Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar Grammys Victories Set New Records

Kendrick Lamar set a new record as the rapper with the most career Grammys. He won four awards on the night, which upped his career Grammy total to 26. The old record was held by Jay-Z with 25 Grammys, followed by Ye with 24. Lamar’s fast climb through the Grammy ranks is impressive because he won his first Grammys in 2015. At that point, Jay and Ye had each won 21 Grammys.

Lamar won record of the year for “Luther,” his smash collab with SZA. He won last year in the same category for “Not Like Us.” Lamar is only the fourth artist in Grammy history to win in this category two years in a row. Moreover, he’s the first male solo artist ever to do this. Two female solo artists — Roberta Flack and Billie Eilish — and a group (U2) have achieved the feat.

The win for “Luther” is seen a way of honoring not just Lamar and SZA, but also Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn, whose “If This World Were Mine” is sampled on the record, and Marvin Gaye, who wrote “If This World Were Mine” and recorded it with his frequent duet partner Tammi Terrell in 1967.

The track also won best melodic rap performance. Lamar’s other Grammys on the night were best rap song as a cowriter of “TV Off” and best rap performance as a featured artist on Clipse’s “Chains & Whips.”

The siblings became the first three-time winners of song of the year in Grammy history. They won this year for “Wildflower,” having previously won for “Bad Guy” and “What Was I Made For?” The award was presented by Carole King, who, in 1972, became the first woman songwriter ever to win song of the year, for “You’ve Got a Friend.”

This is the fourth consecutive year that song of the year has gone to a song written by just one or two writers. These two songs by Billie and Finneas are joined by two songs that were written by just one writer each, Bonnie Raitt’s “Just Like That” and Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” This defies the trend in the industry to larger collectives of songwriters.

Dean won best new artist, making this the ninth consecutive year that a female solo artist has won in this category. Dean follows Alessia Cara, Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, Megan Thee Stallion, Olivia Rodrigo, Samara Joy, Victoria Monét and Chappell Roan. No male artist has won in this category since Chance the Rapper in 2017.

You can already put Dean down as a front-runner for nods in marquee categories next year. Her stylish single “Man I Need” will be eligible for record and song of the year, and her hit album The Art of Loving will be eligible for album of the year.

Fun facts: Dean is the second artist named Olivia to win in the past five years. Olivia Rodrigo won in 2022. Also, Dean’s middle name is Lauryn, inspired by Lauryn Hill, who won in this category in 1999.

Aura V, who won best children’s music album alongside her father, Fyütch, for Harmony, set a new Grammy record as the youngest individually credited Grammy winner in history. Aura V is just 8. The old record was set by Blue Ivy Carter, who was 9 years old five years ago when she won alongside her mom, Beyoncé, and WizKid for “Brown Skin Girl.”

Leah Peasall was also 8 when she won album of the year in 2002 as a member of The Peasall Sisters for their contributions to the O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack, but Leah wasn’t individually credited.

The late jazz fusion pianist, composer and bandleader won his 29th Grammy for best jazz performance for “Windows – Live,” a collab with Christian McBride and Brian Blade. Only two people in Grammy history have won 29 or more Grammys. Beyoncé leads with 35, followed by Sir Georg Solti with 31.

Gaga won best pop vocal album for MAYHEM 15 years after she first won in the category with The Fame Monster. She’s one of four two-time winners in the history of the category, along with Adele, Kelly Clarkson and Taylor Swift.

The Icelandic singer won best traditional pop vocal album for the second time with A Matter of Time, becoming just the third female artist to be a repeat winner in the category. She follows Natalie Cole and Lady Gaga. Both of Gaga’s wins were in tandem with Tony Bennett. Cole’s first win was for her “Unforgettable” duet with her late father, Nat “King” Cole, though (having been dead for more than 25 years at that point) he wasn’t awarded a Grammy.

Allen became the first repeat winner of songwriter of the year, non-classical. She also won the award last year. She won this year for cowriting such hits as “APT.” by ROSE and Bruno Mars; “Just Keep Watching” by Tate McRae and “Manchild” and “Tears,” both by Sabrina Carpenter.

Martone won producer of the year, classical for the third consecutive year. She’s the first producer to win three years running in that category since Robert Woods won from 1988 to 1990. Making this even more interesting: Martone and Woods are married. They met at Telarc, which he cofounded.

Remy Le Boeuf won best instrumental composition for “First Snow,” one year after his identical twin brother, Pascal Le Boeuf, won in the same category for “Strands.” In 2004, the twins, now 39, formed Le Boeuf Brothers and released four albums, mixing jazz, hip-hop, electronic and classical styles.