Harry Styles Got Bleeped at the Grammys While Complimenting His Competitors

Harry Styles won his first Grammy on Sunday night, taking home the award for best solo pop performance for his hit song “Watermelon Sugar.” He also managed to cross off another item on award-show bingo: getting bleeped during his acceptance speech. Hilariously, it turns out that the censored moment of his speech wasn’t rude or controversial – it was actually a compliment!

At one point in his speech, Styles thanked the people who helped him record the song, and then, for a few seconds, the broadcast cut out the sound. Typically, that’s indicative of someone using profanity that’s not allowed on primetime TV, and that was true in this case, too, but it was actually in a very sweet context. So what was Styles actually saying during that bleeped-out moment? He was complimenting the other people nominated in the category along with him!

“I feel very grateful to be here,” he said. “All these songs are f*cking massive.” Just as a quick reminder, his competition included Justin Bieber’s “Yummy,” Doja Cat’s “Say So,” Billie Eilish’s “Everything I Wanted,” Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Start Now,” and Taylor Swift’s “Cardigan.” The other nominees could be seen applauding and smiling in the audience, including Swift, who memorably dated Styles several years ago.

Styles also performed his now-Grammy-winning song to open the broadcast, showing up with a jazzy, sultry rendition of the pop hit. He also made a wardrobe change between that performance and his acceptance speech a little while later, starting out the night with an open-front leather suit and a green boa, then changing into brown corduroy pants, a striped V-neck sweater, a green plaid jacket, and another boa (this one in pale purple). It’s definitely been a big night for Styles, and it’s both incredibly sweet that he took a moment to shout out the other talented musicians in his category and incredibly funny that this was the moment that got him bleeped!