Since 1958, the Grammy Awards ceremony – an event commending the most notable artists of the prior year and their works – has been celebrated by music fanatics from all over the world. Anxiously, music fans wait 365 days to discover who will take home the Album of the Year accolade or who will be awarded with the Best New Artist award. These awards are some of the most prestigious things one can win, particularly for U.S.-based artists. It is an honor to simply be nominated for any one of them. On the first Sunday of every February, a handful of songmakers come home beaming, having obtained the best new piece of room decor: a beautiful, gilded gramophone. However, as music taste is subjective and measuring success is an awkward task, controversies arise yearly and without fail. Given that this year’s award ceremony was not any different, many incidents raised eyebrows and caused disorder.
Before getting into the drama, it must be noted that the 2025 Grammys weren’t devoid of moments of joy and pride, which the public responded well to. Firstly, pop fans were thrilled to see that Sabrina Carpenter was awarded the first two Grammys of her career, Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Solo Performance, shortly after releasing “Short n’ Sweet,” her long-standing number one album of 2024. Her performances of two of her most record-breaking songs, “Please Please Please” and “Espresso” at the ceremonies were also commended. Another fan-favorite artist, the American rapper Kendrick Lamar, took home five Grammys for his single “Not Like Us,” a diss track directed at Drake during the time of their public feud. It gained notable popularity following its release in the spring of 2024. Many find – given the song’s obvious acclaim – that his Grammys were well deserved. Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga’s collaboration in the piece “Die With a Smile” won Best Pop Duo, which was equally well received by the audience. Furthermore, Doechii took home Rap Album of the Year as the third woman to ever win this award. She seized this moment to call out for black female empowerment, declaring: “Don't allow anybody to project any stereotypes on you, that tell you that you can't be here, that you're too dark or that you're not smart enough or that you're too dramatic or you're too loud. You are exactly who you need to be, to be right where you are, and I am a testimony.”
Several other artists also brought up emotional matters of social injustice. Chappel Roan, in the speech following her win of Best New Artist, called out record labels regarding their lack of support for developing artists. She boldly highlighted the unfair and sub-par wages that record labels offer along with their failure to provide these artists with adequate health insurance, which made it difficult for them to make their debuts. Her quote: “Labels, we got you, but do you got us?” was met with a stupendous applause and broke the internet in the days following the event. Similarly, Lady Gaga showed her support of the LGBTQ community, recognizing transgender people as “not invisible.”
Now, the Grammy Awards ceremony this year was not all perfect, so let’s get into some of the most significant controversies. The Swifties were disappointed when, after her
record-setting international Eras Tour, Taylor Swift received zero Grammy awards despite having six nominations. Not only that, but all Billie Eilish supporters were left heartbroken after her similar fiasco. Her 2024 album, “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” was nominated seven times, yet she earned not a single Grammy. This disappointment was emphasized when the cameras shifted to her tearful face after having lost Album of the Year to Beyoncé. A majority of the public was consequently displeased with this outcome. Indeed, while Beyoncé’s album “Cowboy Carter” had slightly over 1 billion streams in 2024 starting in the month of March, Billie Eilish’s album received over 3.4 billion beginning in the month of September 2024. No one was expecting this – not even Beyoncé!
More controversial conversation arose concerning Kanye West’s and his current partner Bianca Cesori’s appearance at the Grammys. They were escorted out of the venue shortly after walking the Red Carpet, and people questioned if they were asked to leave or did so voluntarily. Many suggest that they were requested to depart due to Bianca Cesori’s attire, which caused quite a scene after she had stripped herself of her fur jacket and revealed a fully see-through, nude dress underneath.
Regardless of the successes and controversies, the Grammys and all of the artists involved should be commended for acknowledging the atrocities that came from the Southern California wildfires in January of 2025, and for raising a total of $7 million for this cause by the end of the three and a half hour event. This year, the ceremony reached a viewing of 15.4 million people, which clearly proves what a year 2024 was for the music industry and just how much we listeners have to look forward to!