The 67th annual Grammy Awards brought historical victories and losses for our generation’s favorite artists and their producers, while also giving them a platform to speak up and advocate for social justice. Although, in today’s political climate, some of the jokes being made by hosts seemed both blasé and slightly touchy, with several jokes made referring to the president.
Kanye West and his wife Bianca Censori, who acts as the head designer of his brand “Yeezy,” didn’t even make it off the red carpet before they were kicked out of the event. It was easily the most distasteful moment of the night; shortly after entering, Censori took off her jacket, revealing a completely sheer dress underneath. The moment instantly went viral, showcasing blurred out versions of her outfit. Despite the fact that children were present at the event, Censori still wore the nude garment. While the infamous rapper might see the gown as couture, I see it more as public humiliation for Censori, who looked hesitant to take off the jacket.
Some of the top performances of the night included up and comer Benson Boone who did his iconic double flip off the piano while singing his song, “Beautiful Things.” The young singer was originally wearing a suit, though in the middle of his song, he joined other artists on the floor and his suit was ripped off to reveal a jumpsuit reminiscent of Greta Van Fleet lead singer Josh Kiczka’s iconic spandex costumes. Boone took a twist on the 70’s jumpsuits with a head-to-toe light blue glitter suit. While he didn’t take home a Grammy, he was still commended for his performance.
Late last year, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars released an album titled “Die With A Smile,” which they won for Best Pop Duo/Performance. While overplayed, “Die With A Smile,” the titular song of the album, has been on repeat for me since its release last fall and it was satisfying to see them receive a Grammy for the album. The pair also performed a stunning performance of the Mamas & Papas song “California Dreamin’” as a tribute to the wildfires that overwhelmed California in the past month.
And although some may be upset by Taylor Swift’s loss for category Best Album of the Year, I felt as if it was a loss not unfounded. “The Tortured Poets Department” was a beautiful album, but it didn’t beat out other nominees in my opinion. Furthermore, Swift has won Best Album in five prior Grammy Awards. The singer was seen supporting other artists the whole night, enthusiastically singing and dancing along to Sabrina Carpenter’s performance of “Espresso.” The artist took the loss elegantly, and I believe it was the best choice to allow other artists to shine.
Chappell Roan’s win was a relief for the Midwest Princesses fans across the nation. The singer won Best New Artist, beating out Carpenter. In her speech, she brought awareness to the fact that many artists (especially small artists) oftentimes don’t receive health care or dental care under their labels and aren’t paid fairly. Some fans are saying that it was a misstep on the part of Roan, though her whole perspective on her fame so far has been retaining her self respect and human rights while sharing her music with the world. Late last year, Roan put out a statement saying she would be taking a step back from the public eye after some fans repeatedly stalked her and her close family. Roan wasn’t the only one to speak out in her speeches either, as Lady Gaga also spoke out regarding the rights of transgender children in our nation as a way to address the political turmoil that has surrounded President Trump’s first executive orders. A woman in the audience also addressed this issue by holding up her phone case which had “Protect Trans Youth” inscribed on it. It was admirable that so many celebrities in the Academy spoke up to bring awareness to the issues not only in the Academy but also in our country, even if it may negatively affect them in the long run.
Carpenter’s loss to Roan for Best New Artist didn’t signal the end of the night for her–the singer brought home one Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance for her “Espresso” music video, and one for Best Pop Vocal Album for her release of album “Short n’ Sweet.”
Speaking of pop princesses, Tiktok’s favorite album from last summer received recognition in the Grammys. Charli XCX won Best Dance/Electronic Album for her album “brat.” She also won Best Dance/Pop Recording for her song “Von Dutch.”
Beyoncé won best country album for her album “Cowboy Carter,” showing that she could transcend from her usual genres and still succeed. I personally feel like “Cowboy Carter” wouldn’t have ranked top album of the year for multiple reasons. I heard a song or two off the album from clips on Tiktok, but like many others, I feel like Billie Eilish was slightly jipped by Beyoncé’s win. Beyoncé’s album had a significantly lower amount of listens overall, while Eilish’s album “Hit Me Hard and Soft” had millions of listens by the end of the year and many of the songs stayed relevant over the course of the whole year through social media apps like Tiktok and Instagram. In fact, Eilish didn’t receive any Grammy Awards while she was nominated for six categories. Her song “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” has nearly two billion streams on Spotify but missed out on any awards. Cameras at the event panned to Eilish as her eyes filled with tears.
Kendrick Lamar swept the competition, taking home five Grammys at the end of the night: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song and Best Music Video were all won for his song “Not Like Us.”
A name you wouldn’t think you’d see at the 2025 Grammy Awards: the Beatles won Best Rock Performance for “Now and Then” which is a song produced with help of AI. The song utilized AI to resurrect the voice of the late John Lennon. His son, Sean Ono Lennon was on stage to receive the award on behalf of the remaining Beatles. I find the song haunting and sad, and though it was created many years after the Beatles stopped producing new music, it was a good conclusion to their many albums.
Despite the wins and losses, it is evident that every artist put their all into their music and used their platforms to spread their message and influence over the millions of people who tuned in to watch the Grammy Awards.
