The Grammys took place on Sunday, February 2nd. Only ten awards were distributed at the televised show: Best Rap Album, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Country Album, Best New Artist, Best Latin Pop Album, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Record of the Year, the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year. all without clear frontrunners.
However, the Grammys kicked off with a nicer surprise than any of the category winners could have produced. The Grammys donated some of their commercial time to small businesses based in L.A. In fact, much of the awards show was appropriately spent fundraising for L.A. wildfire relief.
The nominees for Best Rap Album were Might Delete Later by J. Cole, The Auditorium Vol. 1 by Common and Pete Rock, Alligator Bites Never Heal by Doechii, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) by Eminem, We Don’t Trust You by Future, and Metro Boomin. Doechii succeeded, making herself only the third woman to win the Best Rap Album Award. She gave a heartfelt speech calling herself the “swamp princess,” an homage to her upbringing in Tampa.
For Best Pop Vocal Album, Sabrina Carpenter was nominated for Short n’ Sweet, Billie Eilish was nominated for Hit Me Hard and Soft, Ariana Grande was nominated for Eternal Sunshine, Chappell Roan was nominated for The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, and Taylor Swift was nominated for The Tortured Poets Department. Sabrina Carpenter took the win in this extremely competitive category, taking home her first Grammy.
Best Country Album had Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, Post Malone’s F-1 Trillion, Kacey Musgraves’s Deeper Well, Chris Stapleton’s Higher, and Lainey Wilson’s Whirlwind. Beyoncé won for her first-ever country album, pointing out that “genre” is often used in a confining context, but that genre is truly whatever you can make it.
Benson Boone, Sabrina Carpenter, Doechii, Khraungbin, Raye, Chappell Roan, Shaboozey, and Teddy Swims were nominated for Best New Artist, and all of them performed at some point in the night. Chappell Roan won and gave a particularly powerful speech about access to health care, asking labels to give artists livable wages and health insurance.
The nominees for Best Latin Pop Album were Anitta’s Funk Generation, Luis Fonsi’s El Viaje, Kany García’s García, Shakira’s Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, and Kali Uchis’s Orquídeas. Shakira took the award home for a triumphant third time. She nominated her award to fellow immigrants who she promised to fight with.
For Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Taylor Swift and Gracie Abrams were nominated for Us., Beyoncé and Post Malone were nominated for Levii’s Jeans, Charli XCX and Billie Eilish were nominated for Guess, Ariana Grande, Brandy, and Monica were nominated for The Boy Is Mine, and Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars were nominated for Die With A Smile. Gaga and Mars won and Gaga spoke out about transgender rights during their acceptance speech.
The Beatles’s “Now and Then,” Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold Em’,” Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso,” Charli XCX’s “360,” Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather,” Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck Babe,” and Taylor Swift’s “Fortnight.” Kendrick Lamar won, giving Drake a shoutout as “Not Like Us” was a product of their public beef. Lamar also honored California, giving a shout out to his hometown, Compton, and the Palisades.
Alicia Keys was honored with the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award for founding Keep A Child Alive, a non-profit that supports families struggling with HIV and AIDS. She used much of her acceptance speech to defend diversity initiatives that are currently under threat.
For Song of the Year, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey, “Birds of a Feather” by Billie Eilish, “Die with a Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, “Fortnight” by Taylor Swift, “Good Luck Babe” by Chappell Roan, “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar, “Please Please Please” by Sabrina Carpenter, and “Texas Hold ‘Em” by Beyoncé were nominated. Kendrick Lamar won, meaning he took home both Song and Record of the Year, a clean sweep for “Not Like Us.”
The last award of the night, Album of the Year, saw André 3000’s New Blue Sun, Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet, Charli XCX’s Brat, Jacob Collier’s Djesse Vol. 4, Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft, Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest princess, and Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department get nominated.
Beyoncé won with Cowboy Carter, earning her first Album of the Year award. Despite being the most awarded artist in Grammy history and being named the best pop star of the 21st century by Billboard, Beyoncé had never won Album of the Year before the 2025 Grammys. This long overdue recognition is a seal on her legacy as an artist.
The 2025 Grammys were full of joy and celebration as well as reverence for L.A.’s perseverance throughout the wildfires. There were no true surprise wins, no snubs, and no washes. Everyone brought their A-game to 2024’s music scene.
