Billie Eilish Uses Grammys 2026 Song of the Year Win to Advocate for Immigrants: 'No One Is Illegal on Stolen Land'
Billie Eilish Uses Grammys 2026 Song of the Year Win to Advocate for Immigrants: 'No One Is Illegal on Stolen Land'
Jack Irvin, Ingrid VasquezMon, February 2, 2026 at 4:02 AM UTC
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Finneas O'Connell and Billie Eilish accept the Song Of The Year award at the 2026 Grammys
Kevin Winter/Getty
The 2026 Grammy Awards are airing live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles
The Grammy for Song of the Year went to Billie Eilish's "Wildflower"
"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," she said
Billie Eilish used musicâs biggest night to advocate for immigrants, turning her acceptance speech at the 2026 Grammy Awards into a call for protest, solidarity and continued resistance.
The singer took the stage on Sunday, Feb. 1, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles after winning Song of the Year for âWildflower,â focusing her remarks on the Trump administration's severe immigration policies, which have spawned protests nationwide.
âAnd as grateful as I feel, I honestly donât feel like I need to say anything but that no one is illegal on stolen land,â Eilish, 24, said.
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Finneas O'Connell and Billie Eilish accept the Song Of The Year award at the 2026 Grammys
Kevin Winter/Getty
With her brother, co-writer Finneas O'Connell, by her side, Eilish continued by acknowledging the uncertainty sheâs been feeling. encouraging collective action.
âItâs just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now, and I just 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,â she said.
Eilish was bleeped for several moments during the live broadcast, though she could be heard saying, âAnd f--- ICE, that's all I'm gonnga say. Sorry!
Her comments drew cheers and standing ovations from the crowd.
Eilish wasnât the only artist to speak out against the Trump administration's expanded immigration enforcement throughout the evening. Shaboozey, Olivia Dean, and Bad Bunny used their wins to reference the hot topic.
"Immigrants built this country. literally. Actually," said Shaboozey, while accepting his first Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "Amen" with Jelly Roll. "So this is for them. For all children of immigrants, this is also for those who came to this country in search of better opportunity to be part of a nation that promises freedom for all but equal opportunity to everyone wanting to work for it.. Thank you for bringing your culture, your music, your stories and your traditions here. You give America color."
Dean spoke out while accepting one of the evening's biggest awards, Best New Artist. "Iâm up here as the granddaughter of an immigrant, Iâm a product of bravery and I think those people deserve to be celebrated.""ICE out," said Bad Bunny, while getting the Grammy for Best MĂșsica Urbana Album for DeBĂ TiRAR MĂĄS FOToS. "We're not savage, we're not animals, we're not aliens â we are humans and we are Americans.""The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love," he added. "So please, we need to be different. If we fight, we have to do it with love. We don't hate them. We love our people, we love our family, and that's the way to do it. we love. And that's the way to do it. Don't forget that, please."
In addition to "Wildflower," this year's Song of the Year nominees also included Lady Gaga's "Abracadabra," Doechii's "Anxiety," Rosé and Bruno Mars' "APT.," Bad Bunny's "DTMF," HUNTR/X's "Golden" from KPop Demon Hunters, Kendrick Lamar and SZA's "Luther" and Sabrina Carpenter's "Manchild."
Eilish released "Wildflower" in May 2024 on her Hit Me Hard and Soft album. Promoted as the project's fourth single, the song reached No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Wildflower" also earned a nod for Record of the Year.
According to the Recording Academy, Song of the Year recognizes the writers of a song's music and lyrics and "goes to the Songwriter(s) of new material (not including sampled or interpolated material) of a song."
Gaga's "Abracadabra" was released as a single in February 2025. The dance-pop song, featured on her Mayhem album, hit No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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Additional 2026 Grammy nominations for Gaga included Record of the Year and Best Dance Pop Recording with "Abracadabra" as well as Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal album with Mayhem, Best Pop Solo Performance with "Disease" and Best Traditional Pop Vocal album with Harlequin.
Doechii's "Anxiety" was first released on YouTube in 2019, but she a new version of the song came out in March 2025 after gaining virality on TikTok. The song (which appears on her Alligator Bites Never Heal mixtape as a bonus track) reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking the rapper's first top-10 hit on the chart.
Additional 2026 Grammy nominations for Doechii included Record of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song and Best Music Video with "Anxiety."
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Rosé and Mars released "APT." in October 2024. Promoted as the lead single off the BLACKPINK member's debut album Rosie, "APT." hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Additional 2026 Grammy nominations for "APT." included Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
Bad Bunny released "DTMF," which is short for "DebĂ Tirar MĂĄs Fotos" or "I Should Have Taken More Photos" in English, in January 2025. Promoted as the fourth single off his DebĂ Tirar MĂĄs Fotos album, the song reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Additional 2026 Grammy nominations for the Puerto Rican Rapper included Record of the Year with "DTMF" as well as Best MĂșsica Urbana Album, Album of the Year and Best Album Cover with DebĂ Tirar MĂĄs Fotos and Best Global Musical Performance with "EoO."
"Golden," performed by Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami as the fictional group HUNTR/X, was released in July 2025 on the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Additional 2026 Grammy nominations for "Golden" included Best Song Written for Visual Media and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, while David Guetta's remix of the track earned a nod for Best Remixed Recording.
Lamar and SZA released "Luther" in November 2024. Promoted as the third single off the rapper's GNX album, the song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Additional 2026 Grammy nominations for "Luther" included Record of the Year and Best Melodic Rap Performance. The two artists also earned a nod for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance with "30 for 30" from GNX.
Furthermore, Lamar earned nods for Album of the Year and Best Rap Album with GNX, Best Rap Performance with both "Chains and Whips" and "TV Off," as well as Best Rap Song with "TV Off." SZA was also nominated for Best Traditional R&B performance with "Crybaby."
Carpenter released "Manchild" in June 2025. Promoted as the lead single off her Man's Best Friend album, the song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Additional 2026 Grammy nominations for Carpenter included Record of the Year, Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Music Video with "Manchild" as well as Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album with Man's Best Friend.
The Grammys are broadcasting live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on CBS or stream them live and on-demand on Paramount+.
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Source: âAOL Entertainmentâ
