Why Bad Bunny should win Best Album Cover at the Grammys

One of the most prestigious nights in music is right around the corner. The Grammys are back on 1 February, a ceremony that reflects not only what has dominated the charts, but what the industry chooses to recognise. Last year, the Recording Academy announced the introduction of a new category, Best Album Cover, acknowledging visual storytelling as an essential part of how music is experienced and remembered, and recognising the work of art directors behind some of the most iconic art works in music. As Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. noted, “In today’s digital world, album covers are arguably more impactful than ever. Their cultural significance is undeniable.”

This year’s nominees include Bad Bunny’s Debi Tirar Mas Fotos, Tyler, The Creator’s CHROMAKOPIA, Djo’s The Cruz, Perfume Genius’ Glory, and Wet Leg’s moisturizer, each showcasing a distinct approach to album art and visual storytelling in today’s music landscape. Among them, Bad Bunny’s Debi Tirar Mas Fotos, which translates to ‘I should’ve taken more pictures,’ stands out not because it is the most extravagant, but because of how deeply it resonates. 

Art directed by Bad Bunny himself and photographed by Puerto Rican photographer Eric Rojas, the album cover is deceptively simple. It depicts two plastic chairs outdoors under a banana tree. The image feels lived in, familiar, almost intimate. 

That familiarity is what has allowed the cover to travel so widely across cultures and borders. For many listeners, it immediately evokes memories of family gatherings, evenings spent outside, and quiet moments shared with loved ones. It recalls everyday spaces rather than exceptional ones. For me, it brings back childhood memories of visiting family in Algeria and sitting in my grandmother’s garden after a morning at the beach. This response was echoed globally when the album was released back in 2025, as social media filled with people sharing photos of their own memories to the song ‘DtMF’. As the TikTok trend gained momentum, Bad Bunny posted a video on TikTok of himself crying to the song ‘DtMF’, and he wrote on X in Spanish, “I’ve cried like 17 times watching the DtMF trend on TikTok.” 

Those shared responses reveal why Debi Tirar Mas Fotos works so powerfully as album art. The cover does not rely on insider knowledge or cultural explanation. It communicates through recognition. The chairs become a symbol of home, continuity and collective memory, particularly within working class and immigrant communities, but also far beyond them. It is an image rooted in specificity that somehow feels universal. 

Debir Tirir Mas Fotos is driven by nostalgia for Bad Bunny’s Puerto Rican identity and the family memories tied to them. The imagery points to a longing for home and cultural identity, a sentiment he echoed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last January. On the show, he reflected on wishing he embraced the present more and the people around him. This statement speaks to Bad Bunny’s broader artistic approach, which has consistently foregrounded culture, identity and lived experience without flattening them for mass consumption. 

The introduction of the Best Album Cover category presents the Grammys with an opportunity to recognise this kind of work. It is a chance to honour not just technical excellence or visual trendiness, but cultural impact. To acknowledge photographers, designers and artists who understand album art as an emotional and social force. 

Debi Tirar Mas Fotos exemplifies what this category can stand for. It shows how a single image can hold personal histories, cross borders and connect people who may not share a language but recognise the same feeling. It reminds us that some of the most powerful visuals are not the loudest, and if the Grammy’s want this category to truly reflect the way people experience music and imagery today, Bad Bunny’s album cover is exactly the kind of work it should honour.