Zach Top picked up his first Grammy win on Sunday (Feb. 1) during the pre-telecast Grammy Premiere Ceremony, making him the inaugural winner in the best traditional country album category for his sophomore country set Ain’t In It for My Health.

“I feel like I watched the Grammys as a little kid and it looked like superheroes on TV so to be up here and be a part of the whole thing is insane,” Top said said after taking the stage. He also thanked his family, producer Carson Chamberlain, his management, road crew and more. “Thanks for letting me be here, this is amazing.”

Like its predecessor, Cold Beer and Country Music, Ain’t In It for My Health was largely co-written and helmed by Chamberlain, known for his work as a bandleader and musician for Keith Whitley, as well as a tour manager for Alan Jackson and Clint Black.

Top earned a total of three nominations this year, also including best country song and best country solo performance, both for his Country Airplay top five hit “I Never Lie.”

Top’s win comes as the Recording Academy made a shift in its best country album category, splitting it into two categories: best contemporary country album and best traditional country album. The shift puts the country album category in line with other genres categories, such as R&B and blues, which already recognize traditional and contemporary styles, while also offering more nominee slots to showcase a fuller spectrum of country music’s sounds.

Top’s fellow nominees in the inaugural year of the best traditional country album category were Charley Crockett (for A Dollar A Day), Lukas Nelson (American Romance), Willie Nelson (Oh What A Beautiful World) and Margo Price (Hard Headed Woman). Meanwhile, the contemporary country album category includes Kelsea Ballerini’s Patterns, Tyler Childers’ Snipe Hunter, Eric Church’s Evangeline vs. The Machine, Jelly Roll’s Beautifully Broken and Miranda Lambert’s Postcards From Texas.

The Recording Academy’s Harvey Mason jr. recently reflected on the country album category split to Billboard, saying, “Genres are changing so quickly. Things are coming together, genres are blending, new things are cropping up, global music is happening. So we’re going to have to be very diligent about our awards and our categories, because of all the change and evolution happening in the way music is made, the way people are creating it and collaboratively, the way it’s coming out from different places around the globe.”

Sunday afternoon’s Premiere Ceremony also honored other early country category winners. Shaboozey and Jelly Roll won for their song “Amen,” in the best country/duo group performance category. Tyler Childers’ “Bitin’ List” picked up best county song, while Chris Stapleton’s “Bad As I Used to Be” (from the F1 soundtrack) won best country solo performance.

Kehlani used her platform at the 2026 Grammys to protest ICE as she accepted her first of two awards Sunday night (Feb. 1).

The singer won best R&B performance, followed by best R&B song, for her top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Folded” during the Grammy Premiere ceremony, the pre-televised portion of show that streamed online ahead of the 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT broadcast on CBS and Paramount+. The honors marked Kehlani’s first-ever Grammy wins; she’s a seven-time nominee.

“I need a second,” Kehlani said upon taking the Crypto.com Arena stage in Los Angeles to accept her award for best R&B performance. “My first time being nominated for a Grammy was 10 years ago to this show.”

After thanking her team — her manager, executive producer and more — Kehlani’s urged the artists around her to join her in using their voices to denounce the aggressive actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“What I wanna make sure that I say is that everybody is so powerful in this room … And together, we’re stronger in numbers to speak against all the injustice going on in the world right now,” the singer said as she wrapped her speech. “So instead of letting it be just a couple of you here and there, I hope everybody’s inspired to join together as a community of artists and speak out against what’s going on.”

“I’mma leave this and say f— ICE,” Kehlani said.

Accepting her second win of the night, for best R&B song, Kehlani dedicated the moment to her mom.

“My mother adopted me. You didn’t have to. You didn’t have to give up your life for me. You could’ve done whatever you wanted in your 20s but instead you chose to take care of me, and to put me in all the programs, and all the things that would feed who I am today. So, Mommy, I owe you everything. I love you so much,” she said on the Grammys stage. A video of her second acceptance speech was uploaded on the Recording Academy’s YouTube account.

Wearing an “ICE OUT” pin affixed to her gown, Kehlani had already made her position against the U.S. administration’s immigration raids clear on the Grammys red carpet earlier in the evening.

Kehlani makes a statement against ICE while walking the #Grammys red carpet. pic.twitter.com/AdfKLz7Ru4

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 1, 2026

“I really wanted to say ‘f— ICE,’ but I think they needed some ‘couth’ or something on the carpet,” Kehlani said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter Sunday night, after posing for red carpet photos. “I’m a little couthless, ruthless. But I think everybody, we’re too powerful of a group to all be in the room at the same time and not make some kind of statement in our country. It’s brainless to me.”

A full list of 2026’s Grammy winners, updating live throughout the night on Sunday, can be followed here.