2025 Grammy Awards: Recaps and Hot Takes

On February 2, 2025, the greatest musicians, singers, and songwriters of the 21st century congregated at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles for the 67th Grammy Awards. From beloved industry titans like Taylor Swift and Beyonce to rising stars such as Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter, the show honored all the greatest music achievements from 2024. 

What about the ceremony itself? The Grammys were jam-packed with performances and fundraising efforts to combat the devastation of the Los Angeles fires, but the highlights of the night were the awards! Prior to the ceremony, we asked Lakesiders to predict the winners of the most high-profile awards (album of the year, record of the year, song of the year, and best new artist) as well as who they felt deserved to win. So, what did we predict? And how did our views square with the ultimate winners of the biggest awards in music?

Best New Artist

The favorite among Lakesiders was Sabrina Carpenter, with 44.6 percent of us predicting her win, followed closely by Chappell Roan, with 32.5 percent. However, while every person who expected Chappell to win thought she deserved it, only 32 percent thought that Sabrina should win. Ultimately, the Chappell fans were satisfied, as she ended up winning the award - and giving a rousing speech on how labels treat their artists to boot. Congratulations to all the loyal Chappell Roan fans who were able to correctly predict her win!

Record of the Year

The leading Lakeside pick for Record of the Year, with 44.6 percent, was Sabrina Carpenter’s catchy pop song “Espresso.” 37 percent said she deserved it, too. However, a loyal fan base consisting of 19.3 percent of the school both supported and predicted that Kendrick Lamar would get the award for “Not Like Us” - and he did.

Song of the Year

Before I discuss the stats for Song of the Year predictions, let me quickly explain the difference between this category and Record of the Year. While the ROTY award is geared towards celebrating the artists and producers who recorded the song, SOTY is a songwriting award focusing on the composition of the lyrics and melodies. That having been said, the school was much more evenly divided in their predictions and hopes for SOTY than for ROTY. This time, though, lots of students were able to predict Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” win. Kendrick was the most popular choice in both fields, with 27.7 percent predicting his win, and 25.3 percent supporting it.

Album of the Year

32.5 percent of the school both predicted and prayed for a major Sabrina victory in this category, making her the most popular choice among Lakesiders. Meanwhile, the Swifties made an appearance, with 22 percent of Lakesiders expecting a Taylor victory, and 20 percent of them hoping for it. However, it was the mini-faction of 13.3 percent of us who correctly predicted that Beyonce would end up with her long-awaited AOTY victory, and only 18 percent thought she deserved it.

I could expound upon the awards for pages and pages, detailing the many controversies and opinions surrounding them. However, the thing that sets the Grammys apart is that there’s so much more to them than prizes. There’s spectacle, grandeur, showmanship, and glamor. And a large part of that is thanks to…fashion!

Before the show began, celebrities showed off their bold, whimsical outfits on the red carpet all afternoon. Celebrities continued to lean into the “nostalgic Hollywood” aesthetic popularized at the Golden Globes in January. A prime example was Sabrina Carpenter’s ice-blue dress and vintage faux bob. Meanwhile, another prevailing trend on the carpet was cutouts, which featured prominently in both Olivia Rodrigo and Miley Cyrus’s dresses. Below is my ranking of the three best outfits of the night - and the three worst ones.

BEST DRESSED

Chappell Roan

Chappell Roan’s vintage Jean Paul Gaultier gown stole the show, but the true beauty of the look lay in the details; the cascading tulle petticoats were patterned from Degas’s ballerinas, and the tips of her baby-blue opera gloves were cut to show off her manicure. She topped off the look with her characteristic drag-inspired makeup.

Cardi B

The sleek bob cut. The flawless makeup. The edgy French-tipped manicure. Cardi B nailed all the details while delivering one of the chicest and boldest looks of the night. This look oozed old Hollywood glamour, and was an instant classic!

Taylor Swift 

Taylor opted for a Chiefs-red minidress which showed off her legs. From the sequins to the matching lipstick to the edgy leg chain monogrammed with the initial T for Taylor (or Travis), everything about this look was coordinated, stylish, and just a bit cutesy.

WORST DRESSED

Bianca Censori

It’s a stretch to say she even was dressed, considering she arrived in nothing except a black fur coat and a sheer drape which left nothing to the imagination. It was obscene and pornographic, and…that’s all we can really say since this paper is PG.

Jaden Smith

Jaden Smith’s outfit seemed less red-carpet swag and more four-year-old Halloween costume - and a poor one at that. He was dressed in a Louis Vuitton tuxedo and inexplicably wore a castle-shaped headpiece with a hole for his face to stick out.

Billie Eilish

Billie’s drab, boxy Prada lacked the flair we’re accustomed to seeing from her on the red carpet. Paired with her old-fashioned pince-nez and a hideous white flap on the back, the look just fell flat compared to its more dramatic counterparts.

The Grammys are also known for performances by the top artists of the year - and this year’s selection did not disappoint. Here’s our ranking of the three best performances - and the worst ones.

BEST PERFORMANCES

Doechii

Sandwiched in a lineup of Best New Artist performances, Doechii still managed to shine. From her crisp choreography to her incredible rapping, she owned the stage and left an impression on everybody in the audience.

Chappell Roan

Chappell Roan’s rendition of “Pink Pony Club” had an entire audience of A-list stars on their feet singing along. Surrounded by dancing clowns, she brought her usual vivacity and heart to her performance as she sang. And, of course, she did it all astride - you guessed it - a colossal pink pony.

Janelle Monae

Janelle Monae brought vivaciousness and vigor to her tribute to Quincy Jones. She emulated Michael Jackson as she sang “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” moonwalking across the stage to the crowd’s delight.

WORST PERFORMANCES

Khruangbin

It took me a couple of minutes to realize that the toneless, lukewarm background music which came on after the ad break was actually a performance by Khruangbin, a musical trio nominated for Best New Artist.

Billie Eilish

We all love Billie, but her performance was eclipsed by its elaborate counterparts, as it largely consisted of Billie standing before a green-screen backdrop of LA, her breathy vocals obscured by the loud music.

Charli XCX

While I respect Charli’s commitment to her Brat theme, tossing fistfuls of underwear in the air while The Dare makes out with a random woman in the background is far too crass for the Grammys stage.

Overall, between the heated competition, gorgeous fashion, swirling controversies, and fantastic music, set against the devastating backdrop of the LA fires, the 2025 Grammys will go down in history as having showcased the best of the music industry.