The Grammy Awards might’ve taken a hit in viewership this year, but not from me. I watched the entire show, made my roommates watch it with me and dragged our cat and dog into the living room – make it five more viewers, CBS! Just like always for the past eight years, the ceremony became my conversation topic of the month.
It was the Superbowl of the music industry, and I’m ready to present you with the best moments of the night.
The 67th annual Grammy Awards took place in the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Feb. 2. Just weeks after the devastating LA fires, the most powerful people in the industry gathered to celebrate an amazing year in music and raise money for relief efforts.
In 2025, the Recording Academy gave out 94 Grammy Awards to the most distinguished artists, songwriters, musicians and producers. Out of them, the broadcasted ceremony featured only a few nominations: album of the year, record of the year, song of the year, best new artist, best pop duo/group performance, best country album, best pop vocal album, global impact and best rap album.
The ceremony dedicated a lot of screen time to encourage donations to fire relief efforts in LA and show gratitude to the first responders. The host, Trevor Noah, reminded the audience about donations during the ceremony, and commercial breaks featured local businesses affected by the fires.
The programming itself featured Dawes along other musicians performing “I Love L.A.,” and the Los Angeles County Fire Department presenting the album of the year. According to Variety Magazine, the Grammys raised $9 million during the ceremony on Sunday night and $15 million over the weekend.
Speaking of the night’s main award, for the first time in her career, Beyonce received the album of the year for “Cowboy Carter.” She has the most wins and nominations in the Grammy’s history yet only received the main annual award this year.
Meanwhile, another record breaker, Taylor Swift, didn’t take home any Grammys this year despite being nominated in six categories.
Another one of the firsts at the 2025 Grammys was Sabrina Carpenter’s performance at the ceremony and her two victories in the best pop vocal album category for “Short n’ Sweet” and the best pop solo performance category for “Espresso.”
Carpenter’s live performance at the Grammys left quite an impression, unforgettable to be exact. She received a standing ovation from the audience in LA and from me in my Lexington living room. The theatrical approach made the performance entertaining yet elegant. Carpenter performed a medley of “Espresso” and “Please Please Please” as her Grammys debut.
The Grammys always have a surprise, but this year seemed more dynamic and dramatic than usual. After boycotting the Grammys for four years, the Weeknd made a surprise performance at the ceremony. He accused the Recording Academy of being corrupt and having an unfair nomination process on X.
The Weeknd performed an epic medley of “Cry For Me” and “Timeless” following the release of his new album, “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” on Jan. 31. Does it mean he will submit this album for the Grammys’ 2026 considerations? We will find out soon.
The Midwest Princess, Chappell Roan, won her first Grammy in the Best New Artist category and had a full circle moment performing her hit song “Pink Pony Club,” which describes young Roan dreaming about LA. Now, she got to perform it in front of the most influential people in the music industry.
While Roan’s performance was epic, her acceptance speech got more media attention. As she received her award, Roan criticized music labels and producers for not paying artists enough for their art that the industry is built on. The speech received both support and outrage from the industry. Universal Music Group, inspired by Roan, launched a mental health fund. Meanwhile, Jeff Rabhan, a music industry executive, criticized the speech, calling Roan “too green” to vouch for such changes.
The cherry on top of this year’s Grammys was Kendrick Lamar. While he didn’t perform, Lamar secured five awards for his diss track on Drake, called “Not Like Us.” Now a certified hater, Lamar took home major wins in categories like song of the year, record of the year, best music video, best rap song, and best rap performance.
The 2025 Grammy ceremony was truly a night to remember with so many moments I couldn’t fit in this story. In addition to the highlights in this recap, I highly recommend watching the performances of Billie Eilish, Charli XCX, and Doechii. The amazing performances only make me more excited for what next year’s ceremony will bring us.
