Kendrick Lamar, The Beatles, Jimmy Carter among Grammy winners
Grammys 2025: Kendrick Lamar, left, accepts the record of the year award for “Not Like Us during the 67th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. Mustard looks on from right. Miley Cyrus looks on from left.(AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
LOS ANGELES – The Grammy Awards Sunday gave Los Angeles an unreserved shout-out in a ceremony where even Beyoncé, Shakira and Lady Gaga played second fiddle to scenes of devastation, ashes and rubble as the music industry paid tribute to the power of renewal and unity following the deadly wildfires.
The Grammy’s 67th annual telecast at downtown’s Crypto.com Arena opened with a multiple-artist cover of Randy Newman’s “We Love L.A.,” featuring Dawes, the Los Angeles folk-rock band whose members suffered losses in the fires across the city last month. Scenes of the inferno and residents searching through rubble were broadcast behind the musicians.
Despite the star power on display during the nearly four-hour telecast on CBS, the theme of saving the city was never abandoned. Many commercial slots went to local businesses harmed by the fires.
Comedian Trevor Noah, hosting the program for the fifth consecutive year, told the audience that donations during the show from the likes of Amazon Music, IBM, The Coca-Cola Company and viewers had amounted to at least $7 million for the academy’s fire relief fund.
But music remains the reason for the Grammys — and Sunday’s trophy fest delivered. Compton-born rapper Kendrick Lamar won two of the biggest categories — Record of the Year and Song of the Year (a songwriter’s award) — for his biting diss track, “Not Like Us,” released amid his long-running feud with Canadian rapper Drake.
The venomous track also took honors for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance.
Lamar walked to the stage to pick up his Record of the Year award, dedicating the trophy “to the city,” and named many parts of Los Angeles. He gave a shout-out “to the people in the Palisades and out in Altadena.”
Music royalty Diana Ross presented Song of the Year to Lamar, and used the opportunity to talk of “the balance between celebrating and feeling sorrow.”
She dedicated the evening to “those who might be hurting tonight, especially the children who might be frightened.”
Ross said the city’s resilience shows “the power that we hold to rebuild, to live and come together with compassion. Even in the darkness we can rise again.”
Beyoncé, who went into the ceremony with 11 new nods bringing her Grammy resumé to a whopping 99 nominations, won the top prize, becoming the first Black woman in Grammy history to win the trophy for Best Country Album for her “Cowboy Carter.”
The golden gramophone was presented by a group of Los Angeles firefighters.
The singer also won for Album of the Year — her first-ever win in the category — and Best Country Duo/Group Performance (for “II Most Wanted, also featuring Miley Cyrus).
Electro-pop newcomer Chappell Roan took home the Best New Artist prize, and used the moment to tell fans that when she was dropped by her label before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she was left with no health insurance during the crisis.
“Record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a livable wage and health insurance and protection,” Roan said. “Labels, we got you, but do you got us?”
A segment devoted to producer Quincy Jones, who died in November at age 91, included pianist Herbie Hancock playing Jones’ 1960s hit, “Killer Joe.”
Will Smith followed, telling the audience that Jones “was a mentor, friend and father-figure” to him. Another musical tribute to Jones — known as Q — featured singer Janelle Monaé delivering a faithful version of Michael Jackson’s Jones-produced “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.”
First-time nominee Doechii, whose “Alligator Bites Never Heal” won Best Rap Album, told viewers that “there are so many Black girls watching me.
I want to tell you anything is possible.” She said that she was only the third woman to win in the category since it was created in 1989, following Cardi B, who presented the Grammy, and Lauryn Hill.
Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, who received the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, hit out at efforts by the administration of President Donald Trump to dismantle DEI — diversity, equity and inclusion — programs across the country.
“This is not the time to shut down the diversity of voices,” Keys said. “We’ve seen on this stage talented, hardworking people from different backgrounds with different points of view, and it changes the game. DEI is not a threat, it’s a gift.”
There were 94 Grammy categories this year, but it was still something of a surprise to see the Beatles and the Rolling Stones each win an award.
Winning for Best Rock Performance, the Beatles took their eighth Grammy ever for “Now and Then,” the unearthed Beatles recording that used AI-assisted technology to restore John Lennon’s originally recorded vocals. Sean Ono Lennon, the only child of Lennon and Yoko Ono, accepted the trophy at the pre-telecast ceremony.
The Rolling Stones, meanwhile, earned the Grammy for Best Rock Album with their 24th studio album, “Hackney Diamonds.”
And Jimmy Carter won a posthumous Grammy award months after his death on Dec. 29 at age 100. The former president beat out the likes of Dolly Parton, Barbra Streisand and George Clinton, all of whom were also nominated in the category Best Audiobook, Narration and Storytelling Recording at the ceremony.
The award Sunday was the fourth win for the late Carter.
The awards recognized material that was released between Sept. 16, 2023 and Aug. 30, 2024. (CNS)