By: Quinn Hathaway

National/World Editor

Taking place at the Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Area, the 2025 Grammys was a night full of surprises and performances. Hosted by Trevor Noah for his fifth year, the annual event featured both new and old faces, commemorating the musical achievements of 2025.

Many featured artists performed, but Chappell Roan, Charlie XCX, Billie Eilish, and Sabrina Carpenter gave especially memorable performances, with Carpenter and Roan in particular showcasing acts involving both dance and song. The Recording Academy nominated this duo respectively for Best New Artist, alongside Benson Boone, Doechii, Khruangbin, Raye, Shaboozey, and Teddy Swims. 

Roan ended up snagging this award and pushed labels to increase advocating for artists in her passionate acceptance speech. Roan received six nominations in total, including Good Luck Babe for Record and Song of the Year. However, she ended up winning only Best New Artist and concluded her acceptance speech with “Labels, we got you, but do you got us?” both confirming her dedication to more music and standing up for artists’ rights.

Kendrick Lamar earned the most awards throughout the night, filling all five category nominations. Notably, Record of the Year and Song of the Year both went to the same Lamar song: Not Like Us. Not Like Us also won Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance, and Best Music Video. 

Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, besides winning Album of the Year, additionally won Best Country Album. Beyoncé “was really not expecting [Album of the Year]”, as she commented following Taylor Swift presenting her with the award. After being nominated for and losing Album of Year four times respectively, Beyoncé’s 2025 win solidified her as the first Black woman to win the award this century.

Sabrina Carpenter received six nominations prior to the Grammys this year, most of her popularity resulting from her new album Short n’ Sweet. In addition to winning Best Pop Solo Performance for Espresso as well as Best Pop Album for Short n’ Sweet, Carpenter also received nominations for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Best New Artist. Carpenter was one of the opening acts, singing a combination of Please Please Please and Espresso, directly following her Best Pop Solo Performance win at the Premiere.

Most recently known for starring in the movie adaptation of Wicked, Cynthia Erivo performed a touching memorial to Quincy Jones, a renowned musician and arranger. Accompanied by Herbie Hoover on the piano, she sang a rendition of Fly Me to the Moon. Other artists such as Stevie Wonder, Lainey Wilson, and Jacob Collier performed tributes. The accolades of Quincy Jones’s seventy-year music career touched hearts, and the wide range of music performed in his honor represented his significant impact on the music industry at large. 

Charlie XCX closed the 2025 Grammys with an upbeat performance, singing both Von Dutch and Guess off her album Brat. She ended up taking home three Grammys in the categories of Best Dance/Electronic Album, Best Dance/Pop Recording, and Best Recording Package. 

The 2025 Grammys gave new artists commendation and superstars more and more credit for their work. 2025 was an excellent year for music.