This year, the music industry has been explosive, experimental, and timeless. The pop genre has taken on so many new artists, subgenres, and aesthetics, along with other genres, such as rap, country, and rock, going through many changes as well.
Some artists have been releasing “bangers” for years, while others are fresh to the industry. However, this year was unique due to the rise of “overnight sensations” who have been artists in the industry for 10+ years but were only recently “discovered.”
Comedian Trevor Noah hosted the Grammys once again. His witty jokes and positive attitude added a lot to the ceremony.
Many celebrities who were not nominated made appearances as presenters, such as Olivia Rodrigo, Victoria Monét, Cardi B, Taylor Swift, and Red Hot Chili Peppers members Chad Smith and Anthony Kiedis.
The night started with a California-dedicated performance by Taylor and Griffin from the band Dawes, Sherly Crow, Brittany Howard, St. Vincent, Brad Paisley, and John Legend. This absolute power mashup led the night with a powerful performance.
This was followed by performances from artists Billie Eilish and Sabrina Carpenter, who were both nominated for Song of the Year, Album of the Year, and Best Pop Album of the Year. Billie performed her hit “Birds of a Feather” with her brother Finneas. Sabrina performed a medley of “Espresso” and “Please Please Please.” Both performances were very interactive and entertaining.
The first award of the night was “Best Rap Album.” Nominees included Eminem’s “The Death of Slim Shady,” J.Cole’s “Might Delete Later,” Common & Pete Rock’s “The Auditorium Vol.1,” Future and Metro Boomin’s “We Don’t Trust You,” and the winner, Doechii, with “Alligator Bites Never Heal.” Doechii gave a powerful speech, mentioning how she is the third woman ever to win Best Rap album.
The next award presented was Best Pop Vocal Album. Sabrina Carpenter’s stage presence, creativity, and fabulous vocals were what led her to win. This category was filled with the “pop girlies” of 2024, such as Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Chappell Roan, and Taylor Swift.
The next nominee, Chappell Roan, performed her song “Pink Pony Club,” which she said was a love letter to California. The passion in her performance made this song even more powerful. Chappell has had a monumental impact on the industry this year. With her open support of women’s rights and the LGBTQ+ community.
Following Chappell’s country-themed performance, the award for Best Country Album was announced. Beyoncé took this win with her hit album, Cowboy Carter. Her ability to effortlessly make strong music in any genre is something not many artists can pull off. She became the first black woman to win Country Album of the Year. Beyoncé is known for breaking records, and throughout the night, she continued to do so.
The Grammys tried a lot of new things throughout the night, one of which included a Best New Artist medley. Each nominee in the Best New Artist category got a chance to perform a hit of theirs to make a debut and show off their skills. The mashup started with Benson Boone and Doechii and was followed by Teddy Swims, Shaboozey, and RAYE.
Following these performances, the award of Best New Artist was announced. Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter were nominated in this category, but Chappell Roan won this category, her first Grammy ever. Her album, Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess was an anthem for many.
In Chappell Roan’s speech, she made an announcement reading from a journal: “If she ever got to talk on the Grammys stage, she would use it as a platform to stick up for the artists struggling to make a living off of music due to many labels neglect of healthcare and other benefits for artists.” Her speech spoke to the many struggling artists who weren’t in the room but were watching on TV dreaming of being at the Grammys.
Her powerful speech was followed by an announcement from Grammys CEO Harvery Mason Jr. He addressed Chappell Roan’s concerns about the industry and how labels treat their artists. He mentioned how many artists in the past have made public statements about boycotting awards.
One artist in particular drew a magnifying glass to the industry: The Weekend. Following this, the CEO announced that they are listening to artists’ concerns, and to show this, they invited The Weekend to perform a new song from his recently released album. This surprise performance took many by shock.
Next, was a tribute to the renowned musician Quincy Jones who passed away this year. The performance started with Cynthia Erivo and Herbie Hancock dueting “Fly Me to the Moon.” Then, Lainey Wilson and Jacob Collier performed “Let the Good Times Roll.” This was followed by an incredible performance of “Bluesette/ We are the World” by Stevie Wonder and Herbie Hancock. This was then followed by a spoken tribute by Will Smith and an energy packed performance of “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough” by Janelle Monae.
Following this was the announcement of the Best Pop Duo/ Group Performance award. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars took this win for their incredible duet “Die with a Smile.” The song has over 1.6 billion streams, joining the club of 887 songs ever to get a billion streams. These two superstars blend together to build the perfect sound.
Next, Chris Martin and young guitarist Grace Bowers were invited on stage to perform a memorial performance for all thosein the music industry that passed this year. They honored Liam Payne, Kris Kristofferson, Angela Alvarez, Steve Albini, Cissy Houston, John Mayall, Dockey Betts, Angela Bofill, Joe Bonsall, Fatman Scoop, Sandra Crouch, Richard Sherman, Joe Chambers, Jack Jones, Duane Eddy, Henry Cicalo, Abdul Kareem Fakir, and Will Jennings. Martin’s tear jerking performance of his song “All my Love” was a perfect way to pay respect.
In the last stretch of the Grammys, all of the big awards were announced starting with Record of the Year. In this category, nominees included The Beatles, Beyonce, Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Taylor Swift, and winner Kendrick Lamar. Kendrick won for his hit song “Not like Us,” which he recently performed at the Super Bowl.
Following Record of the Year, Shakira performed her songs “Ojos Asi” and “Sessions.” This performance followed her win for best Latin Pop Album. Also, during this time, Alicia Keys was given the Global Impact Award.
Now, there were only two categories left, the ones everyone was waiting for. Following his big wins previously in the night, Kendrick Lamar took home the win for Song of the Year with “Not like Us.” Kendrick swept all of the categories he was nominated in.
In the last performance of the night, Charli XCX blew everyone away. Her high energy performance of “Von Dutch” and “Guess” made everyone in the room get up and dance. After her win for Best Dance/ Electronic Album, her performance was a celebration of the influence her album BRAT has made throughout the year.
Album of the Year was a cutthroat category this year, with nominees André 3000, Beyoncé, Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX, Jacob Collier, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, and Taylor Swift. Each fan base fought for their artists but ultimately it was Beyoncé, who took the win. She took home her first win for Album of the Year after being nominated five times!
2024 was an incredible year for music, and 2025 is shaping up to continue on with amazing energy.
