LOS ANGELES (AP) — The 2025 Grammy Awards are set to recognize some of the most talented performers and biggest hits in music. Beyoncé enters as the leading nominee for her acclaimed album, “Cowboy Carter.”
The show will begin at 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific and can be streamed via CBS and Paramount+. The Premiere Ceremony is underway now and can be streamed at the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel and on live.GRAMMY.com.
Fashion at music’s biggest night is traditionally the wackiest on the awards circuit, but with the loss and devastation of the Los Angeles fires as a backdrop, many of the early looks are subdued.
Shakira, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Doechii, Sabrina Carpenter and Charli xcx are set to perform. Will Smith, Stevie Wonder and Janelle Monáe will present a tribute to the late, legendary producer Quincy Jones. Comedian Trevor Noah will host the show for the fifth consecutive time.
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Jacob Collier brings the color and shine
He’s wearing a sequined coat of many colors on the carpet, his hair sticking up high and proud. Collier is part of a crew honoring the late Quincy Jones, who helped launch his career when he was still a teen.
“Quincy is the man, as we all know. Quincy is the king,” he said.
Collier is nominated in the album of the year category.
Teddy Swims is elated about 2 babies
Teddy Swims is busier than ever with two babies on the way: The child he’s expecting, and his new album, “I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2).” While he’s excited to talk new music, fatherhood is what elates him.
“I can’t wait to hear the voice or ‘What’s your favorite color?’ … I hope he thinks I’m cool – or she thinks I’m cool,” said the soulful crooner. “I want my son – or daughter – to say that, about what I say about my father.”
Continuously switching pronouns, Swims carefully concealed the gender, fearing facing a displeased girlfriend, fellow musician Raiche Wright. But it’s difficult for the Grammys best new artist nominee to contain his joy.
▶ Read more from AP’s interview with Teddy Swims
How the presidents stack up at the Grammys
Jimmy Carter leads all presidents with four Grammy wins. Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have two apiece.
Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon were all nominated, but didn’t win.
First ladies Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton have also each won.
All the wins came for either audiobook or spoken word recordings, none for music.
Black Crowes enjoy Grammys love several decades after first nomination
The first time Chris and Rich Robinson were at the Grammy Awards, it was 1991. The New York Giants had won the Super Bowl, and the U.S. was in the midst of the Gulf War.
The siblings behind the band The Black Crowes had just released their debut album “Shake Your Money Maker” and were nominees for best new artist. They didn’t have high hopes. Sure enough, Mariah Carey would take the crown.
“I don’t remember ever like getting too worked up about it,” singer-songwriter Chris Robinson recalls. “Of course, Mariah Carey is going to get that. Are they going to give it to these dirtbag kids from Atlanta who just came to the party really to get thrown out?”
Fast forward more than three decades and the Black Crowes have been invited back to the party, earning their second career Grammy nod this year for best rock album alongside the Rolling Stones.
▶ Read more about the Black Crowes today
Chappell Roan is a whole mood
She walked in a strapless look, long wavy hair flowing down her back. Her makeup was whitened and full of color: yellows and blues and pinks and reds. Her look had touches of teal and images of women from a bygone era on the skirt. It was Jean Paul Gaultier vintage from spring 2003.
It’s 2025 and The Beatles have won a Grammy
The best rock performance Grammy has gone to the Beatles for “Now and Then.”
“Since no one is coming up to take this award, I figured I’d come up and sit in,” John Lennon’s son Sean Ono Lennon said onstage.
It’s the group’s first Grammy win in 27 years, and the song was notable for its use of artificial intelligence technology.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s the greatest band of all time,” he added.
He instructed viewers to play his father’s band for their kids, saying the world couldn’t afford to forget about groups like them.
Quick check-in on Grammy carpet designers
Norah Jones was a remarkable mash-up of texture in an above-the-knee look by In Earnest. Belted in red at the waist, it had short sleeves, an adorned black front and side panels of chunky silver.
Kehlani wore Robert Wun as she walked the carpet with her adorable daughter, Adeya Nomi Parrish. Kehlani’s look was strapless and pinstriped. Long black opera gloves brought home the look.
Willow Smith’s itty-bitty, two-piece sparkler is Versace. Kacey Musgraves’ gold skirt is Ralph Lauren Collection for spring 2025.
Luka Doncic’s new home plays host to the Grammys
The interplay between sports and music is well-chronicled, but a blockbuster NBA trade has yielded quite the collision today.
The Los Angeles Lakers traded forward Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks in return for star guard Luka Doncic. That means Doncic’s new home arena is the Crypto.com Arena — also home to the Grammys.
If any performers from Dallas — or anyone who happens to randomly be a Mavs fan — take the Grammys stage tonight, don’t be surprised if Doncic’s name gets mentioned. The trade of Dallas’ best player for the last few years has shocked those who follow the NBA.
Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube and Kendrick Lamar are among the best-known musical Lakers fans. We’re guessing they’ll be thrilled to see Doncic in purple and gold very soon.
As for that other Los Angeles team, the Clippers had their own musical interlude this past week: Their home arena, the Intuit Dome, and the Clippers-owned Kia Forum were the dual sites of the FireAid benefit concert for wildfire relief.
This isn’t Jimmy Carter’s first Grammy
It’s actually his fourth. His posthumous Grammy joins his three previous ones for spoken word album.
Sean Ono Lennon seeks to innovate, not merely repeat
Only recently given stewardship over his late father’s work, Sean Ono Lennon is on a remarkable run.
The only child of John Lennon and Yoko Ono won an Academy Award this year for a short film based on his parents’ 1971 song “Happy Christmas (War is Over”)” and, a few months later, was nominated for his first-ever Grammy, for producing a box set on the album “Mind Games,” originally released in 1973. On Sunday, he won.
For Lennon, who was 5 when the former Beatle was murdered in 1980, the work is a way to connect with his father. It’s more than a preservation mission: On “Mind Games,” he takes artistic license, pulling apart the recordings of John Lennon’s music to create something entirely new.
▶ Read more from AP’s interview with Sean Ono Lennon
‘Brat’ summer transitions to winter with Grammy win for best recording package
The Grammy is given to an album’s art directors. In the case of “brat,” that includes the queen of brat summer herself, Charli xcx, along with Brent David Freaney & Imogene Strauss.
Jimmy Carter wins posthumous Grammy
The late Jimmy Carter won a posthumous Grammy Award for narrating audiobook for “Last Sundays in Plains.”
He received his nomination before his late December death at 100.
“Having his words captured in this way for my family and for the world is truly remarkable and I think really means so much at this moment in our history as a country, as a world to bring people together, to preach that love and kindness,” grandson Jason Carter said, accepting the award.
No Grammy for A$AP Rocky, on trial nearby
A$AP Rocky lost out on a Grammy as he goes through a trial just up the street that might mean years in prison. His partner and the mother of his sons Rihanna was in court supporting him for most of the week.
Rocky got his third Grammy nomination for best music video for his song “Tailor Swif.” A win would’ve been his first, but it went to Kendrick Lamar for “Not Like Us.”
Two miles away at a downtown Los Angeles courthouse, he’s been on trial for the past two weeks on two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. A former friend who goes by A$AP Relli testified that Rocky fired a gun at him on a Hollywood street in 2021. Rocky’s lawyers say he was shooting a starter pistol that only fires blanks that he carries for security.
Where are the winners?
The Grammys Premiere Ceremony moves at a breakneck pace, but much of it is spent waiting on winners as everyone wonders whether they’re in the room to accept.
The answer is often no, at least in the early afternoon. Ten of the first 15 winners were not there to pick up the award, including Beyoncé, Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter.
With several hundred nominees, it’s impossible to keep track of the whereabouts of all of them at the 7,000-seat Peacock Theater.
When Cory Henry won best roots gospel album, the Grammy had already been accepted on his behalf and the show was starting to move on by the time he was able to run up to the stage and make his speech.
Best progressive R&B album race ends in a tie
There were two winners for the best progressive R&B album Grammy:
“So Glad to Know You” by Avery(asterisk)Sunshine
“Why Lawd?” by NxWorries (Anderson .Paak & Knxwledge)
Ties are not unheard of at the Grammys, but they still are relatively rare.
Amy Allen becomes the first woman to win songwriter of the year, non-classical
All of the nominees in this category were women except Édgar Barrera. RAYE, Jessi Alexander, Amy Allen or Jessie Jo Dillon all had the potential to be the first women to ever win in the category, and Allen took the crown.
The category is also new, only in its third year. Allen dedicated her award to all the songwriters who she says should have been recognized before its inception.
“We are the engine that fuels the entire music industry,” she said of her fellow songwriters.
Jaden Smith’s Castle puzzles and amuses
Jaden Smith is walking the red carpet with his sister Willow, and he’s wearing a large black castle on his head. Willow went classic young Hollywood in a tiny, sparkling black two piece with a long matching coat.
More details on big winner Sierra Ferrell’s outfit
Sierra Ferrell has won BIG with four Grammys. She did it just as BIG in a huge white gown that evoked a way enthusiastic bride with no fashion fears, designed by Jeffrey Kelly Designs.
Ferrell’s dress included huge luminescent sleeves, pearl embellishment all over and a matching choker piece. And she didn’t forget her bold bride’s veil: a head piece with pearls and flower touches above large pearl chandelier earrings. And she had a scepter, where she stashed her acceptance speech.
Beyoncé has already snagged a Grammy in a country category
Beyoncé already snagged a Grammy in a country category, despite not even being nominated at the Country Music Awards.
The superstar singer won best country duo/group performance for “II Most Wanted” with Miley Cyrus during the Grammys’ Premiere Ceremony.
However, Beyonce fell short in two other country categories: best country solo performance, which went to Chris Stapleton’s “It Takes a Woman,” and best country song, which was awarded to “The Architect,” a single written by Kacey Musgraves, Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne.
Sierra Ferrell wins three in a row
Sierra Ferrell won three straight Grammys and accepted them in a ruffly white gown and pearly headdress worthy of Marie Antoinette, or the top of a wedding cake.
Ferrell won best Americana performance then best American roots song then best Americana album for “Trail of Flowers.”
“Honestly this is hilarious,” as she came back for a third time after barely leaving the stage.
Red is having a moment on the, uh, red carpet
JaNa Craig, Quigley Goode, Poppy: All lent oomph to the color red. So did the hair of Kara Cannella.
Red is an enduring trend in fashion of late, thanks to Taylor Swift’s commitment to the color at boyfriend Travis Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs games.
Among other vibes: swingy and sparkly metallics. Kacey Musgraves represented in a long gold belted skirt she wore with a simple white muscle T-shirt.
Justin Tranter wants to steer clear of politics
“I know what you’re thinking, someone whose wrists move like this,” Tranter said, letting his wrist go limp, “and legs move like that,” he said, giving a showgirl-style kick, “hosting a celebration during these tumultuous times, ‘this is going to get political.’ But I promise you, I’m going to bring you nothing but joy, fashion and a lot of music. Because record labels trying to win over voters is political enough.”
He said, “This year our Grammy Premiere is a tribute to resilience, creativity and community.”
Groundhog goes unheeded as it’s sunny skies for the Grammys
It may be Groundhog Day, but Punxsutawney Phil’s prognostication of six more weeks on winter is going unheeded at the Grammys.
They’re set to shine, and not just onstage. Los Angeles is serving up perfect award-show weather, with sunny skies and a high of 72 Fahrenheit.
The weather today is quite the contrast from last year’s deluge that flooded streets near the arena and caused many attendees to arrive late and soaked.
The temperature is expected to drop to around 60 degrees by the end of the main show.
What makes a remix Grammy eligible?
The best remixed recording category is one of few that honors singles or tracks that aren’t necessarily new — just newly altered. These aren’t covers, re-recordings or remastered tracks: To qualify as a remix, the remixer has to substantially change the original recording. Shortening the track or adding a featured artist, for example, wouldn’t cut it.
“Espresso (Mark Ronson x FNZ (backslash)nWorking Late Remix)” FNZ & Mark Ronson, remixers (Sabrina Carpenter) won the award.
Fitting with the remixes’ home on the dance floor, the category moved under the pop and dance/electronic field this year, from its previous home in the production, engineering, composition and arrangement field.
How many Grammys will be handed out tonight?
There are 94 categories to be awarded today. Of those, around 85 will be handed out during the pre-telecast Premiere Ceremony, per host Justin Tranter.
Grammy nominees get engaged on the red carpet
As guests first began arriving for the 67th Grammy Awards, cheers erupted on the red carpet as two Grammy nominees celebrated their love with a proposal. Poet Todd Boss got down on one knee to propose to Grammy nominee Hila Plitmann on the carpet.
Plitmann, who is nominated for best classical compendium for her album “Mythologies II,” said yes to Boss. Plitmann has previously taken home two Grammy awards. Boss is also up for a Grammy for his work on the album “A Dream So Bright: Choral Music of Jake Runestad.”
The first Grammy of the day goes to Sabrina Carpenter
The best solo pop performance award is the first of the night — sorry, day — and it goes to Sabrina Carpenter for “Espresso.” She wasn’t on hand to accept.
No substitutes accepted onstage
If you’re not there to accept your Grammy, we’re moving on. That’s what Premiere Ceremony host Justin Tranter instructed the audience — no substitutes will be allowed onstage to accept a Grammy. That’s designed to keep the awards-packed pre-show moving.
Before Trevor Noah, there’s Justin Tranter
Justin Tranter returns as host of the Grammys’ Premiere Ceremony.
The much-nominated songwriter is charged with keeping the three-hour show before the show, where scores of awards are handed out, going.
Nominated himself for song of the year — he’s one of the songwriters behind Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” — he’s written smash hits for Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez, Dua Lipa, Britney Spears, Fall Out Boy and more.
Tranter is “back by popular demand,” said Tammy Hurt, chair of the Recording Academy Board of Trustees in her introduction.
Premiere Ceremony kicks off with group rendition of ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’
The Grammys Premiere Ceremony has begun with a group rendition of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” over images of the Los Angeles-area wildfires.
The performance from nominees Angélique Kidjo, Wayne Brady, Scott Hoying, Deborah Cox and Taj Mahal began solemnly in front of a big screen showing flames and firefighters, then turned into a gospel-style tribute.
The performance set a very different tone for the usually breezy Premiere Ceremony, and for an entire Grammy night that will be focused on raising money and paying tribute in the aftermath of the fires.
Grammys red carpet off to a mild-mannered start
Fashion at music’s biggest night is traditionally the wackiest on the awards circuit. With the loss and devastation of the Los Angeles fires as a backdrop, many went for subdued. Lots of black and other dark tones mixed with a few pops of color and sparkle. But the night is young. Will Grammy fashion go over the top?
What is the Grammys’ Premiere Ceremony?
The Grammys have nearly 100 awards to hand out. There’s simply not enough time to fit all of that, plus performances and acceptance speeches, into a three-hour, prime-time telecast. That’s where the Premiere Ceremony comes in.
The Premiere Ceremony runs for three hours, starting at 12:30 p.m. Pacific/3:30 p.m. Eastern. It’s where categories like best audiobook narration are handed out and it’s often where many stars earn their EGOT — like Viola Davis, in 2023.
If you’re curious, no one is poised to EGOT (complete the circuit of winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) this year. But there are still some unexpected celebrities who could earn a Grammy this year.
The Associated Press
