The 67th Annual Grammy Awards took place on February 2nd, hosted by Trevor Noah and featuring performances from over twenty artists. It was a night of breaking records, beautiful gowns, and, as always, questionable decisions. Let’s begin with a highlight: Chappell Roan winning Best New Artist. Roan’s album Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is a masterpiece thematically, sonically, and in danceability. She’s had a tumultuous year in public relations but nonetheless stayed true to her unfiltered nature, using her acceptance speech to advocate for better treatment of small artists. A bold move but done well.
Both Song and Record of the Year went to Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” showing how far you can go when you let your inner hater shine. “Not Like Us” winning Song of the Year, a category for songwriting, makes sense given the fame of its lyrics and the fact that it was the only self-written nomination. “Birds of a Feather” by Billie Eilish was my favored winner for Record of the Year, a category for production, but this wasn’t even her most disputed loss.
That came in the final moments of the night, when Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter” won Album of the Year. Fans of Eilish took to the internet to lament how Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard And Soft” should’ve won instead. However, “Cowboy Carter”, with its impressive lineup of featured artists, creative production, and undeniably fun hits, deserved its acclaim. While “Cowboy Carter” had less commercial success than Eilish’s album, this is a flawed argument. If the win was based on streams and sales, Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” would’ve taken it easily, and that would’ve been the wrong choice.
While Album of the Year sparked the most controversy, the Grammys had many other notable moments. Sabrina Carpenter’s “Short n’ Sweet” rightfully won Best Pop Vocal Album, Clairo’s “Charm” was snubbed from Best Alternative Music Album, (the winner was St. Vincent’s “All Born Screaming”), Doeechi’s “Alligator Bites Never Heal” secured Best Rap Album, and Amy Allen became the first woman to win Songwriter of the Year.
Didn’t recognize that last one? That’s because it wasn’t shown during the actual Grammys. Out of ninety-four categories, a mere nine were shown during the formal event. The rest were presented during the Grammy Premiere ceremony, with a lackluster audience only two-thirds full. It’s frustrating how important categories like Best Music Video, Best Rap Song, and Producer of the Year received little attention.
Despite only showing nine awards, the Grammys was almost four hours long. Too much time spent on tribute performances and Trevor Noah begging the viewers to donate for L.A. wildfire relief as he stood in a room with a collective net-worth of 100 billion (rough estimate).
In face of all of these flaws, the Grammys managed to be mildly entertaining. As we bask in the aftermath, let’s take a moment to acknowledge the talent, skill, and dedication of these musicians and be grateful that Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” won absolutely nothing.
This article also appears in our February 2025 print edition.
