LOS ANGELES — Under a layer of smog that served as a reminder of last month’s deadly wildfires, the 2025 Grammy Awards aimed to be a beacon for a city that is reeling from the historic destruction.

Inside downtown LA’s Crypto.com Arena Sunday night, Kendrick Lamar achieved a sweep with his Drake diss track, Beyoncé

finally snagged the elusive album of the year award, and Taylor Swift danced the night away despite experiencing a rare shutout from the Recording Academy. This all in between mournful and reflective moments that punctuated the telecast’s fundraising for wildfire relief efforts.

USA TODAY had all all the details of the 2025 Grammys, from the red carpet to inside the show and also backstage. These were the best moments we caught that didn’t make it to air.

Grammy winners full list:Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Chappell Roan take top awards

Olivia Rodrigo and Louis Partridge make their award show debut

Olivia Rodrigo might be best known for biting and catchy breakup songs like “Vampire” and “Drivers License,” but she looked completely loved up at the Grammys. Nominated for her “Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” song “Can’t Catch Me Now,” the 21-year-old sat at a table stage right with “Enola Holmes” actor Louis Partridge.

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The lovebirds were often leaning toward each other in their seats, and during one of the night’s performances the 2021 best new artist winner held Partridge’s hand as it was wrapped around her bare hip

After crossing the floor and speaking at length with Gracie Abrams and her friend/collaborator Audrey Hobert — with Abrams and Rodrigo chatting up a storm while Hobert and Partridge kept each other company — the couple dashed hand-in-hand back to their seats at the end of a commercial break.

Jay-Z and Beyoncé hold court

After they arrived right in time for Beyoncé’s best country album win

, the Carters’ table became one of the most popular stops for friends, colleagues and schmoozers seated in the VIP floor section.

For the record, though, Beyoncé was absent from the telecast for at least an hour after collecting her trophy from Swift and only glided across the floor to retake her throne when the Quincy Jones tribute was underway. (During which, by the way, Swift — and her glass of white wine — made a rare cross-floor journey to whisper like schoolchildren with “Us” collaborator Abrams.)

During his wife’s absence, Jay-Z (who is now embroiled in

a sexual assault lawsuit) greeted the likes of Will Smith, his children Willow and Jaden Smith, Dr. Dre, Queen Latifah and best new artist hopefuls Doechii and Shaboozey. His and Beyoncé’s 13-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy, mostly seemed to keep to herself, with the exception of one lengthy conversation with an A-lister.

Taylor Swift greets Jay-Z, gets deep in conversation with daughter Blue Ivy

After Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars delivered their tribute to LA with a cover of “California Dreamin’,” Swift exchanged some words with Jay-Z at a neighboring table. When the show cut to commercial break, she sauntered over to Blue Ivy for a conversation that lasted at least five minutes.

At one point, Abrams and Hobert journeyed from their stage left section and joined the conversation. Swift also cupped her hand around her mouth and whispered into Blue Ivy’s ear to share what might have been either a private comment or a statement that couldn’t be heard over the noise.

Jack Antonoff snaps pics of Taylor Swift, wife Margaret Qualley on his digital camera

Bleachers singer and hit music producer Jack Antonoff might not have taken home any wins for himself, but he likely captured some gold with the palm-sized camera he occasionally whipped out to photograph candid moments.

Lucky for him, hardly a performance goes by at any Grammys show without some dancing from his friend, longtime collaborator and tablemate Swift.

With an Electric Lady Studios tote bag slung behind his chair, Antonoff stood to photograph Swift and his wife Margaret Qualley dancing to Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather,” with Swift twirling “The Substance” actress and swooshing her dress around. Later, Antonoff emitted a flash as he snapped a picture of Swift dancing along to The Weeknd’s surprise set.

St. Vincent reveals she’s married and welcomed a daughter: ‘We kept it under wraps’

Before taking the stage for an ensemble performance of “I Love L.A.,” St. Vincent made a splash during the Premiere Ceremony by not only winning three Grammys (best rock song, best alternative music performance and best alternative music album) but also dropping some shocking personal updates during acceptance speeches. Not only did the 42 year old thank “my beautiful wife Leia” from the stage of the pre-telecast ceremony but also the couple’s “beautiful daughter.”

Backstage, she confirmed the baby news. “We kept it under wraps,” she said, adding, “She’s young. The baby, not the wife.”

If the acclaimed guitarist was short on details, it might be due to bigger issues such as holding all three Grammys at once. “These are getting heavy, if I’m honest,” St. Vincent said. “I feel like my delts are on fire.”

Doechii wanted to ‘prove herself’ with her feat of a performance

Following her electrifying performance of “Catfish” and “Denial is a River,” Doechii chatted backstage about her landmark win for best rap album.

“It feels incredible. It feels bigger than me, a movement. Art wins. Authenticity wins. Vulnerability wins,” she told reporters.

Of her standout medley performance that involved a treadmill and tear-away costume, Doechii said it was one of the most difficult ones she’s ever done, but felt the need to push herself: “It meant everything to prove myself tonight. It was about Broadway and dance and theater and art, and I think I brought that to the stage.”

Taylor Swift twirls with Alicia Keys’ son, jams out to Charli XCX

Swift got creative with some of her dancing throughout the night. As Shakira got the crowd on their feet with “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53,” Swift jumped up and down with 10-year-old Genesis Ali Dean, Alicia Keys’ son, and had him give her a twirl.

Later, Swift put the nail in the coffin of rumors of bad blood with Charli XCX, who was suspected of making a dig at Swift in “Sympathy is a knife.” As the “Brat” hitmaker performed “Von dutch” and made it rain undergarments in “Guess,” Swift was in her nightclub best, donning what seemed to be Antonoff’s thick, black-rimmed glasses and bopping around with a gold bottle of booze in hand.

After the set, which featured Swift’s rumored ex Matty Healy’s current fiancée Gabbriette Bechtel, the popstar poured the rest of the bottle into a neighbor’s outstretched wine glass.

SZA plays coy about Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show

SZA skipped the Grammys red carpet and slid into the awards show after winning her Grammy for best R&B song “Saturn” in the pre-broadcast ceremony.

The “All the Stars” singer kept her low-key streak going backstage, declining to give any details about her upcoming Super Bowl halftime performance alongside headliner Kendrick Lamar.

“That’s King Kendrick’s performance. All I’ll say is, he’s working really hard at it,” she said.

After losing homes to wildfires, Dawes opens the show as Grammys first-timer

Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith of Dawes had never attended the Grammys in the band’s 15-plus-year history, but the brothers have found themselves as real-world examples of how the region’s wildfires impacted the music community, having lost their homes and studio last month.

Dawes, who along opened the Grammys with a performance of Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.” alongside John Legend, St. Vincent, Sheryl Crow, Brad Paisley and Brittany Howard, said backstage that the assembly came together a week and a half ago.

“We used to think maybe the (Grammys) aren’t part of our journey (as a band), but oh, now we get to open the show,” Taylor said backstage. “It’s wild to think of how our childhood dreams could meet up with the opportunity to help our community.”