Nine Inch Nails won another Grammy! Their first in over 30 years! That's the main takeaway. That's what's important.
The fact that it's for a song from a Jared Leto movie is neither here nor there, really. "As Alive as You Need Me to Be," the first single from TRON: Ares, won Best Rock Song at the 2026 Grammy Awards, beating out Sleep Token's "Caramel," Hayley Williams's "Glum," Turnstile's "Never Enough," and Yungblud's "Zombie." If that field of nominees seems a bit all over the place, that's in keeping with the Grammys' long history of questionable rock winners. Who could forget the time Eric Clapton's acoustic rendition of "Layla" beat Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"?
Despite a wealth of nominations throughout years—and plenty of noms and wins for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's film and TV score work—this is Nine Inch Nails' first Grammy win since taking home the Best Metal Performance trophy in 1995 for their iconic performance of "Happiness in Slavery" at Woodstock '94. "As Alive as You Need Me to Be" was also nominated for Best Song Written for Visual Media but lost to "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters.
Ironically, of the four non-instrumental Nine Inch Nails tracks on the TRON: Ares soundtrack, "As Alive as You Need Me to Be" is arguably the weakest. While it makes sense as the lead single—it establishes one of the score's main motifs and clocks in under four minutes, unlike the mammoth "I Know You Can Feel It" or the album's ballad, "Who Wants to Live Forever"—it's really just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
It's also entirely possible TRON: Ares will get the recognition it deserves next year. "As Alive as You Need Me to Be" released before the Grammy's August 30th eligibility cutoff but the album proper dropped mid-September. This means the actual TRON: Ares album could garner more awards come November. Until then, fans can catch Nine Inch Nails live on the expanded North American leg of their Peel It Back Tour. Check out tour dates and the "As Alive as You Need Me to Be" music video below.
TRON: Ares is out now on Interscope/Walt Disney/The Null Corporation. Read The Nu Metal Agenda's review here.
02/05 New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center
02/07 Jacksonville, FL @ VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
02/10 Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center
02/11 Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena
02/13 Boston, MA @ TD Garden
02/14 Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
02/16 Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
02/18 Hamilton, ON @ TD Coliseum
02/20 Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center
02/22 Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena
02/23 Milwaukee, WI @ Fiserv Forum
02/25 St. Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center
02/27 Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center
03/01 Austin, TX @ Moody Center
03/03 Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
03/06 Glendale, AZ @ Desert Diamond Arena
03/07 Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
03/09 San Diego, CA @ Pechanga Arena
03/10 Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center
03/13 Salt Lake City, UT @ Delta Center
03/15 San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
03/16 Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center
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