Bettencourt discusses the resurgence of rock music among a new generation of underground fans, and why AI should pose no threat to authentic artists. “Real songs have a bit of danger in them,” he says. “There’s blood on the page.”
Rock guitarist Nuno Bettencourt spoke with Open On Sunday backstage at the 2026 Grammy Awards, where he won a Grammy for Best Rock Performance for Changes (Live From Villa Park). Reflecting on rock music’s evolution, Bettencourt says, “Any genre that gets big in the mainstream tends to get watered down. It loses a bit of its authenticity because people start copying each other.”
While diverse influences have always shaped genres, and allowed new branches to emerge, he sees AI as a different kind of problem – one that removes imperfections that make rock music ‘real.’
“Imperfection is where rock and roll lives,” Bettencourt explains, adding, “Everybody’s cleaning up the imperfections [with AI]. But real songs have a bit of danger in them. There’s blood on the page.”
For Bettencourt, his Grammy win underscores this point because it honored a live performance. “That’s where rock and roll and true artists and true music live,” he says, adding, “Anybody can do it in a studio. But if you can do it on a stage in a live performance, AI ain’t messing with you there.”
He believes live music is what ‘separates the greats and the not-so-greats.’
To the new generation of rock artists worried about AI’s impact, Bettencourt says, “This is the biggest opportunity for rock and roll.”
“Bring real music. [Bring] true stories that touch you. You put yourself on the page so AI can’t touch that. It can’t reproduce that. Go live on a stage before you even record a song. If you do that, you’re going places. Period.”
Bettencourt’s Grammy-winning performance took place in July 2025 at Ozzy Osbourne’s farewell concert in Birmingham, UK, where the world’s biggest names in rock gathered to honor the godfather of metal.
For Bettencourt, that night exemplified rock’s true spirit. “An event like that reminded everybody that rock and roll is more underground than it used to be, in a cool way,” he said. “And I think it always sort of belonged there.”
Bettencourt, a Portuguese-American singer and guitarist, shares the Grammy for Best Rock Performance with YUNGBLUD, Adam Wakeman II, and Frank Bello. The Grammy Awards’ Premiere ceremony took place in Los Angeles on February 1, 2026.
