Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Sabrina Carpenter, and Chappell Roan emerged as the biggest winners at the 2025 Grammy Awards on Sunday, along with legendary performances by both rising stars and seasoned American artists.
Despite venturing into the unfamiliar world of country music, Beyoncé dominated the charts in 2024 with Cowboy Carter, which won Album of the Year. Outkast rapper André Benjamin, also known as André 3000, was a close contender with his surprise flute album, New Blue Sun, followed by Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet, which has been trending since its release on August 23, 2024.
The most dominating force in hip-hop last year was undoubtedly Kendrick Lamar, who took home four Grammy Awards in a single night. Lamar’s song Not Like Us won the Record of the Year award, which topped the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart for 21 consecutive weeks and debuted at number one on the Hot 100.
The track is known for its controversial and intense lyrics directed at Canadian rapper Drake and his crew. In Not Like Us, Lamar exposes some of Drake’s “OVO” crew members for their alleged involvement in relations with minors and explicitly calls them “certified pedophiles.”
Critics did not expect the song to win any awards during the 67th Annual Grammy Awards due to its controversial subject matter. However, the track won Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video.
TikTok influencer turned pop star, Chappell Roan, won the Best New Artist award after her meteoric rise on social media. In her acceptance speech, she urged record labels to give a livable wage and health care, especially for developing artists. “It was devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system and dehumanized,” Roan said.
“Labels, we got you, but do you got us?” she concluded.
The 67th Annual Grammy Awards took place on Sunday night at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Hosted by Trevor Noah for the fifth consecutive year, the ceremony honored outstanding achievements in the music industry as well as stand-up comedy specials.