Brothers Caetano Veloso and Maria Bethânia won the Grammy for best global music album at the 68th edition of the awards, held on February 1, 2026, in Los Angeles. The album 'Caetano e Bethânia Ao Vivo', a recording of their 2024-2025 tour, earned Bethânia her first trophy and Veloso his third. President Lula congratulated the artists for the win that highlights Brazilian culture worldwide.
The win by Caetano Veloso and Maria Bethânia at the 2026 Grammy Awards was announced during the Premiere Ceremony, before the main event at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The album 'Caetano e Bethânia Ao Vivo' beat competitors including Nigerian Burna Boy, Senegalese Youssou N’Dour, Indian Siddhant Bhatia, the group Shakti, and British-Indian Anoushka Shankar with Alam Khan and Sarathy Korwar. This marks Bethânia's first Grammy on her debut nomination and Veloso's third, following wins in 2000 for 'Livro' and in 2001 as producer for João Gilberto's 'João Voz e Violão'. The Bahian has five nominations in total.
The artists, the only Brazilians nominated, did not attend the event. However, Caetano's Instagram profile celebrated: "The Grammy for best global music album is ours, it's Brazil's!". In a shared video, he calls his sister to celebrate: "We won the Grammy. It's true. I just found out now". The album features hits like 'Alegria Alegria' and 'O Leãozinho', capturing their joint 2024-2025 tour.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva congratulated the Bahians on social media, stating their music "crosses generations" and "shows the world the greatness of Brazilian culture". The web reacted with enthusiasm, with comments like "LONG LIVE BRAZIL, LONG LIVE BAHIA, LONG LIVE BETHÂNIA, LONG LIVE CAETANO AND LONG LIVE BRAZILIAN POPULAR MUSIC FOREVER!!!!!" and references to recent successes of Brazilian productions, such as the film 'O Agente Secreto' at the Golden Globes.
This achievement bolsters Brazil's Grammy history, which includes wins by figures like Astrud Gilberto, Eliane Elias, and Gilberto Gil. The awards, hosted by Trevor Noah for the sixth year, featured artists like Lady Gaga and Kendrick Lamar in other categories.
