The theme of this year’s GRAMMYs was one of unity, with the show centering on fundraising for relief following the recent LA fires. The show raised money for victims of the fires and used commercial airtime to highlight and support local LA businesses. Artists showed their tribute through song and spoke of their love for the city. While presenting Chad Smith and Anthony Kiedis from the Red Hot Chili Peppers sang the opening lyrics to “Under the Bridge,” – “Sometimes I feel like I don’t have a partner/ Sometimes I feel like my only friend/Is the city I live in, The City of Angels/ Lonely as I am, together we cry.”
Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, who won the GRAMMY for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, sang a cover of The Mamas & the Papas “California Dreamin’.” The band Dawes was joined by John Legend, Brittany Howard, Sheryl Crow, Saint Vincent and Brad Paisley to perform Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.” as a way to honor the community.
In a set made to resemble an LA canyon, Billie Eilish sang “Birds of a Feather,” with baby pictures featured on the screen to honor her hometown. The host of the show, comedian and writer Trevor Noah, joked that winners who went over time will be charged 1,000 per minute, but not to worry, the proceeds were to go to worthy charities supporting fire victims.
The theme of unification continued with Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. announcing The Weeknd as the show’s surprise guest, ending his years-long boycott of the show. The Weeknd had boycotted the GRAMMYs since 2021, after his album After Hours got zero nominations and he accused the institution of being corrupt. He performed two tracks from his newly released album Hurry Up Tomorrow, “Cry For Me” and “Timeless” with Playboy Carti.
The award show also paid tribute to the late great Quincy Jones with an introduction from Will Smith. Cynthia Erivo sang a cover of “Fly Me to the Moon” accompanied by Herbie Hancock on keys. Lainey Wilson sang “Let the good times roll” with Jacob Collier on piano, followed by Stevie Wonder covering “Bluesette” and “We Are The World.” Janelle Monae finished the tribute by performing “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough” in an “I <3 QJ” t-shirt.
One of the most heartening moments of the night occurred at the very end, with Beyoncé, the most decorated GRAMMYs artist of all time with 35 wins, was finally awarded Album of the Year for Cowboy Carter. Beyoncé dedicated her win to Linda Martell, the first Black female country artist to perform at the Grand Ole Opry.
Performance highlights:
- Chappell Roan gave a joyous performance of “Pink Pony Club” atop a truly giant pink pony with her dancers dressed as cowboy clowns. Before Chappell’s performance, a video played discussing her meteoric rise last year, citing her Lollapalooza set as the biggest daytime set in festival history and possibly the biggest crowd at that festival ever. Chappell, who earlier in the night on the red carpet spoke up for trans rights, reflects in the video on feeling isolated as a queer child in Willard, Missouri. She highlights a love for LA, a city that she said makes her feel most herself.
- The Best New Artist Medley (minus Sabrina and Chappell who performed earlier) kicked off with Benson Boone with a performance of “Beautiful Things,” who flipped onstage (multiple times) after Heidi Klum and Nicki Glazer pulled away his suit to reveal a Greta Van Fleet-esque sky blue jumpsuit.
- Doechii came next, performing “CATFISH” and “DENIAL IS A RIVER” off of Alligator Bites Never Heal, her highly celebrated mixtape that won best rap album. There was a large group of backup dancers performing on a moving stage, with broadway-esque choreography.
- The medley continued with Teddy Swims’ beautiful performance of his number one song “Lose Control,” Shaboozey began with his latest single , “Good News,” and then finished his performance with “A Bar Song (Tipsy).”
- Raye finished the medley with a band and strings for an unforgettable performance of her song “Oscar Winning Tears.”
- Shakira, performing on the GRAMMYs stage for the first time in 18 years (and on her 48th birthday), had one of the best performances of the night. She began her performance by belly dancing to her 1998 hit “Ojos Así” and then began singing “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” with a choir. The album Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran (Women Don’t Cry Anymore) won her Best Latin Pop Album earlier in the night.
- The final performance of the night was Charli XCX, who won three GRAMMYs for Brat. Charli emerged from a black Mercedes SUV (xcx on the license plate) in a jakini (jean bikini) with a performance of “Von Dutch.” She proceeded to party in the parking lot, with Alex Consani and Gabriette formally escorting her to the stage where she sang “Guess” with multiple familiar faces inducing The Dare, Troye Sivan, and Julia Fox (who was also celebrating a birthday).
Non-performance highlights:
- Beyoncé becoming an instant meme after her name was called for Best Country Album and winning her first Album of The Year, the second Black Woman to achieve this since Lauryn Hill in 1999.
- Kanye West and wife Bianca Censori allegedly escorted out of the show
- Queen Latifah awarding Dr. Dre Global Impact Award to Alicia Keys as she mentioned “DEI is not a threat, it’s a gift.”
- Chappell takes her Best New Artist win as an opportunity to talk about living wages and healthcare for artists “Labels we got you, do you got us?”
- Cardi B presented best rap album win to Doechii, the third woman to ever win the award.
- Lady Gaga premieres new track and music video “Abracadabra” during commercial break
Check out the list of winners of the major awards below. The winners are in bold.
Best New Artist, presented by Victoria Monét, last year’s winner:
■ Benson Boone
■ Sabrina Carpenter
■ Doechii
■ Khruangbin
■ RAYE
■ Chappell Roan
■ Shaboozey
■ Teddy Swims
Album of the Year, announced by LA firefighters:
■ New Blue Sun by André 3000
■ COWBOY CARTER by Beyoncé
■ Short n’ Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter
■ BRAT by Charli xcx
■ Djesse Vol. 4 by Jacob Collier
■ HIT ME HARD AND SOFT by Billie Eilish
■ The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess by Chappell Roan
■ THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT by Taylor Swift
Song of the Year, presented by Diana Ross:
■ “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” – Sean Cook, Jerrel Jones, Joe Kent, Chibueze Collins Obinna, Nevin Sastry & Mark Williams, songwriters (Shaboozey)”
■ BIRDS OF A FEATHER” – Billie Eilish O’Connell & FINNEAS, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
■ “Die With A Smile” – Dernst Emile II, James Fauntleroy, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars & Andrew Watt, songwriters (Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars)
■ “Fortnight” – Jack Antonoff, Austin Post & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift feat. Post Malone)
■ “Good Luck, Babe!” – Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, Daniel Nigro & Justin Tranter, songwriters (Chappell Roan)
■ “Not Like Us” – Kendrick Lamar, songwriter (Kendrick Lamar) ■ “Please Please Please” – Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff & Sabrina Carpenter, songwriters (Sabrina Carpenter)
■ “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” – Brian Bates, Beyoncé, Elizabeth Lowell Boland, Megan Bülow, Nate Ferraro & Raphael Saadiq, songwriters (Beyoncé)
Record of the Year:
■ “Now And Then” by The Beatles
■ “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” by Beyoncé
■ “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter
■ “360” by Charli xcx
■ “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” by Billie Eilish
■ “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar
■ “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan
■ “Fortnight” by Taylor Swift feat. Post Malone
Best Pop Solo Performance:
■ BODYGUARD” by Beyoncé
■ “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter
■ “Apple” by Charli xcx
■ “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” by Billie Eilish
■ “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan
Best Pop Vocal Album:
■ Short n’ Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter
■ HIT ME HARD AND SOFT by Billie Eilish
■ eternal sunshine by Ariana Grande
■ The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess by Chappell Roan
■ THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT by Taylor Swift
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:
■ “us.” by Gracie Abrams feat. Taylor Swift
■ “LEVII’S JEANS” by Beyoncé feat. Post Malone ■ “Guess” by Charli xcx & Billie Eilish
■ “the boy is mine” by Ariana Grande, Brandy & Monica
■ “Die With A Smile” by Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars
Best Alternative Music Performance:
■ “Neon Pill” Cage by The Elephant
■ “Song Of The Lake” by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds ■ “Starburster” by Fontaines D.C.
■ “BYE BYE” by Kim Gordon
■ “Flea” by St. Vincent
Best Alternative Music Album:
■ Wild God by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
■ Charm by Clairo
■ The Collective by Kim Gordon
■ What Now by Brittany Howard
■ All Born Screaming by St. Vincent
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical:
■ Alissia
■ Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II
■ Ian Fitchuk
■ Mustard
■ Daniel Nigro
Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical:
■ Jessi Alexander
■ Amy Allen
■ Edgar Barrera
■ Jessie Jo Dillon
■ RAYE
Recap by Caitlin Doherty
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