Apple TV's F1: The Movie Wins Grammy for Best Country Solo Performance

Apple TV celebrated its first Grammy win of the night as Chris Stapleton's "Bad As I Used To Be" from F1: The Movie took home the award for Best Country Solo Performance at the 2026 Grammy Awards ceremony. The win came from a field of four Apple TV nominations, highlighting the streaming platform's growing influence in both film and music production.

Apple TV's Grammy Night

The Recording Academy had previously announced four nominations for Apple TV productions:

• Best Dance Pop Recording: "Just Keep Watching (From F1® The Movie)" by Tate McRae
• Best Country Solo Performance: "Bad As I Used To Be (From "F1® The Movie")" by Chris Stapleton
• Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media: F1® The Album
• Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media: Severance: Season 2, by composer Theodore Shapiro

While Apple TV left the ceremony with just one win, the Best Country Solo Performance award for Stapleton's track represents a significant achievement for the streaming service's original content strategy.

Stapleton's Absent Victory

In an interesting twist, Chris Stapleton was unable to attend the Grammy ceremony in person. Fellow musician Sierra Hull stepped in to accept the award on his behalf, delivering an emotional acceptance speech that highlighted the collaborative nature of film soundtrack creation.

The win for "Bad As I Used To Be" marks F1: The Movie's 15th award of the season, building substantial momentum ahead of the upcoming Academy Awards where the film has received four nominations:

• Best Motion Picture of the Year
• Best Sound
• Best Achievement in Visual Effects
• Best Achievement in Film Editing

Apple TV's Growing Entertainment Empire

Apple TV continues to expand its footprint in the entertainment industry, offering subscribers access to critically acclaimed content for $12.99 per month. The platform has become home to numerous hit productions beyond F1: The Movie, including:

• Pluribus
• Severance
• The Studio
• The Morning Show
• Shrinking
• Silo

Following the Grammy win, Apple TV took to social media platform X to celebrate the achievement, sharing the news with their growing subscriber base and further cementing the film's cultural impact.

The Impact on Streaming Competition

This Grammy win represents more than just an award for Apple TV—it signals the streaming platform's serious commitment to producing award-worthy content across multiple entertainment verticals. As competition in the streaming space intensifies, recognition from prestigious institutions like the Recording Academy helps differentiate platforms and attract both subscribers and top-tier creative talent.

For Apple TV+, this victory validates its strategy of investing in high-quality original content that can compete across both visual and audio categories, potentially opening doors for more ambitious cross-medium projects in the future.

What This Means for F1: The Movie

The Grammy win adds another layer of prestige to F1: The Movie as it heads into the final stretch of awards season. The film's success at the Grammys, combined with its multiple Oscar nominations, positions it as one of the most celebrated entertainment properties of the year, bridging the worlds of sports, cinema, and music in a way that resonates with diverse audiences.

As streaming platforms continue to evolve from content distributors to full-fledged production studios, Apple TV's Grammy win demonstrates the potential for these services to create culturally significant works that earn recognition across traditional entertainment boundaries.