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Alex Warren has opened up about the technical difficulties he faced during his chaotic performance at the 2026 Grammy Awards.
The singer, 25, was seen fumbling with his earpiece as he sang half a beat behind in his ballad “Ordinary” during Sunday’s ceremony in Los Angeles.
He quickly recovered and regained his pace during the song’s climactic chorus, which saw him lifted over the crowd on a mechanical stage. However, Warren was seen letting his in-ear device, which helps performers hear themselves over loud stage noise, fall as he sang.
The singer later addressed the incident on TikTok, saying, “This would only happen to me.”
An echoey sound mix of “Ordinary” played behind Warren’s video to show how his earpiece’s jumbled sound output had confused the singer during the performance. Over a clip of Warren putting his head in his hands, he wrote: “when you’re performing at the Grammys and all you hear is this in your ears…”
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Alex Warren explained what happened during his Grammys performance on TikTok (alexwarren/TikTok)
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The singer was noticeably a beat behind during the performance that saw him lifted over the crowd (Getty)
Fans shared their support for Warren in the comments of the post, with one TikTok user writing: “YOU RECOVERED SO WELL THOUGH HARDLY NOTICEABLE.”
YouTuber Trisha Paytas commented on the video: “You actually crushed it tho !!!!!!!”
Warren reposted the video on Instagram, where Friends star Courtney Cox commented, “You are sooooo f’ing talented Alex! One moment does not define you!!! Your voice is everything!”
One TikTok user assured the singer, “I was there. We all knew something was going on and it wasn’t you. You were so professional and were still amazing!”
Another added, “Don’t let this break you. You were robbed of that Grammy but you will get it next time!!!! Don’t let something you can’t control ruin this accomplishment!!”
Warren was nominated for Best New Artist at the ceremony, alongside his fellow TikTok star Addison Rae, Sombr, Leon Thomas III, The Marias, Lola Young, Olivia Dean and KATSEYE. British songstress Olivia Dean took home the award.
The singer’s technical difficulties were not the only unplanned part of the three-hour ceremony, which was hosted by comedian Trevor Noah.
The awards show also descended into chaos when Cher took the stage to accept her Lifetime Achievement Award, but forgot to read out the nominees at the end of her speech and instead walked off the stage.
She then mistakenly announced the Record of the Year winner as Luther Vandross, the R&B legend who died in 2005. However, Kendrick Lamar and SZA did not appear too upset with the blunder as they joked about the snafu while accepting the award for their hit song “Luther.”