Billie Eilish, Olivia Dean speak out for immigrants at 2026 Grammy Awards

US pop star Billie Eilish has said "no one is illegal on stolen land" as she won song of the year at the 2026 Grammy Awards for her track "Wildflower."

The 24-year-old, whose winning track features on her album "Hit Me Hard And Soft," urged people to keep protesting in her winning speech at the ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday, where she was joined by her brother Finneas, with both wearing "Ice out" badges, CE Report quotes MIA.

She said: "Thank you so much, I can't believe this, everyone else in this category are so amazing, I love you so much. I feel so honoured every time I get to be in this room, 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... it's just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now, and I just, I 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."

Eilish follows British pop singer Olivia Dean, who called for immigrants to be celebrated after she won the best new artist gong

Their comments come as artists protested against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers being deployed in US cities at Sunday's awards ceremony.

Becoming emotional after scooping the award, Dean said: "Thank you, I never really imagined that I would be up here, let alone nominated, so thank you so much, I just want to say that an artist is really nothing without their team.

"Emily, my best friend, my manager, we've been doing this for 10 years, so this is for you too, and my family.

"I guess I want to say, I'm up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant, I wouldn't be here (if it were not for immigration).

"Yeah, I'm a product of bravery, and I think those people deserve to be celebrated, so yeah, we're nothing without each other. Thank you so much, I love you, thank you so much."

All of the nominees for the award performed, including British singer Lola Young, who delivered a powerful performance of her single "Messy" as she made her return to performing publicly, having sung at Spotify's best new artist party on Thursday.

Earlier in the night, singers Joni Mitchell and Kehlani, and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon were among artists wearing "Ice out" and "Be Good" pins at the annual ceremony, held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Ice officers have been deployed in US cities as part of President Donald Trump's mass deportation initiative, most notably in Minnesota and Minneapolis, where about 2,000 federal agents have been deployed.

Officers have come under strong criticism over their aggressive approach. Most recently, ICE agents fatally shot two people on the streets of Minneapolis: Renee Good on January 7 and Alex Pretti on January 24.

Kehlani, 30, cursed Ice in her acceptance speech as she won her first Grammy for best R&B performance for Folded.

She said: "I hope everybody's inspired to join together as a community of artists and speak out against what's going on. F*** ICE."

Speaking on the red carpet, Colombian singer-songwriter Karol G, who is nominated for her record "Tropicoqueta" in the best Latin pop category, addressed the plight of the US's Latin community.

She said: "Our community here in the United States is going through a lot of bad and difficult and hard things, and just to be a voice, just to be a representation, just to be a part of how positive we are, and how special we are for the world.

"So it is like the best meaning of being in these places, and I am super happy because there's a lot of Latin artists tonight, and to keep like seeing every year more and more and more, that's evolution, it's very special, that's beautiful."

Amy Allen, Rhiannon Giddens and Margo Price were also among the artists wearing the political pins.

Rapper Kendrick Lamar has also taken home his fourth gong of the night with best rap album for "GNX," having already scooped best rap song for "TV Off," featuring Lefty Gunplay, and best melodic rap performance for "Luther," a duet with R&B singer SZA.

He has also won best rap performance for Chains & Whips with Clipse, Pusha T, Malice and Pharrell Williams.

Lamar, 38, is the most nominated artist at this year's ceremony with nine nods.

Pop superstar Lady Gaga, who was the second-most nominated artist with seven nods, has also taken home best pop vocal album for her record "Mayhem," having already won best dance pop recording and best remixed recording for "Abracadabra" and its "Gesaffelstein" remix.

After being moved to tears when her pop vocal album win was announced, Gaga said:

"I just want to say for women in music, that I know sometimes when you're in the studio with a bunch of guys, it can be hard, so I urge you to always listen to yourself, and always fight for your ideas, fight for your songs, fight for yourself as a producer.

"Make sure that you are heard loudly, and thank you so much for supporting me."

Photo: epa