Alex Warren Hit by Technical Issues During Debut Grammys 2026 Performance: ‘This Would Only Happen to Me’

Alex Warren overcame some apparent technical issues during his 2026 Grammys performance.

The Best New Artist nominee, 25, began his debut Grammys performance of his hit song “Ordinary” while walking through the crowd towards the stage. Shortly afterwards, the singer appeared to have some trouble with his in-ear device, which helps a performer hear themselves in a loud space.

Warren fumbled with the pack on his back as well as the earpieces themselves while continuing to sing. At one point, Warren could be seen either tugging the earpiece out, or the device falling out on its own, just as the song reached its chorus.

Due to the technical issues, Warren fell about half a beat behind at one point. However, he recovered fairly quickly in time for the next part of the song’s performance, which saw him ascend over the crowd on a mechanical lift. When the song was over, he pulled the earpiece off.

Warren later addressed the snafu on TikTok, captioning a video of what he was hearing while he was performing with “this would only happen to me.”

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Warren was nominated for Best New Artist — his first ever Grammy nomination — alongside Sombr, Olivia Dean, Addison Rae, Leon Thomas, The Marias, Katseye and Lola Young. Dean took home the award.

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Before the Grammys, Warren opened up on CBS Mornings about his life before “Ordinary” went viral on TikTok and his rise to superstardom.

“My entire life, I wasn’t the best singer in my class. I wasn’t amazing,” Warren, who won Best New Artist at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, revealed. “My choir teacher did not believe in me, to say the least.”

The singer noted that his voice isn’t “stereotypical,” in that there’s more rasp and emotion than others. This made him feel like he didn’t have “the voice that people liked.”

Thus, gaining recognition for his work is “very validating,” he said. “I think I’ve worked really hard to become who I am today and that was one of those moments I kind of got to look up in the sky and be pretty stoked.”

The Grammys were broadcast live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on CBS and streamed live and on-demand on Paramount+.