Grammys delivered Beyoncé -Seken we’ve been waiting for

Our long national nightmare is over: Beyoncé finally won this year’s album. Grammys desperately needed her to win this award, so the night felt like a real party. The entire 2025 Grammys ceremony was a “just give Beyoncé her damn album of the year already” countdown. It all goes back to the curse of Morning phase In 2015, when she lost against an unclear Beck album, the biggest rebellion in Grammy History. During the last decade when she lost for Lemonade and RenaissanceThere has been a feeling that Bey needs to win this category so everyone can move on with their lives. Everything else about Grammys became a sideshow. Beyoncé never needed this award – she is the biggest Grammy winner in history – but cursed, the award needed her. Her victory was the highlight of an excellent Grammys evening.

Cowboy Carter Won in a jam year of nominees from Taylor Swift to Chappell Roan to Sabrina Carpenter to Charli XCX to other 3000’s flute. (And Jacob Collier.) It was one of the most shining slate of nominees ever, but tonight it was like Oscars in 2006 when everyone was interested in Martin Scorsese finally got his long awaited award (for The departed). The Queen was impeccably gracious in her victory and played down in the historic moment. “I just feel very drunk and very honored,” Bey said. “It’s been many, many years.” She released a cry for the country’s pioneer Linda Martell. “I just want to dedicate this to miss Martell,” she said. “I hope we just keep pushing into opening doors.”

The whole show felt like a wonderful celebration of a fantastic moment in music, with one star’s performance after another, including Shakira, Chappell Roan, Doechii, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter and so many more. We live in a freaky bubble of history where Grammys is the big TV party of the year. This would have been a shock to anyone who saw Grammys in previous decades – “Alicia Keys Duets with a Frank Sinatra -Hologram” year. But in the last 13 years it has turned into an actual music show. Who knew it?

Grammy Night was also full of LA tribute. Local boys Dawes started the show with Randy Newman Classic “I Love La”, along with an All-Star team by Sheryl Crow, Brad Paisley, John Legend, Brittany Howard and St. Vincent. Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith from Dawes lost their homes in fires, so it was a deeply moving performance. “I love LA” is maybe Newman’s smart ironic satire in his hometown, but they changed the texts for maximum positivity. (It was so positive, it made Kris Jenner’s notorious “I Love My Friends” version sounds like “Venice bitch.”) They changed the line “Look at that bum down there, man he’s down on his knees” to “up off His knee They saved Randy’s version for the closing credits.

The whole night was full of heartfelt LA tribute. Host Trevor Noah continued to call donations to the fire victims. Billie Eilish sang a beautiful version of “Birds of a Feather” with his brother Finneas and made it a tribute to Altadena, in front of a background of the San Gabriel Mountains and Eaton Canyon, where they used to play as children. Eilish wore a dodgers cap and ended with the words, “I love you, La”

Chappell Roan made an astonishing “Pink Pony Club” running on an actual pink pony piñata. Her performance had a touching intro clip where she talked about growing up in a small town where “I never felt like I was good enough because I was gay.” She added significantly, “My younger self needed a girl like me to look up to.”

Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars sang Sixties Classic “California Dreamin ‘. Everyone knew Gaga would work the Bejeezus out of it” I came down on my Kneeeeeees“Hook, and she did while Mars worked her cowboy hat. They magic the performance to coincide with an actual New York Snowstorm on such a winter day. In another great Grammy IIRONI, they chose a song of Mamas and Papas, one of the least healthy things to ever happen to LA. Bruno cut the diplomatic line “If I didn’t tell her I could leave today.” But if you are holding a score, here’s Grammys’ classic Rock La tribute: A Randy Newman song about watching a bum vomiting on the streets, and a John Phillips song to ditch his wife in NYC to party in Malibu. (Hell, they could have made Steely Dan’s “Show Biz Kids” or Neil Young’s “Revolution Blues” for an Encore.)

When Roan won the best new artist, she gave one of the great speeches of the night, shouting her colleagues nominated and added, “Abrupt was the best night of my life last year. “(It says so much about our era that she is the eighth consecutive woman who wins the best new artist.) But her speech was a fiery call for the labels to offer” a habitable salary and healthcare, especially for development by artists. ” She discussed her struggles after falling off her first label without any health insurance and no other job experience. She asked, “Labels, we got you, but did you get us?”

Kendrick Lamar won this year’s record for “Not Like Us”, the first winning song that accused a previous record for the year nominated for being a certified pedophile. “I want to dedicate this to the city,” he said in a big speech, shouting Compton first among a list of neighborhoods. “This is my forest neck that has kept me down since a young puppy.” Mustard added, ”Westsiiiide! “Kendrick also won the Song of the Year and got his award from a Regal Diana Ross, one of Grammys’ all-time MVPs. It was impossible not to be deeply touched by watching K-Dot give a reverent, we are non-worthy bow to Miss Ross, the boss. “Come on now, Diana Ross?“He fell on the podium. “I’m Starstruck!”

Anthony Keidis and Chad Smith presented the best Pop Vocal Award, where he immediately raised the question: Where the hell is Flea? He is not exactly the shy residence type. But they paid tribute to the city of Angels with a cappella version of “Under The Bridge” before handing over the award to Sabrina Carpenter, who was two weeks old when they released Californication. Sabrina also made a fantastic medley of “Espresso” and “Thanks, please”, where he put Ritz with an old-school Hollywood-bind-and-tails dancer routine on the stairs. (We are always here for An American in Paris shouting at award exhibitions.)

Roan was one of the least surprisingly best new artist winners ever, but Grammys made the structure one of the highlights of the night when the nominees performed a song piece. Benson Boone, sitting in the audience, pulled a living microphone from his suit and got his tux removed by Heidi Klum and Nikki Glaser and revealed a blue jumpsuit that went perfectly with his fuzzy bart. Dude looked like a figure skating runner who played Styx’s Dennis Deyoung in a road production of Kilroy was here on ice. Damn, his guy understands Showmanship and makes eye -catching backflips, as if he were trying to win a Grammy and an Olympic medal that night. Raye waved it up with a Vegas-worthy “Oscar-winning tears”, while Shaboozey brought the house down with the “pointed” view of SZA clapping was a real moment.

There was a long and awkward speech from the Recording Academy chief Harvey Mason Jr. About how they have learned so many lessons thanks to The Weeknd that seemed to make a few songs from his new album. This ended the Grammy Boycott, as The Weeknd (a four-time Grammy winner) announced in 2021. Drake, who also boycotted Grammys, and also made this message in 2021, was not mentioned, just another brick in his now-It is-A-bath year wall.

Shakira had a great evening, glittering in gold when she rocked her belly dancing movements while doing her 90s classic “Ohos Asi.” In a Krafthouse speech, she dedicated her best Latin pop price “to all my immigrant brothers and sisters in this country” who promised “I will always fight with you.”

Lady Gaga debuted with her brand new “Abracadabra” from her hot waiting Chaos. She also gave a moving and timely speech when she and Mars won for “Die with a smile.” “Transgender people are not invisible,” Gaga declared. “Transgender people deserve love. The queer community deserves to be lifted up. Music is love. “Alicia Keys gave a talk about Dei and said,” This is not time to close the diversity of voices. ” Doechii made a bang-up “catfish” and “refusal is a river” after winning best rap album for its excellent blend Alligator bites healing neverWith a gripping and tearful speech, adjacent to her soberness as she gives a heartfelt cry to her hometown of Tampa.

Quincy Jones, the superstar producer who embodied Grammys, if anyone ever did, got a suitable lavish tribute from an A-team of music legends from all over the story. Cynthia Ervio sang “Fly Me to the Moon” with Herbie Hancock on piano. Stevie Wonder did “We Are The World” with an epic harmonica -solo, while Janelle Monae Moonwalked through “Don’t stop until you get enough.”

Chris Martin sang “All My Love” to in Memoriam tribute, which opened with a moving spotlight for One Directions Liam Payne. It was surreal to see Steve Albini in the assembly cradling a stooges Raw force T-shirt-It is hard to think of something that Albini would have hated more than being honored by Grammys with a Coldplay song. As always, they missed some fixtures (eg UNK, KA, MC5’s Wayne Kramer). But they got Marianne faithfully in the mixture, just three days after her death. (Garth Hudson too.) Grammys also announced the Lifetime Achievement Awards for legends, including The Clash, Roxanne Shanté, Frankie Valli and “The artist forever known as Prince.”

Charli XCX absolutely destroyed “von Dutch”, giving serious PJ Harvey in his black faux-fur coat and shades. Seeing Eilish in the crowd that cradles out to “guess” was the next best thing to see her rush on stage and grab the microphone to make their remix pigeon version. (Which didn’t happen why exactly?) While Charlie’s dancers had an underwear -throwing party, a message appeared on the screen: “All undeveloped underwear will be donated to victims of domestic violence.” It was a wonderful moment –Abruptly at Grammys but doesn’t give a crap so still completely abruptly.

Taylor Swift managed to have a massive evening without once winning anything. She presented best country performance, a chance to pair her with Beyoncé; They shared a warm embrace on the podium, from one queen to another. Taylor’s walk-on song was “So High School”, which technically counts as root for Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. She made the stage on one of the night’s coolest tables next to Cynthia Ervio, Jack Antonoff and Margaret Qualley. When Bey won this year’s album, Taylor clinked champagne glasses with Jay-Z. (See what you made them do!) She shook a loving him was red mini -dress, with a self -designed t on a chain dangling against her thighs. It was a callback to “guilty as a pity” where she sings “What if he has written ‘my’ on my top thigh” but also to “call it what you want” where she sings, “I will wear his initials on a chain ‘around my neck.

Also huge: Taylor went all night without announcing a new album. This can only mean Debutation TV Fast Fast, right?