With 2025 off to a rocky start, award season couldn’t have come at a more interesting time. The 67th Annual Grammy Awards aired Sunday evening, leaving people, including myself with lots to discuss.

The Grammys started off with many interesting and intriguing red carpet appearances, some owning the red carpet and their expensive gowns, while others decided to leave half of their clothes at home.

Throughout the awards show, one of my favorite comedians and former talk show host Trevor Noah helped advocate for the unfortunate who lost their belongings and loved ones in the tragic California wildfires. Along with some controversial jokes he made, he asked people at the Grammys, seemingly the wealthiest A-listers and media entertainers, who sipped their champagne in their most expensive outfits, and people watching at home to donate to wildfire relief.

The Grammys highlighted the importance of rebuilding the devastated communities affected by the wildfires, and it was a great idea. But perhaps a live celebrity donation would have been better received because the majority at home, who are being asked to donate, are also dealing with the hardships of taxes, tariffs, and federal funding cuts, while there are increasing exemptions for wealthy celebrities we watched toast to each other. Nevertheless, they did end up raising $9 million from just the people watching at home.

The performances and award choices were very interesting and had my emotions on a roller coaster ride. There were so many great artists nominated for awards, and I was very conflicted about who would take one home.

Billie Eilish started the show with one of her songs, “Birds of a Feather,” off of one of many of her hit albums, Hit Me Hard and Soft. It’s such a shame she didn’t win a Grammy this year, especially with her seven nominations.

This year, women dominated the award show. Sabrina Carpenter, Lady Gaga, Shakira, and Chappell Roan all won awards, especially Black women like Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Doechii, and SZA. Beyoncé is the fourth Black woman to win Album of the Year, behind Lauryn Hill, Whitney Houston, and Natalie Cole. Doechii is the third Black woman to win Best Rap Album of the Year, behind Lauryn Hill and Cardi B, and Alicia Keys took home the Dr. Dre’s Global Impact Award, (because she is an icon).

However, Kendrick Lamar makes it onto that list, taking home five grammys, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year. Although I am happy that Lamar won, (God knows the Grammys needed more representation), I was still confident Billie Eilish would win Song of the Year. Her song “Birds of a Feather” took over the internet for a long time and was a major hit during her concert performances. I mean, her whole album was a hit.

Although I am happy Beyoncé won Album of the Year for her country album Cowboy Carter, I was totally convinced Billie Eilish would take that one home as well. I wasn’t shocked because of all the controversy over Beyoncé winning 35 Grammys and one of the most awarded artists in Grammy history, but not one award being Album of the Year, and having also a viral album that a lot of people loved. 

I think I was either on the wrong side of TikTok or just too much of a Billie Eilish fan because I thought for sure Billie Eilish would win, and she had my vote for Song of the Year and Album of the Year.

Sabrina Carpenter, known for her cool and glamorous outfits, witty energy, and cheeky songs, did not disappoint in her performance and winning her first Grammy. I was truly happy she won because of the hard work she puts into her performances, and I literally hear her songs everywhere.

Taylor Swift not winning any awards despite being nominated six times and winning at a lot of past Grammy ceremonies was shocking. Her recent album has taken over the world; she literally shut down New Orleans with so many Swifties attending her three concert shows last year. I for sure thought she would win at least one of the six categories.

I loved how supportive and encouraging she was to everyone there who won. She genuinely just looked happy to be there. I especially loved when she was dancing to Kendrick Lamar’s song “No Like Us.” That was funny to watch.

Shakira’s album, “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran” won an award for Best Latin Pop Album and was presented by Jennifer Lopez, which was iconic but also ironic in a way.

It wasn’t too long ago when Lopez shared the Super Bowl LIV halftime stage with Shakira, and we heard all about it in Lopez’s documentary Halftime.

Lopez supposedly said, “I’m trying to give you something with substance, not just us out there shaking our fucking asses and fucking belly dancing.” Many, including me, thought she was referring to Shakira. I mean, she has been “Hips Don’t Lie” for a long time.

However, some news outlets report she never said anything targeting Shakira. I was happy for Shakira, though. She hadn’t released any music for seven years because of complications in her life, but she did great on stage for the first time in seven years. Who doesn’t love a success story?

I liked the nominations for Best New Artist and was definitely torn about who would win. I’ve seen Chappell Roan, Doechii, Raye, Sabrina Carpenter, Teddy Swims, and Benson Boone’s music everywhere, especially because of funny trends with their music. 

I really wanted Raye to win because, again, who doesn’t love a good success story? (If you listen to her music, you’d understand). 

However, these were all great nominees, and I was content with Chappell Roan winning. I do hear a lot of her music; I just didn’t think it would win against the others. I was also genuinely happy Doechii won Best Rap Album. She really deserves it, along with some of the other nominees, and I would have been more excited if she won Best New Artist, too.

One concerning and quite uncomfortable moment from this year’s Grammys was Kanye West’s red carpet appearance with his wife, Bianca Censori, who dropped her fur, exposing her fully nude body. There has been an influx of concern for his wife’s well-being. Kanye left early with his wife and claimed they left the Grammys willingly. I think it was embarrassing, to say the least, but I’m not sure if they really thought that was appropriate for an awards show or just wanted to be talked about no matter what was said.

It looked like the Grammys successfully delivered for Generation Z. Generation Z loudly wanted Chappell Roan, Olivia Rodrigo, Charli XCX, Doechii, and Billie Eilish at the Grammys. Not even 24 hours later, Instagram was flooded with priceless and funny reactions, making for the best award-show memes.

I know Charli XCX said that her performance was going to be “the least Grammy-appropriate performance,” but I did not expect her to have a whole dance party with half-naked people throwing underwear in the air. I was accepting of it because that is so Generation Z.

I really liked that the CEO of the Grammys, Harvey Mason Jr. He touched on the organization’s changes over the years, including having a lot more diversity within their voting members. He mentioned The Weeknd’s three-year boycott for the lack of transparency and fairness within the voting process. His surprise performance left everyone, including myself, shocked, performing two of his hit songs, “Cry For Me,” and a TikTok hit, “Timeless.”

Let’s talk about how long the Grammys actually were. It was three and a half hours, but it felt like it was happening all day. It felt like there were commercial breaks after every award announcement or performance. It was starting to run a little too long toward the end.

I think it’s safe to say the Grammy’s award night was full of fun and shocking surprises, with lots of fashion and celebrity drama. With many awards show sparking debates and discussions, one thing is certain: The Grammy’s never fail to get people talking.