The Grammys 2025 went ahead in Los Angeles last week, in the shadow of the wildfires that devastated the city last month. Harvey Mason Jr, CEO of The Recording Academy, and chair of its board of trustees Tammy Hurt had confirmed it would go ahead, but “with a renewed sense of purpose”, raising additional funds for relief efforts and honouring the “bravery and dedication” of first responders. Hosted by Trevor Noah for the fifth year running, it would set the tone for the rest of the awards season as the industry and fans grapple with celebrating artistic achievement in the wake of tragedy.

In the end, despite the sombre circumstances, there was much to celebrate. Beyoncé not only took home the Album of the Year trophy – incredibly, for the first time – Cowboy Carter was also named Best Country Album. Breakout superstar Doechii became only the second woman to win Best Rap Album this century – and the third in the ceremony’s history – for the phenomenal Alligator Bites Never Heal, and Chappell Roan was named Best New Artist (and accepted with a speech that served as a damning indictment of how the music industry treats young up and coming talent).

“As usual, we’re coming to you live from Los Angeles – but what’s unusual are our circumstances this evening,” said the host, kicking off his opening monologue. “Just a few weeks ago, we weren’t even sure this show would happen. You don’t need me to tell you this, but this city has just endured one of the largest natural disasters in American history.”

Last Sunday night at the Crypto.com Arena, the music industry came together in the wake of LA’s devastating fires to celebrate not just music, but also the LA community more broadly. In fact, as Noah noted, the flowers adorning the tables at the Grammys came from a local florist, commercial breaks highlighted small businesses across the city, and viewers watching along at home were encouraged to donate to ongoing wildfire relief efforts.

Inside the theatre, Noah struck a balance between acknowledging the city’s resilience and delivering his signature wit. Weaving through the crowd, he passed Chappell Roan and Charli XCX before stopping near Taylor Swift. He also addressed the absence everyone was whispering about. “Beyoncé will be here tonight!” Noah teased, before slipping in some timely political humour: “Beyoncé, there are tariffs – we can’t afford another tour!”

Winners’ List
Record Of The Year
Not Like Us – Kendrick Lamar

Album Of The Year
Cowboy Carter – Beyoncé 

Song Of The Year
Not Like Us – Kendrick Lamar

Best New Artist
Chappell Roan 

Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical
Daniel Nigro 

Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical
Amy Allen

Best Pop Solo Performance
Espresso — Sabrina Carpenter

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
Die With A Smile – Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars

Best Pop Vocal Album
Short n' Sweet – Sabrina Carpenter

Best Dance/Electronic Recording
Neverender – Justice & Tame Impala 

Best Dance Pop Recording
Von dutch – Charli XCX

Best Dance/Electronic Album
BRAT – Charli XCX

Best Remixed Recording
Espresso – FNZ & Mark Ronson, Sabrina Carpenter

Best Rock Performance
Now and Then – The Beatles 

Best Metal Performance
Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça ira!) – Gojira, Marina Viotti & Victor Le Masne

Best Rock Song
Broken Man – Annie Clark

Best Rock Album
Hackney Diamonds – The Rolling Stones

Best Alternative Music Performance
Flea – St. Vincent 

Best Alternative Music Album
All Born Screaming – St. Vincent

Best R&B Performance
Made For Me (Live On BET) – Muni Long 

Best Traditional R&B Performance
That's You – Lucky Daye 

Best R&B Song
Saturn – Rob Bisel, Cian Ducrot, Carter Lang, Solána Rowe, Jared Solomon & Scott Zhang

Best Progressive R&B Album
So Glad to Know You – Avery*Sunshine 

Why Lawd? – NxWorries
Best R&B Album
11:11 (Deluxe) – Chris Brown

Best Rap Performance
Not Like Us – Kendrick Lamar 

Best Melodic Rap Performance
3 – Rapsody Featuring Erykah Badu

Best Rap Song
Not Like Us – Kendrick Lamar

Best Rap Album
Alligator Bites Never Heal – Doechii

Best Spoken Word Poetry Album
The Heart, The Mind, The Soul – Tank and The Bangas

Best Jazz Performance
Twinkle Twinkle Little Me – Samara Joy Featuring Sullivan Fortner

Best Jazz Vocal Album
A Joyful Holiday – Samara Joy 

Best Jazz Instrumental Album
Remembrance – Chick Corea & Béla Fleck 

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
Bianca Reimagined: Music for Paws and Persistence – Dan Pugach Big Band 

Best Latin Jazz Album
Cubop Lives! – Zaccai Curtis, Luques Curtis, Willie Martinez, Camilo Molina & Reinaldo de Jesus 

Best Alternative Jazz Album
No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin – Meshell Ndegeocello

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
Visions – Norah Jones

Best Contemporary Instrumental Album
Plot Armor – Taylor Eigsti 

Best Musical Theater Album
Hell’s Kitchen – Shoshana Bean, Brandon Victor Dixon, Kecia Lewis & Maleah Joi Moon, Adam Blackstone, Alicia Keys & Tom Kitt

Best Country Solo Performance
It Takes A Woman – Chris Stapleton 

Best Country Duo/Group Performance
II MOST WANTED – Beyoncé Featuring Miley Cyrus

Best Country Song
The Architect – Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves & Josh Osborne

Best Country Album
Cowboy Carter – Beyoncé

Best American Roots Performance
Lighthouse – Sierra Ferrell 

Best Americana Performance
American Dreaming – Sierra Ferrell

Best American Roots Song
American Dreaming – Sierra Ferrell & Melody Walker

Best Americana Album
Trail Of Flowers – Sierra Ferrell

Best Bluegrass Album
Live Vol. 1 – Billy Strings

Best Traditional Blues Album
Swingin' Live at The Church in Tulsa – The Taj Mahal Sextet

Best Contemporary Blues Album
Mileage – Ruthie Foster

Best Folk Album
Woodland – Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

Best Regional Roots Music Album
Kuini – Kalani Pe'a 

Best Gospel Performance/Song
One Hallelujah – Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Erica Campbell & Israel Houghton Featuring Jonathan McReynolds & Jekalyn Carr

Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
That's My King – CeCe Winans

Best Gospel Album
More Than This – CeCe Winans

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
Heart Of A Human – DOE 

Best Roots Gospel Album
Church – Cory Henry

Best Latin Pop Album
Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran – Shakira

Best Música Urbana Album
LAS LETRAS YA NO IMPORTANT – Residente

Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album
Quién trae las cornetas? – Rawayana

Best Música Mexicana Album
Boca Chueca, Vol. 1 – Carín León

Best Tropical Latin Album
Alma, Corazón y Salsa – Tony Succar, Mimy Succar 

Best Global Music Performance
Bemba Colorá – Sheila E. Featuring Gloria Estefan & Mimy Succar

Best African Music Performance
Love Me JeJe – Tems 

Best Global Music Album
ALKEBULAN II – Matt B Featuring Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Best Reggae Album
Bob Marley: One Love – Music Inspired By The Film – (Various Artists)

Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album
Triveni – Wouter Kellerman, Eru Matsumoto & Chandrika Tandon

Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording
Last Sundays in Plains: A Centennial Celebration – Jimmy Carter

Best Children's Music Album
Brillo, Brillo! – Lucky Diaz And The Family Jam Band

Best Comedy Album
The Dreamer – Dave Chappelle

Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media
Maestro: Music By Leonard Bernstein – Bradley Cooper & Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media (Includes Film And Television)
Dune: Part Two – Hans Zimmer

Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord – Winifred Phillips

Best Song Written For Visual Media
It Never Went Away [From American Symphony] – Jon Batiste & Dan Wilson

Best Music Video
Not Like Us – Kendrick Lamar

Best Music Film
American Symphony – Jon Batiste

Best Recording Package
BRAT – Brent David Freaney & Imogene Strauss, Charli XCX

Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package
Mind Games – Simon Hilton & Sean Ono Lennon

Best Album Notes
Centennial – Ricky Riccardi

Best Historical Album
Centennial – Meagan Hennessey & Richard Martin

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
i/o – Tchad Blake, Oli Jacobs, Katie May, Dom Shaw & Mark “Spike” Stent

Best Engineered Album, Classical
Bruckner: Symphony No. 7; Bates: Resurrexit – Mark Donahue & John Newton

Producer Of The Year, Classical
Elaine Martone 

Best Immersive Audio Album
i/o (In-Side Mix) – Hans-Martin Buff, Peter Gabriel

Best Instrumental Composition
Strands – Pascal Le Boeuf, Akropolis Reed Quintet & Christian Euman

Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella
Bridge Over Troubled Water – Jacob Collier, Tori Kelly & John Legend

Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals
Alma – Erin Bentlage, Sara Gazarek, Johnaye Kendrick & Amanda Taylor

Best Orchestral Performance
Ortiz: Revolución Diamantina – Gustavo Dudamel

Best Opera Recording
Saariaho: Adriana Mater – Esa-Pekka Salonen, Fleur Barron, Axelle Fanyo, Nicholas Phan & Christopher Purves, Jason O’Connell

Best Choral Performance
Ochre – Donald Nally

Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
Rectangles and Circumstance – Caroline Shaw & Sō Percussion

Best Classical Instrumental Solo
Bach: Goldberg Variations – Víkingur Ólafsson 

Best Classical Solo Vocal Album
Beyond The Years - Unpublished Songs Of Florence Price – Karen Slack, Michelle Cann

Best Classical Compendium
Ortiz: Revolución Diamantina – Gustavo Dudamel, Dmitriy Lipay

Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Ortiz: Revolución Diamantina – Gabriela Ortiz