Our long national nightmare is over: Beyoncé finally won Album of the Year. The Grammys desperately needed her to win this award, so the night felt like a true celebration. The entire 2025 Grammys ceremony was a “just give Beyoncé her damn Album of the Year already” countdown. It all goes back to the curse of Morning Phase in 2015, when she lost to an obscure Beck album, the biggest upset in Grammy history. Over the past decade, as she lost for Lemonade and Renaissance, there’s been a sense that Bey needs to win this category so everyone can move on with their lives. Everything else about the Grammys became a sideshow. Beyoncé never needed this award—she’s the biggest Grammy winner in history—but damn, the award needed her. Her win was the highlight of a superb Grammys night.
Cowboy Carter won in a jam-packed year, with nominees from Taylor Swift to Chappell Roan to Sabrina Carpenter to Charli XCX to Andre 3000’s flute. (And Jacob Collier.) It was one of the most lustrous slate of nominees ever, but tonight was like the 2006 Oscars, when all anyone cared about was Martin Scorsese finally getting his long-awaited award (for The Departed). The Queen was impeccably gracious in her victory, playing down the historic moment. “I just feel very full and very honored,” Bey said. “It’s been many, many years.” She gave a shout-out to country pioneer Linda Martell. “I just wanna dedicate this to Miss Martell,” she said. “I hope we just keep pushing forward opening doors.”
The entire show felt like a glorious celebration of an amazing moment in music, with one stellar performance after another, including Shakira, Chappell Roan, Doechii, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter, and so many more. We’re living in a freaky bubble of history where the Grammys is the great TV party of the year, every year. This would have been a shock to anyone watching the Grammys in previous decades—the “Alicia Keys duets with a Frank Sinatra hologram” years. But in the past 13 years or so, it’s turned into an actual music show. Who knew?
Grammy night was also full of L.A. tributes. Local boys Dawes kicked off the show with the Randy Newman classic “I Love L.A.,” joined by an all-star squad of Sheryl Crow, Brad Paisley, John Legend, Brittany Howard, and St. Vincent. Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith of Dawes lost their homes in the fires, so it was a deeply moving performance. “I Love L.A.” might be Newman’s cleverly ironic satire of his hometown, but they changed the lyrics for maximum positivity. (It was so positive, it made Kris Jenner’s infamous “I Love My Friends” version sound like “Venice Bitch.”) They changed the line “Look at that bum down there, man, he’s down on his knees” to “up off his knees.” But they wisely kept “Crank up the Beach Boys, baby!” You would think Randy himself might join the party, given how he always kills on award shows, and also given how much the Grammys love cross-generational moments. But they saved Randy’s version for the closing credits.
The whole night was full of heartfelt L.A. tributes. Host Trevor Noah kept calling for donations to the fire victims. Billie Eilish sang a gorgeous version of “Birds of a Feather” with her brother Finneas, turning it into a tribute to Altadena, in front of a backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains and Eaton Canyon, where they used to play as kids. Eilish wore a Dodgers cap and ended with the words, “I love you, L.A.”
Chappell Roan did an astounding “Pink Pony Club,” riding an actual pink pony piñata. Her performance had a touching intro clip where she talked about growing up in a small town, where “I never felt like I was good enough, because I was gay.” She poignantly added, “My younger self needed a girl like me to look up to.”
Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars sang the sixties classic “California Dreamin’.” Everybody knew Gaga would work the bejeezus out of that “I got down on my kneeeeees” hook, and she did, while Mars worked his cowboy hat. They magically timed the performance to coincide with an actual New York snowstorm, on such a winter’s day. In another great Grammy irony, they chose a song by the Mamas and the Papas, one of the least wholesome things ever to happen to L.A.. Bruno diplomatically cut the line “If I didn’t tell her, I could leave today.” But if you’re keeping score, here’s the Grammys’ classic-rock L.A. tributes: a Randy Newman song about watching a bum vomit in the streets, and a John Phillips song about ditching his wife in NYC to go party in Malibu. (Hell, they could have done Steely Dan’s “Show Biz Kids” or Neil Young’s “Revolution Blues” for an encore.)
When Roan won Best New Artist, she gave one of the night’s great speeches, shouting out her fellow nominees and adding, “Brat was the best night of my life last year.” (It says so much about our era that she’s the eighth consecutive woman to win Best New Artist.) But her speech was a fiery call for the labels to offer “a livable wage and healthcare, especially to developing artists.” She discussed her struggles after getting dropped by her first label, with no health insurance and no other job experience. She asked, “Labels, we got you, but do you got us?”
Kendrick Lamar won Record of the Year for “Not Like Us,” the first winning song to accuse a former Record of the Year nominee of being a certified pedophile. “I’m gonna dedicate this to the city,” he said in a great speech, shouting out Compton first among a list of neighborhoods. “This is my neck of the woods that’s held me down since a young pup.” Mustard added, “Westsiiiide!” Kendrick also won Song of the Year, getting his award from a regal Diana Ross, one of the Grammys’ all-time MVPs. It was impossible not to be deeply touched by seeing K-Dot give a reverent we’re-not-worthy bow to Miss Ross, the Boss. “Come on, Diana Ross?” he raved at the podium. “I’m starstruck!”
Anthony Keidis and Chad Smith presented the Best Pop Vocal award, immediately raising the question: Where the hell is Flea? He’s not exactly the shy stay-at-home type. But they paid tribute to the City of Angels with an a cappella version of “Under the Bridge,” before handing the award to Sabrina Carpenter, who was two weeks old when they released Californication. Sabrina also did a fantastic medley of “Espresso” and “Please, Please Please,” putting on the Ritz with an old-school Hollywood tie-and-tails dance routine on the stairs. (We’re always here for An American in Paris shout-outs on award shows.)
Roan was one of the least surprising Best New Artist winners ever, but the Grammys made the build-up one of the night’s highlights, as the nominees performed a song apiece. Benson Boone, sitting in the audience, pulled a live mic from his suit pocket, and got his tux stripped off by Heidi Klum and Nikki Glaser, revealing a blue jumpsuit that went perfectly with his fuzzy mustache. Dude looked like a figure skater playing Styx’s Dennis DeYoung in a road production of Kilroy Was Here on Ice. Damn, his guy understands showmanship, doing eye-popping backflips, as if he was trying to win a Grammy and an Olympic medal the same night. Raye vamped it up with a Vegas-worthy “Oscar-Winning Tears,” while Shaboozey brought down the house with “Tipsy”—the sight of SZA clapping along was a real moment.
There was a long and awkward speech from Recording Academy boss Harvey Mason Jr. about how they’ve learned so many lessons, thanks to the Weeknd, who appeared to do a couple of songs from his new album. This ended the Grammy boycott that the Weeknd (a four-time Grammy winner) announced in 2021. Drake, who has also been boycotting the Grammys, and also made this announcement in 2021, did not get mentioned, just another brick in his now-that’s-a-bad-year wall.
Shakira had a big night, glittering in gold as she rocked her belly-dancing moves while doing her nineties classic “Ohos Asi.” In a powerhouse speech she dedicated her Best Latin Pop Award “to all my immigrant brothers and sisters in this country,” vowing “I will always fight with you.”
Lady Gaga debuted her brand new “Abracadabra,” from her hotly awaited Mayhem. She also made a moving and timely speech when she and Mars won for “Die with a Smile.” “Trans people are not invisible,” Gaga declared. “Trans people deserve love. The queer community deserves to be lifted up. Music is love.” Alicia Keys gave a speech about DEI, saying, “This is not the time to shut down the diversity of voices.” Doechii did a bang-up “Catfish” and “Denial Is A River” after winning Best Rap Album for her superb mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal, with a poignant and tearful speech abut her sobriety, while giving a heartfelt shout-out to her hometown of Tampa.
Quincy Jones, the superstar producer who embodied the Grammys if anyone ever did, got a fittingly lavish tribute from an A-team of music legends from all over history. Cynthia Ervio sang “Fly Me to the Moon,” with Herbie Hancock on piano. Stevie Wonder did “We Are the World,” with an epic harmonica solo, while Janelle Monae moonwalked through “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough.”
Chris Martin sang “All My Love” for the In Memoriam tribute, which opened with a moving spotlight for One Direction’s Liam Payne. It was surreal to see Steve Albini in the montage rocking a Stooges Raw Power t-shirt—it’s hard to think of anything Albini would have hated more than being honored by the Grammys with a Coldplay song. As always they missed some luminaries (e.g. Unk, Ka, The MC5’s Wayne Kramer). But they got Marianne Faithfull in the mix, just three days after her death. (Garth Hudson, too.) The Grammys also announced Lifetime Achievement Awards to legends including The Clash, Roxanne Shanté, Frankie Valli, and “the artist forever known as Prince.”
Charli XCX absolutely destroyed with “Von Dutch,” giving serious PJ Harvey in her black faux-fur coat and shades. Seeing Eilish in the crowd rocking out to “Guess” was the next best thing to seeing her rush onstage and grab the mic to do their remix duet version. (Which didn’t happen why exactly?) While Charlie’s dancers had an underwear-throwing party, a message appeared onscreen: “All unworn undergarments will be donated to victims of domestic violence.” It was a glorious moment—Brat at the Grammys But Not Giving a Crap So Still Completely Brat.
Taylor Swift managed to have a massive night without even winning anything. She presented Best Country Performance, a chance to pair her with Beyoncé; they shared a warm embrace at the podium, from one queen to another. Taylor’s walk-on song was “So High School,” which might technically count as rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. She made the scene at one of the night’s coolest tables, next to Cynthia Ervio, Jack Antonoff, and Margaret Qualley. When Bey won Album of the Year, Taylor clinked champagne glasses with Jay-Z. (Look what you made them do!) She rocked a Lovin’ Him Was Red minidress, with a self-designed T on a chain dangling against her thigh. It was a callback to “Guilty as Sin,” where she sings “What if he’s written ‘mine’ on my upper thigh,” but also to “Call It What You Want,” where she sings, “I want to wear his initial on a chain ‘round my neck.”
Also huge: Taylor went the whole night without announcing a new album. This can only mean Debutation TV is finally dropping, right?
