Same, girl.
Photo: Photo by Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty. Images.
The Grammys have certainly left us with little to complain about. They pulled off the first major awards show since the Los Angeles wildfires with minimal tonal whiplash. They booked great performances from rising stars like Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, and Charli XCX. And they righted some longstanding wrongs in the top awards, giving Kendrick Lamar his first general-category wins for “Not Like Us” and Beyoncé her first Album of the Year trophy for Cowboy Carter. Who are these people and what have they done with the Recording Academy?! It definitely wasn’t a perfect show but we’ll give credit where it’s due, and the Academy deserves a lot after tonight.
The early winner of the day was Sierra Ferrell, who took all four of her nominations behind her adventurous album Trail of Flowers. The Americana singer-songwriter made the most of her time on stage, sporting a bedazzled silver-and-white ensemble complete with a speech-holding scepter. Let’s get her onto the main show next time, please!
The Academy never washed its hands of Chris Brown — he’s been steadily earning nominations since he pleaded guilty to felony assault of Rihanna in 2009. Yet just months after a documentary explored new allegations of sexual assault and abuse against the singer, he won his first award in over a decade, for Best R&B Album. It was another reminder of what voters remain willing to overlook, in a year when Ye and Morgan Wallen were also nominated.
The Academy correctly realized a resilient and celebratory mood post-wildfires would make for better TV than a mournful one. The victorious opening performance of Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.” set that tone perfectly. Folk-rock band Dawes led the tribute, just weeks after drummer Griffin Goldsmith lost his home and singer-guitarist Taylor Goldsmith lost his studio. Their backing band was a motley crew of Grammy favorites, including John Legend, Sheryl Crow, St. Vincent, Brittany Howard, and Brad Paisley.
Trevor Noah has to get his political jokes off somewhere. But his one-liner about tariffs and immigration felt like end-times overload after his opening message about the L.A. wildfires. Noah was at his best when working off the musicians in the room, screaming “Mustaaard!” and telling Taylor Swift to watch out for the Swifties if she dethrones herself for most Album of the Year wins.
Sabrina Carpenter’s Grammys set nodded to another era of performance — it opened with her doing a big-band take on “Espresso” in a sequined suit, and featured a dance break. But Carpenter did it entirely her way, from purposefully tripping on her staircase to multiple winking costume changes. The medley eve translated the viral campiness of her Short n’ Sweet tour, with a mini house on stage.
Doechii had to correct herself when accepting Best Rap Album — three women have now won that award. Fittingly, she accepted hers from the previous woman, Cardi B, who couldn’t hide her excitement for the Florida rapper. “I put my heart and my soul into this mixtape,” Doechii said, through tears. “I bared my life. I went through so much. I dedicated myself to sobriety and God told me that I would be rewarded and that he would show me just how good it would get.”
Of course there was a massive pink pony. That was just one part of the sensory overload of Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” performance, though. Roan filled the stage with dancers and set pieces, down to a cheeky “My Drink is Karma” billboard. It all only added to the song, which Roan belted and rocked out to like a pro.
“Wow, I really was not expecting this,” Beyoncé said as she accepted Best Country Album for Cowboy Carter. And everybody watching on TV could tell — Bey’s expression after Taylor Swift read her name (!) was pure, unadulterated shock. Understandably: She’s the first Black winner of Best Country Album, after being entirely snubbed at the CMA Awards just a few months ago. Now, all she could keep saying was “wow.”
It’s commendable for the Grammys to put so much emphasis on new talent this year — even as most of their awards keep recognizing the same industry dinosaurs. But cramming six of the Best New Artist nominees into a medley was not the way. The segment started clunkily, with Benson Boone being handed a microphone from his seat before making his way to the stage. Then, it peaked early, during Doechii’s highly choreographed, energetic performance of “Denial Is a River.” Sorry to Teddy Swims, who had to follow that up, and to Shaboozey, who deserved a full dive-bar set for his charming take on “A Bar Song (Tipsy).”
Some artists think it’s bad luck to prep an awards show speech in advance. Clearly not Chappell Roan, who said she promised herself years ago she would speak out for fair pay for artists if she ever won a Grammy. She got to make that message tonight, wearing a fantastic party hat, when she won Best New Artist. “Labels, we got you, but do you got us?” she asked, to a room chock-full of the most powerful people in music.
Few artists know how to meet a moment like Lady Gaga. Performing a song called “Die With a Smile” at a show memorializing the L.A. fires would’ve felt a bit callous. So, she and Bruno Mars pivoted, with a moving take on “California Dreamin’” that stuck to the throwback rock energy of their hit. (Gaga saved her fun for later, with a pre-taped debut of the music video for her new single “Abracadabra.”)
The surprise performer wasn’t Beyoncé or Kendrick Lamar, but you gotta give it to the Academy — having the Weeknd return to the stage was certainly unexpected. CEO Harvey Mason Jr. got a bit too self-congratulatory in his introduction, flaunting the Academy’s ongoing diversification and transparency work in bringing their biggest dissenter back. In reality, it probably also helped that Abel had a new album to promote. His performance itself felt a bit snoozy even with the dozens of dancers, but it was just what the Grammys needed to prove that they still have the pulse of today’s music.
Quincy Jones had one of the most multifaceted, accomplished careers in showbusiness, impossible to encapsulate in one awards-show ceremony. So the Grammys tribute was bound to be a little choppy. It started out strong, with Cynthia Erivo singing the heck out of “Fly Me to the Moon” with Herbie Hancock, but Lainey Wilson and Jacob Collier’s take on “Let the Good Times Roll” felt serviceable and a bit random. Thankfully, Stevie Wonder rocking harmonica with Herbie Hancock and leading a “We Are the World” singalong was heartwarming, and the whole thing ended perfectly with Janelle Monáe embodying Michael Jackson for a stellar rendition of “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.”
Has Shakira ever turned in a bad TV performance? This decade alone, we’ve seen her kill (half of) a Super Bowl halftime show and a VMA Video Vanguard medley. Add this Grammys medley from Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran to the list. Shakira danced her ass off and brought high-drama with a choir. TV show producers: If you have a chance to book Shakira, you do it.
As if playing the Super Bowl next week wasn’t enough, Kendrick Lamar won all five of the Grammys he was up for with “Not Like Us”: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video. (Yes, Lamar got awarded for writing the lyric “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor.”) To be fair, Drake didn’t submit anything at this year’s awards. But it’s hard to imagine the voters who screamed along to “Not Like Us” giving Drake anything. Lamar didn’t gloat when accepting ROTY, instead dedicating the award to a recovering L.A. But Mustard did during the SOTY win: “Somebody get the broom out!”
Charli XCX is the polar opposite of what we expect the old-fashioned Recording Academy to nominate, and she didn’t tone it down one bit for her performance. She strutted through the backstage of Crypto.com Arena singing her autotune-drenched “Von Dutch,” before taking the stage to a crowd of clubgoers throwing around underwear for “Guess.” That’s Brat, all right.
It happened when we least expected it. Beyoncé came into the night with the most Grammys ever, yet still missing that top achievement of Album of the Year. Four losses later, she finally won it for a country album — a thought that would’ve been unfathomable after her 2015 snub to Beck or 2017 snub to Adele. “I just feel very full and very honored,” Beyoncé said. “It’s been many many years.” Too many, but the Academy finally got it right.
