Originally appeared on E! Online
One of the biggest surprises from Golden Globes 2026? The music.
The soundtrack for the Jan. 11 ceremony, hosted by Nikki Glaser for the second year in a row at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif., included pop songs from Charli XCX’s “Von Dutch” to Usher’s 2004 hit “Yeah!” featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris.
Other popular songs played amid the event — which saw Timothée Chalamet, Teyana Taylor, Jessie Buckley and more walk away with trophies — included Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” soundtracking Heated Rivalry stars Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams’ entrance, as well as several Taylor Swift songs, courtesy of self-proclaimed Swiftie and host Glaser.
Indeed, the 41-year-old — who also did a parody musical medley tribute to “KPop Demon Hunters” and “Marty Supreme” — shared that the Grammy winner’s discography was going to help her confidence on stage.
“I just want to have fun,” Glaser shared on Live From E!: Golden Globes ahead of the ceremony. “I literally was having fun last time. I was surprisingly present. You don’t know until it happens. I hope that happens for me tonight when I walk out on stage — to a Taylor Swift song by the way.”
READ: See Leonardo DiCaprio Hug It Out With Timothée Chalamet After Losing Best Actor at Golden Globes 2026
Indeed, Glaser — who ended up walking out to “Style” from Taylor’s 1989 album — teased, “I never go out of style is all I’ll say.”
“I’m so excited about it,” she added. “It gives me this most confidence to strut out there to that song.”
And it wasn’t just the stars who walked the Golden Globes 2026 red carpet (which you can see more of here) who were touched by the evening’s soundtrack. Even viewers at home couldn’t help but share their thoughts on social media.
“The music playing at the golden globes is actually wild,” one user wrote on X during the ceremony, “who is on aux?”
Another joked about the specificity of the catalogue, adding, “what millennial is in charge of the music at the golden globes? everything is from like 2007-2016 lmao.”
Others insinuated that the music choices were — at times — a bit off beat, with one pointing to the moment that “One Battle After Another” writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson’s win for Best Screenplay — Motion Picture prompted an LMFAO song.
As the X user put it, “Why is Paul Thomas Anderson walking up to party rock anthem?”
Access Hollywood’s Scott Evans spoke to Leonardo DiCaprio at the red carpet of his upcoming film “One Battle After Another.”
