The Grammys are always a spectacle–a display of flair, glamour and a celebration of a fantastic year in music. The 67th Annual Grammy Awards concluded late Sunday night, and in typical Grammys fashion, it was once again America’s biggest night in music.
There was no shortage of over-the-top outfits and profoundly camp performances this year. When the Red Carpet and celebrity glambot posing concluded, the show opened up with a monologue from host Trevor Noah.
The show, hosted in L.A., came at a delicate time for California in the wake of devastating wildfires in January. Noah was challenged with striking the right tone for his monologue. He opted to introduce the award show as a “celebration of the humanity and spirit of survival” in addition to the usual recap of the past year in music.
The night featured numerous tributes to resilience in the face of the wildfires, including live on-stage honors for LA’s first responders. This added a layer of hope and reflection to the event and included a meaningful expression of unity and strength.
Billie Eilish, up for seven nominations this year for her album HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, gave a distinctly L.A. performance. She sang her hit song “Birds of a Feather” in front of a backdrop of her mountainous hometown as photos from her childhood flashed on the screen. Eilish’s calming and jazzy yet pop-influenced hit felt like the perfect way to kick off the night.
Sabrina Carpenter performed in the first half of the show to celebrate her six nominations and the smashing success of her 2024 album Short n’ Sweet. The singer appeared in a sparkling blue outfit and her classic bouncy blonde hair to sing hit songs “Espresso” and “Please Please Please,” marking a shining Grammys debut.
A few performances in, it was time for the Best Rap Album category to be announced, and nominees included Future and Metro Boomin, Common and Pete Rock, J Cole and Eminem. The award, introduced in 1989, has only had two female winners – Lauryn Hill and Cardi B. When Cardi B announced Doechii as the winner, it added the rapper to this enshrined list and marked her first Grammy. Doechii’s speech expressed her overwhelming admiration for her musical predecessors and closed with advice for Black women everywhere: “Anything is possible. Don’t allow anybody to project any stereotypes of you, tell you you can’t be here….You are exactly who you need to be to be right where you are.”
Best Pop Vocal Album proved to be a completely stacked category, with nods to releases from Carpenter, Taylor Swift, Eilish, Ariana Grande and Chappell Roan. Carpenter came out on top, giving the singer her first Grammy win of her career.
Roan made her Grammys debut, performing her hit “Pink Pony Club” and celebrating perhaps one of the most rapid rises to fame the music industry has seen. Roan arrived on a larger-than-life pink pony, of course, and in a shimmering bodysuit surrounded by a group of dancing clowns. The singer went on to secure one of the “big four” awards later in the night in the Best New Artist category, a no-brainer when reflecting on Roan’s colossal year. She used her speech to advocate for better protections for young artists, sharing her story of having no health insurance before her career took off as she read from notes in her journal to the star-studded audience.
Another standout performance came from recent musical duo Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars with their rendition of the 1965 hit song “California Dreamin’.” This one in particular felt like one of the most timeless performances–dressed in warm-toned colors in front of a calming set, Mars’ and Gaga’s vocals fused seamlessly to send a message of hope in the wake of California’s recent tragedies. The two went on to secure the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their collaboration on “Die with a Smile.”
It wouldn’t be a successful Grammys night without a couple of mashup performances. Each Best New Artist nominee got to perform a small segment of their most well-known song, with Benson Boone, Teddy Swims, Doechii and Shaboozey being among some of the notable performers aside from Carpenter’s and Roan’s longer sets. Doechii, in particular, delivered an absolutely fantastic, energy-packed segment, where she danced on a moving sidewalk and did the splits as her backup dancers held her in the air.
The Grammys always pays tribute to those the industry has lost, including producing-icon Quincy Jones, who passed away last November. Lainey Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Cynthia Erivo, Will Smith and more gathered on stage to share anecdotes and songs from his extensive repertoire and honor the late musician in another mashup performance. Erivo’s segment was especially show stopping, simply due to her outstanding live vocals and stage presence.
For the remaining big awards, Kendrick Lamar took both Record and Song of the Year for his 2024 hit “Not Like Us.” His victory in both of the major song categories came as quite a surprise. Though “Not Like Us” is popular in its own right, Carpenter’s earworm “Espresso” or Roan’s smash hit “Good Luck Babe!” were likely candidates for at least one of the major song categories. Lamar proceeded to take home three more Grammys for this song – Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance and Best Music Video – making this the most awarded diss track in the history of modern music. This momentum was only amplified by the entire Grammys audience singing along to the track as Lamar was presented with the Song of the Year award.
The most important award of the night, of course, came down to Album of the Year. With nods to Eilish, Carpenter, Roan, Swift, Beyoncé, Charli XCX and more, this proved another formidable category for an unprecedented year in music. COWBOY CARTER emerged victorious, with Beyoncé taking home the Album of the Year and Best Country Album of the Year for her smash inter-genre album and proving her genre transcendence and lyrical and production strength.
Grammys darlings Swift and Eilish came home empty-handed from this year’s Grammys. Swift, who won Album of the Year last year for 2022’s “Midnights,” seemed unbothered by her losses and spent the night dancing with fellow attendees and waving her glass of champagne. Fans on social media have dubbed Eilish’s lack of recognition a major snub of the night, especially considering she went home with nothing for her last album, 2021’s Happier Than Ever.
All of Sunday’s performances and awards, though, are worth the watch if you missed the show, regardless of opinions on snubs and deserved victories. Overall, it was a historic night that celebrated a groundbreaking year for music, with standout moments across the country, pop and rap genres.
