictator. They’re largely indifferent to the violation of international law that the U.S. committed to seize him (this is the majority view among Venezuelans).

Others, mostly focused on U.S. politics, couldn’t care less about Maduro but recoil at President Donald Trump’s deployment of military forces in South America on dubious grounds, without congressional approval and with the familiar whiff of yet another nation-building experiment. Radical leftists oppose the intervention on principle and, not coincidentally, mourn the disappearance of Maduro’s absurd socialist proclamations (these die-hard anti-imperialists seem to have multiplied in the Trump era).

Finally, a more cynical camp marvels at the stark U.S. display of power while feeling no obligation to clean up the mess Venezuela has become.

Not only defensible, but coherent

The hardest position to defend belongs to those who feel genuine gratitude that Maduro is finally facing consequences but also recognize that the U.S. cannot simply roam the globe abducting leaders the White House dislikes. In today’s polarized climate, holding both seemingly contradictory thoughts at once can feel agonizing. I’ve already had more than a few arguments with friends about this and they rarely end well. If you’ve followed the flood of commentary on Venezuela in recent weeks, you’ve likely encountered compelling, rational arguments justifying both sides — just not at the same time.

But fear not. With a bit of perspective, this position is not only defensible; it is coherent.

It is entirely possible to support what the U.S. did in Maduro’s specific case while remaining deeply skeptical of similar interventions elsewhere and fully aware of Washington’s self-interest. And it is perfectly consistent to support the cause of a free and democratic Venezuela led by the U.S. without tying it to whatever one happens to think about Trump and his predatory foreign policy.

Some historical recap is necessary to explain this.

Hollowed out by Chavez’s socialist project

Venezuela isn’t just another troubled country; it is a tragedy on a scale Latin America hasn’t seen in generations. Not long ago one of the region’s richest nations, it was hollowed out by the Chavista socialist project. The economy collapsed, with GDP shrinking by nearly 80% since 2012, while its once-almighty oil industry fell apart. Such outcomes are typically associated with wars. An estimated 8 million Venezuelans fled the country. Thousands were jailed as an increasingly authoritarian government crushed dissent.

To buy political cover, Maduro granted privileged access to foreign powers, from Cuba to Iran, and cultivated ties with terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah, further destabilizing the region. Russia even built an ammunition plant in Venezuela to produce cartridges for Kalashnikov rifles. Chavistas were not particularly concerned about sovereignty back then.

Over the years, there were multiple attempts to correct course: mass protests that were brutally repressed, government-opposition dialogues, international mediation led by independent actors such as Norway and Qatar, economic and political sanctions and the ill-fated experiment of a parallel government under Juan Guaidó.

The last real chance for a peaceful transfer of power came with the 2024 election, which the opposition won convincingly, only for Maduro to brazenly steal it and proclaim victory without presenting any evidence. What followed was predictable: renewed repression, enabled by the complicity of allies and neighbors who never managed to unite around a viable solution. Still, Maduro was reportedly given many opportunities to negotiate a golden exile. He refused them all.

From that perspective, Trump’s extraction of the Venezuelan leader can be understood as a positive and even inevitable circuit breaker: an extraordinary act that disrupted the decaying status quo protecting the regime, forcing the country onto a different trajectory. When I visited Caracas in 2021, during a brief period of apparent entente between the regime and Washington, Chavismo seemed likely to cling to power for decades. That assessment no longer holds. This new experiment, with interim president Delcy Rodríguez taking orders from Washington, the CIA included, may still fail spectacularly. But it has opened a new era. And with political skill and strategic patience, Venezuela may finally move toward the democratic transition it has long been denied.

The political opening

The path I imagine hinges on Chavismo confronting its own fundamental contradiction: claiming to be anti-imperialist while acting as a U.S. government lapdog. Over time, internal cracks will likely widen, particularly within the military, the impenetrable force that has underpinned the regime and blocked the opposition. The political opening forced by Washington, combined with a degree of economic recovery, could realign incentives toward a new general election under the supervision of the U.S. and international organizations. In such a scenario, Chavismo would retain political representation, facing a reinvigorated opposition. If that happens, the forced removal of Maduro would not only be vindicated; it would have proved to be a progressive force for Venezuela and the region.

Before you press “send” on your hate mail, I am fully aware that much can go wrong, starting with a Trump administration that does not seem to have the discipline, or perhaps even the interest, to see this outcome through. Warnings on the risks of abandoning democratic efforts need to be heard; sooner rather than later, Venezuela will have to produce a framework for political transition, not least because constitutionally Rodríguez has only 180 days as interim president.

What to watch

The scorecard to watch in the coming months is the continued release of political prisoners, the return of opposition figures, the reconstitution of the National Electoral Council to include respected representatives and the establishment of a credible electoral roll. On the oil front, companies should be granted equal rights to invest, rather than privileging business figures linked to the regime, as recent hydrocarbon law changes appear to do.

Will all this happen? Time will tell, but everyone genuinely interested in a free Venezuela should press for it. True, the U.S. seizure of Maduro violated international law, but you can’t unring that bell. And there is no moral contradiction between welcoming Maduro’s capture and acknowledging its contravention of international rules.

Polls suggest that this is precisely how most Latin Americans see the situation, sharply at odds with perceptions in the U.S. For all the brainy academic debate and political calculations, a simple but powerful vox pop quote in a New York Times story summarizes the appropriate position on the event: “I am happy because I saw the fall of a dictator, and I am happy because my Venezuelan friends are happy.”

Temporary compromises

I am sure that no decent Venezuelan wanted to reach this point. I wish this conflict could have been resolved using one of the many Latin American institutional tools designed for such crises. That didn’t happen, not least because of the cynical fecklessness of regional powers. If the path to normalization requires temporary compromises like tolerating Rodríguez as interim president or María Corina Machado having to swallow her pride, so be it. Perfect options for Venezuela disappeared a long time ago.

JP Spinetto is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Latin American business, economic affairs and politics. He was previously Bloomberg News’ managing editor for economics and government in the region.

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Today is Sunday, Feb. 1, the 32nd day of 2026. There are 333 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Feb. 1, 2003, the space shuttle Columbia broke apart as it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, killing all seven crew members: commander Rick Husband; pilot William McCool; payload commander Michael Anderson; mission specialists Kalpana Chawla, David Brown and Laurel Clark; and payload specialist Ilan Ramon.

Also on this date:

In 1865, abolitionist John S. Rock became the first Black lawyer admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court.

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In 1943, during World War II, one of America’s most highly decorated military units, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, made up almost exclusively of Japanese Americans, was activated.

In 1960, four Black college students began a sit-in protest at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, where they had been refused service.

In 1979, Iranian religious leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (hoh-MAY’-nee) was welcomed home by millions in Tehran as he ended nearly 15 years of exile.

In 1991, an arriving USAir jetliner crashed atop a commuter plane on a runway at Los Angeles International Airport, resulting in 35 deaths.

In 1994, Jeff Gillooly, Tonya Harding’s ex-husband, pleaded guilty in Portland, Oregon, to racketeering for his part in the attack on figure skater Nancy Kerrigan in exchange for a 24-month sentence and a $100,000 fine.

In 2002, Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl was killed by Islamist militants in Pakistan after being kidnapped nine days earlier.

In 2016, the World Health Organization declared a global emergency over the explosive spread of the Zika virus, which was linked to birth defects in the Americas.

In 2021, the army in Myanmar overthrew the elected government of the Southeast Asian country. (Armed resistance arose after the army used lethal force to crush nonviolent protests against its takeover, and an ensuing civil war left more than 3.6 million people displaced in the country, according to the U.N.)

Today’s birthdays:

Actor Garrett Morris is 89.
Political commentator Fred Barnes is 83.
Princess Stephanie of Monaco is 61.
Actor Sherilyn Fenn is 61.
U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer Michelle Akers is 60.
Comedian-actor Pauly Shore is 58.
Actor Michael C. Hall is 55.
Rapper Big Boi (Outkast) is 51.
Singer-songwriter Jason Isbell is 47.
TV personality Lauren Conrad is 40.
Mixed martial artist Ronda Rousey is 39.
Actor Julia Garner is 32.
Singer-actor Harry Styles is 32.
Singer Jessica Baio is 24.

The way they structure the NHL playoffs, if the Oilers see Minnesota again, it would not be until the second round of the postseason, sometime in May. And for most Edmonton fans, that would be absolutely fine.

Fourth-line reserve Tyler Pitlick wasn’t even supposed to play on Saturday, added to the Wild line chart just minutes before the game as an illness replacement. When the former Centennial High School standout scored Minnesota’s sixth goal, on the way to a 7-3 blowout in Edmonton, it was as sure a sign as any that everything was clicking for for the visitors on this night.

In all, 15 members of the Wild got a mention on the score sheet – including goalie Jesper Wallstedt, who had a first period assist – as Minnesota swept its season series with Edmonton, which has represented the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Final the previous two seasons.

“We talk about being a good team and I thought all four lines, I thought all six D contributed and our goaltender played well and that’s what we needed against this team is to have a good team game,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “I think it’s good to see us be able to get some scoring throughout the lineup. That always give you a competitive advantage.”

Wallstedt finished with 40 saves in the win, while usual suspects like Joel Eriksson Ek, Kirill Kaprizov, Quinn Hughes, Mats Zuccarello, Brock Faber and Vladimir Tarasenko scored for the Wild, who are now on a 6-1-1 run with two games to play before the Olympic break.

Wallstedt, who blanked the Oilers in Edmonton in their first meeting of the season, got a notable test less than 90 seconds into the game when a long pass sprung star forward Connor McDavid on a breakaway. The Wild goalie stuffed McDavid’s shot and got a stoppage.

The reprieve was short-lived, as the Oilers took an early lead when star forward Leon Draisaitl got ahold of a Minnesota turnover and scored his 27th goal of the season. But Minnesota answered on the game’s first power play, when Eriksson Ek got behind the Oilers defense. The breakaway goal was his third in the past four games.

After the Oilers grabbed the lead back, Wallstedt was run over in the crease, and the Wild tied the game 2-2 when Kaprizov answered almost immediately on the ensuing power play. It was the 30th goal of the season for Kaprizov, giving him 30 or more goals in four of his six NHL seasons.

“Special teams was huge tonight. We battled through their pushes and took advantage of our opportunities,” said Faber, who now has a career-best 12 goals this season. “Wally was great. Overall I thought it was a pretty good game for us.”

Minnesota took complete control of the game in the second, scoring three to case the Oilers’ starting goalie and take a 5-2 lead into the final period.

Zuccarello’s goal off a faceoff play in the opening minute of the middle frame gave the Wild their first lead. That was followed by Hughes chasing his own shot that went wide of the net and banking it off the goalie. It was Hughes’ fifth goal of the season, and his third since the December trade that brought him to Minnesota.

When Tarasenko banked a shot off the far post and in, that was all for Oilers’ starter Tristan Jarry, who was lifted after 15 saves on 20 shots. Connor Ingram finished the second period without facing a shot, and had seven saves in the third, as Edmonton’s season-long three-game win streak was halted as their NHL-best power play was thwarted twice. Wallstedt credited his teammates with getting in the way of several pucks.

“They do a great job boxing out, letting me see shots and blocking shots as well there,” Wallstedt said after improving to 14-5-4 this season. “We’re a team. It’s a team success and and great to get a big win tonight.”

The Wild host Montreal on Monday, in their final pre-Olympics home game.

Briefly

Wild center Nico Sturm was a late scratch on Saturday due to illness. Pitlick took his spot on the fourth line along with Vinnie Hinostroza and Marcus Foligno. Sturm, who missed October and most of November with an injury, has three goals and six assists in 33 games for the Wild this season.

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