The 2025 Grammys: A Confusing Night of Missed Notes

Amid the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires, the 67th Annual Grammy Awards took place on February 2, 2025, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. Billed as "Music's Biggest Night," the ceremony sought to celebrate the best recordings, compositions, and artists from September 16, 2023, to August 30, 2024. However, the Grammys have never been without controversy—over the years, they have faced their fair share of criticism. From Pearl Jam declaring during their 1996 acceptance speech that their win "means nothing," to Kanye West posting a picture of his Grammy in the toilet in 2021. Coincidentally, Kanye showed up last night uninvited, alongside wife Bianca Censori who wore a shocking see-through dress. To be clear, she was naked, and the couple were promptly kicked out of the event.

“Kanye West and Bianca Censori were promptly kicked out because she turned up naked.”

The Grammy Awards have long struggled with their relevance and credibility among musicians and fans, and last night was a showcase of exactly why.

Many of the winners were nowhere to be found, leaving the stage littered with awkward moments as substitutes fumbled through acceptance speeches or, worse, no one showed up at all—forcing the presenters to accept the awards themselves, turning the show into a surreal one-man performance. Large portions of the audience vanished before the show had even reached its halfway point and by the final categories the seats were practically empty.

“While the Grammys have long been criticized for being out of touch, this year’s ceremony felt particularly misguided. If there was ever a night to prove why so many artists and fans have lost faith in the institution, the 2025 Grammys was it.”

The house band, which should have provided energy and cohesion, instead delivered lifeless renditions of songs that often had no connection to the awards being given out. One of the most notable missteps came when they played Paul Simon's "Graceland" while presenting an African music award—a tone-deaf choice, given that the album has been criticized for appropriating African culture.

Presentation of the nominees was equally uninspired. Rather than offering a quick clip or context about the artists and their work, viewers were simply shown a list of names with no explanation of their achievements. Presenters, too, were introduced with vague monikers like "legends," leaving those unfamiliar with their work scratching their heads.

Perhaps the most puzzling aspect of the night was its insistence on honoring legacy acts over contemporary artists. Its 2025 and they would rather give an artist like Beyoncé who’s career spans 4 decades and who already has 35 Grammys, another one. But wait, the big twist is she’s never actually won ‘Best Album’ which she finally secured last night with Best Country Album for "Cowboy Carter". She also won Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "II Most Wanted" featuring Miley Cyrus.

Further proving my point, the award show went on to award The Beatles (30 Grammys), The Rolling Stones (5 Grammys) and Bob Marley (Suprisingly only 2 Grammys) … its 2025! Half the band members are long dead and I think John Lennon and Bob Marley themselves would say let’s shine a light on some new bands.

“Pearl Jam announced that their win “means nothing” in 1996.”

The Beatles took home Best Rock Performance with "Now and Then," which is an excellent song. But the band haven’t performed together since 1966. Meanwhile, Justice and Tame Impala won Best Dance/Electronic Recording for "Neverender," which was a fair call. Finally the big moment came we’d all been waiting for, the rock categories. But again hopes were quickly dashed. It was unclear why St. Vincent's monotonous music would win over Pearl Jam, Idles, or Fontaines DC, yet she managed to secure two wins, all while repeatedly name-dropping Dave Grohl.

This is just my humble opinion but I don’t think The Rolling Stones' album ‘Hackney Diamonds’ deserved the win for ‘Best Rock Album’ over Pearl Jam, Idles, Fontaines DC, Greenday or Jack White. I have not heard a single person say they bought that album, or were excited about it coming out. I feel it made no dent whatsover in the culture for music fans and is just another blues record, same old formula. Whereas the other bands have caused much more of a stir in the scene with their new records and taken more risks with their art. I’d have given the award to Idles personally, but only because Pearl Jam wouldn’t care either way!

We’ll leave it there for now! While the Grammys have long been criticized for being out of touch, this year’s ceremony felt particularly misguided. If there was ever a night to prove why so many artists and fans have lost faith in the institution, the 2025 Grammys was it.

Full List: Award Nominees & Winners

Best Pop Vocal Album

Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet – WINNER

Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft

Ariana Grande – Eternal Sunshine

Chappell Roan – The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess

Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department

Best rap album

J Cole – Might Delete Later

Common and Pete Rock – The Auditorium, Vol 1

Doechii – Alligator Bites Never Heal – WINNER

Eminem – The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce)

Future and Metro Boomin – We Don’t Trust You

Best pop solo performance

Beyoncé – Bodyguard

Sabrina Carpenter – Espresso – WINNER

Charli xcx – Apple

Billie Eilish – Birds of a Feather

Chappell Roan – Good Luck, Babe!

Best dance/electronic music album

Charli xcx – Brat – WINNER

Four Tet – Three

Justice – Hyperdrama

Kaytranada – Timeless

Zedd – Telos

Best rock performance

The Beatles – Now and Then – WINNER

The Black Keys – Beautiful People (Stay High)

Green Day – The American Dream Is Killing Me

Idles – Gift Horse

Pearl Jam – Dark Matter

St Vincent – Broken Man

Best rap performance

Cardi B – Enough (Miami)

Common and Pete Rock featuring Posdnuos – When the Sun Shines Again

Doechii – Nissan Altima

Eminem – Houdini

Future and Metro Boomin featuring Kendrick Lamar – Like That

GloRilla – Yeah Glo!

Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us – WINNER

Best rap song

Rapsody featuring Hit-Boy – Asteroids

¥$ [Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign] featuring Rich the Kid and Playboi Carti – Carnival

Future and Metro Boomin featuring Kendrick Lamar – Like That

Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us – WINNER

GloRilla – Yeah Glo!

Best alternative music album

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Wild God

Clairo – Charm

Kim Gordon – The Collective

Brittany Howard – What Now

St Vincent – All Born Screaming – WINNER

Best country solo performance

Beyoncé – 16 Carriages

Jelly Roll – I Am Not Okay

Kacey Musgraves – The Architect

Shaboozey – A Bar Song (Tipsy)

Chris Stapleton – It Takes a Woman – WINNER

Best country duo/group performance

Kelsea Ballerini with Noah Kahan – Cowboys Cry Too

Beyoncé featuring Miley Cyrus – II Most Wanted – WINNER

Brothers Osborne – Break Mine

Dan + Shay – Bigger Houses

Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen – I Had Some Help

Best melodic rap performance

Jordan Adetunji featuring Kehlani – Kehlani

Beyoncé featuring Linda Martell and Shaboozey – Spaghettii

Future and Metro Boomin featuring the Weeknd – We Still Don’t Trust You

Latto – Big Mama

Rapsody featuring Erykah Badu – 3:AM – WINNER

Best dance pop recording

Madison Beer – Make You Mine

Charli xcx – Von Dutch – WINNER

Billie Eilish – L’Amour de Ma Vie (Over Now Extended Edit)

Ariana Grande – Yes, And?

Troye Sivan – Got Me Started

Best dance/electronic recording

Disclosure – She’s Gone, Dance On

Four Tet – Loved

Fred Again.. and Baby Keem – Leavemealone

Justice and Tame Impala – Neverender – WINNER

Kaytranada featuring Childish Gambino – Witchy

Best R&B performance

Jhené Aiko – Guidance

Chris Brown – Residuals

Coco Jones – Here We Go (Uh Oh)

Muni Long – Made for Me (Live on BET) – WINNER

SZA – Saturn

Best traditional R&B performance

Marsha Ambrosius – Wet

Kenyon Dixon – Can I Have This Groove

Lalah Hathaway featuring Michael McDonald – No Lie

Muni Long – Make Me Forget

Lucky Daye – That’s You – WINNER

Best comedy album

Ricky Gervais – Armageddon

Dave Chappelle – The Dreamer – WINNER

Jim Gaffigan – The Prisoner

Nikki Glaser – Someday You’ll Die

Trevor Noah – Where Was I

Best R&B song

Kehlani – After Hours

Tems – Burning

Coco Jones – Here We Go (Uh Oh)

Muni Long – Ruined Me

SZA – Saturn – WINNER

Best progressive R&B album

Avery*Sunshine – So Glad to Know You – WINNER – tie

Durand Bernarr – En Route

Childish Gambino – Bando Stone and the New World

Kehlani – Crash

NxWorries (Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge) – Why Lawd? – WINNER – tie

Best R&B album

Chris Brown – 11:11 (Deluxe) – WINNER

Lalah Hathaway – Vantablack

Muni Long – Revenge

Lucky Daye – Algorithm

Usher – Coming Home

Best folk album

American Patchwork Quartet – American Patchwork Quartet

Madi Diaz – Weird Faith

Adrianne Lenker – Bright Future

Aoife O’Donovan – All My Friends

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings – Woodland – WINNER

Best música urbana album

Bad Bunny – Nadie Sabe lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana

J Balvin – Rayo

Feid – Ferxxocalipsis

Residente – Las Letras Ya No Importan – WINNER

Young Miko – Att.

Best metal performance

Gojira, Marina Viotti and Victor Le Masne – Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça ira!) – WINNER

Judas Priest – Crown of Horns

Knocked Loose featuring Poppy – Suffocate

Metallica – Screaming Suicide

Spiritbox – Cellar Door

Best African music performance

Yemi Alade – Tomorrow

Asake and Wizkid – MMS

Chris Brown featuring Davido and Lojay – Sensational

Burna Boy – Higher

Tems – Love Me JeJe – WINNER

Best rock song

The Black Keys – Beautiful People (Stay High)

St Vincent – Broken Man – WINNER

Pearl Jam – Dark Matter

Green Day – Dilemma

Idles – Gift Horse

Best rock album

The Black Crowes – Happiness Bastards

Fontaines DC – Romance

Green Day – Saviors

Idles – Tangk

Pearl Jam – Dark Matter

The Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds – WINNER

Jack White – No Name

Best alternative music performance

Cage the Elephant – Neon Pill

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Song of the Lake

Fontaines DC – Starburster

Kim Gordon – Bye Bye

St Vincent – Flea – WINNER

Best global music album

Matt B Featuring Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Alkebulan II – WINNER

Ciro Hurtado – Paisajes

Rema – Heis

Antonio Rey – Historias de Un Flamenco

Tems – Born in the Wild

Best audio book, narration, and storytelling recording

Various Artists; Guy Oldfield, producer – All You Need Is Love: The Beatles in Their Own Words

George Clinton – …And Your Ass Will Follow

Dolly Parton – Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones

Jimmy Carter – Last Sundays in the Plains: A Centennial Celebration – WINNER

Barbra Streisand – My Name Is Barbra

Best country song

Kacey Musgraves – The Architect – WINNER

Shaboozey – A Bar Song (Tipsy)

Jelly Roll – I Am Not Okay

Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen – I Had Some Help

Beyoncé – Texas Hold ’Em

Best song written for visual media

Luke Combs – Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma from Twisters: The Album

’N Sync and Justin Timberlake – Better Place from Trolls Band Together

Olivia Rodrigo – Can’t Catch Me Now from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

Jon Batiste – It Never Went Away from American Symphony – WINNER

Barbra Streisand – Love Will Survive from The Tattooist of Auschwitz

Best música Mexicana album (including Tejano)

Chiquis – Diamantes

Carín León – Boca Chueca, Vol 1 – WINNER

Peso Pluma – Éxodo

Jessi Uribe – De Lejitos

Songwriter of the year, non-classical

Jessi Alexander

Amy Allen – WINNER

Edgar Barrera

Jessie Jo Dillon

Raye

Producer of the year, non-classical

Alissia

Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II

Ian Fitchuk

Mustard

Daniel Nigro – WINNER

Best musical theater album

Hell’s Kitchen – WINNER

Merrily We Roll Along

The Notebook

The Outsiders

Suffs

The Wiz