Justin Bieber hit the screen at the 2026 Grammys wearing nothing but boxers, shirtless, and unapologetic. Producer Ben Winston later said, “You want a bit of anarchy”. The “Peaches” singer walked out in boxers and a bare chest. Fans noticed before the cameras cut away. However, the moment was part of his “Yukon” set piece at the 2026 Grammys. Each act gets 90 minutes to rehearse. Yet Winston said Bieber ran it once, tried to leave, and chose the look onstage.
Justin Bieber’s boxers look wasn’t planned until he went on stage, says Grammys exec
According to a Rolling Stone report dated February 2, 2026, Winston said Justin Bieber barely rehearsed. Winston said, “He came to the stage, he did it once”. He added, “We are seven minutes into his hour-and-a-half rehearsal”. Then Bieber asked, “How’d it look to you? You happy with it?” Winston asked for another pass so crews could track beats. He said the full session lasted about 15 minutes. So most staging notes had to land on show day.
Still, Winston said the styling was not locked in early. He said, “I don’t think he decided what the outfit would be until he walked onstage”. That meant wardrobe and camera framing had to flex together. Producers also needed camera operators to learn the song’s cues. So Winston asked for one more run. Bieber agreed, then closed it with, “OK, fantastic. See you Sunday”. Even so, the boxer’s moment became the night’s most effortless headline.
Meanwhile, Winston framed that looseness as the show’s secret sauce. Winston is also the producer behind “The Late Late Show with James Corden”. When Cher missed a cue, he guided host Trevor Noah in real time. He said, “You’ve just gotta get up and bring her back”. Bad Bunny could not perform because of an NFL exclusivity window. He also dealt with late tweaks from artists’ teams, including a live bird request. Ultimately, he argued live TV needs an edge. For now, Bieber’s shirtless, boxers-only Grammys moment delivered exactly that.
Originally written by Santanu Das on Reality Tea.
