The 67th Grammy Awards show was held on February 2, 2025. It was a very competitive
year for many categories, including Best New Artist and Album of the Year. A highlight of the
show was Beyoncé finally winning Album of the Year for her album “Cowboy Carter”
. Although
she had been nominated for the award many times, she had never won it until that night.
Beyoncé won against other nominations such as “BRAT”
,
“Short n’ Sweet”
, and “THE
TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT”
, among others. Another controversy was that, even
though Taylor Swift was nominated for six different categories, she went home without any wins.
Also going home bare-handed was Billie Eilish, who was nominated for seven categories, the
most of any artist at the 2025 show. Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga won Best Pop Duo
Performance with their song “Die with a Smile”
, which broke many records this year, including
the record for the longest run at number 1 on the global Spotify chart. This is Bruno Mars’ first
win since 2022 as Silk Sonic, and 2018 as a solo artist. For Lady Gaga, this is also her first win
since 2022. Record of the Year was given to Kendrick Lamar, who also performed at the Super
Bowl halftime show this year. The Beatles once again made history this year with their AI song
“Now and Then”
. It was nominated for two categories, Record of the Year and Best Rock
Performance, of which it won Best Rock Performance. These are the first nominations for the
Beatles since 1997. Their first Grammy win was in 1965 at the 7th Grammy Awards.
There were many amazing performances this year. Billie Eilish was the first to perform,
singing her three-time nominated song “BIRDS OF A FEATHER”
. Also among performers was
Benson Boone, who created a memorable performance by beginning his performance in the
audience; Sabrina Carpenter, who put a theatrical twist on her songs; and Chappell Roan, who
had a circus-themed performance. There was also a tribute to the late Quincy Jones, who is
known for producing songs like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and the “We Are the World” charity
single. This tribute had appearances from famous musicians such as Stevie Wonder, Janelle
Monáe, and Cynthia Erivo. The songs performed detailed the timeline of Jones’ life, from
working with Michael Jackson to Frank Sinatra. Another tribute was the annual In Memoriam
performance. This year it was given by the lead singer of Coldplay, Chris Martin, and Grace
Bowers, singing “All My Love”
. The performance began with a touching video of Liam Payne, a
former member of One Direction who tragically died at the age of 31 last year. It then went on to
pay tribute to the many lives that were lost last year, including Kris Kristofferson, Toby Keith, and
Sandra Crouch. Another tribute was to the lives and homes lost during the Los Angeles
wildfires. This tribute was performed by Dawes, who lost his own home to the wildfires. Dawes
was joined by other artists, such John Legend, Brad Paisley, Brittany Howard, Sheryl Crow, and
St. Vincent. This was not the only tribute to the wildfires. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars also did a
rendition of “California Dreamin’”
, and the Album of the Year award was presented by the
firefighters who have sacrificed so much to save the lives of those in Los Angeles. Another
performance was from a surprise guest, The Weeknd. After a longtime feud between the artist
and the Recording Academy, CEO Harvey Mason Jr. came out to report that the problems had
been resolved.
This year, the Grammy Awards focused on the idea of determination in the face of hardship,
and using music as a tool for motivation. Overall, the show was filled with many greats wins and
performances, making it fun and memorable.