The 2025 Grammy Recap: Beyonce Won "Best Country Album" And "Best Album Of The Year", Kendrick Lamar Won "Song Of The Year" For A Scathing Diss Track, And The Grammys Might Be More Staged Than The NFL

So the Grammy's just wrapped. 

The big takeaway from tonight was Kendrick Lamar basically sweeping every category in which he was nominated, Beyonce continuing to win every single award on the planet, and Kanye's wife may or may not be brainwashed. 

All things we discussed on our post-show wrap-up, which you can watch here - 

Before we even get into the actual show, let's talk about what had social media buzzing before the Grammys even started: Kanye West’s wife, Bianca Censori, walking the red carpet naked.  

NSFW

The woman dropped her black coat and revealed a sheer, barely-there ensemble that had the internet staring in disbelief. It was equal parts bold and an absolute disaster for any producers trying to keep the show PG-13.

This kid loved it though. 

Trevor Noah for some reason hosted for the 10th year in a row. And he kept hammering on us viewers at home to donate to wildfire relief. 

Now on to the stuff that everybody will be talking about this week. 

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After a gazillion nominations and what seems like a lifetime of Grammy snubs in this category, Beyonce finally took home the Album of the Year trophy for Cowboy Carter.

I'm really not trying to sound like a hater, but she finally snags the Album of the Year Grammy for an album that wasn’t even her best, nor remotely close to her usual genre, and somehow does it by beating actual country artists. If there was ever a moment to truly question the Grammys’ credibility, this is it.

This reminded me of the time the Oscars finally gave Denzel Washington the award for Best Actor, for his role in Training Day- a great movie no doubt, and yah he killed it, but far from his best acting job ever. More of a "makeup award" than anything. 

Or when Scorcese finally won Best Director in 2007 for The Departed. Same shit. Yes, great movie. But of all his works and nominations, that’s what he’s winning for?

It's not underserved of the winner, but it's disingenuous by the academy.

Beyoncé, the woman who gave us Lemonade and Renaissance, winning Best Country Album for Cowboy Carter? 

Give me a break guys. 

Jay Z shows you up and guilt trips the fuck out of you last year, and this is how you overcompensate?

Some would call this pandering. But I called it an attempt to stay relevant and stay in the news, seeing this coming from a mile away.

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Sure, it’s got a little twang and some steel guitar, but let’s be real. This wasn’t country music. It was Beyoncé’s attempt to try on another genre, and somehow, that was enough to snatch the prize out of the hands of actual country artists who live and breathe the genre.

Beyoncé’s no doubt a global force. But come on. Cowboy Carter isn’t her best work by any stretch of the imagination. She’s the type of artist who transcends genres, and that’s fine, just not when it means steamrolling over those who’ve spent years making actual country music.

Also, what the fuck is up with Jay Z and Beyoncé? Get more awkward. You can’t. Two hugs in celebration? 

This looks like two business partners celebrating. Not husband and wife.

And let’s not forget Kendrick Lamar, who somehow won Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video for 
"Not Like Us". A track that centered around Kendrick calling Drake a “certified pedophile” and draping his mansion with red sex offender symbols.

I think the most surreal part of it all was Kendrick walking on stage to accept the awards, and them playing the track in the arena, with the crowd and celebrity guests all singing along. 

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Once again, you want us to have faith in "the 13,000 members of the recording academy", but you're telling me Kendrick Lamar won 0 Grammys for Good Kid, M.A.A.D City but he takes home 5 Grammys for a Drake diss? 

What the fuck are we doing here guys?

The song is a scorching diss aimed directly at Drake, but the Recording Academy, ever so keen on drama, handed Lamar the trophies like he is the second coming of Tupac. 

Let’s be clear, this isn’t music that elevates culture; it’s music designed to tear down another man. And that, somehow, earned him three Grammys? It’s not like Lamar’s other work hasn’t earned accolades in the past. But any fan HAS to admit, his real work is much more worthy of the honors. 

This song itself is more about tearing Drake down than it is about any lyrical brilliance. It’s like we’re rewarding petty, public beefs in the name of art, and that’s the exact opposite of what the Grammys should stand for.

There's 0.0000% chance Tupac would have ever won an award for "Hit em Up". Or that Nas would have been honored for "Ether". But somehow today this one flies? 

I don't get it. 

Drake had to have been home watching and wondering how the Grammys could award Lamar for a song that openly attacks him. There is no chance in the world he ever steps foot at these awards again after that right? Who could blame him?

The Grammys have become less about musical excellence and more about who can play the game of genre-bending and public drama the best. 

If you’re a real country artist or someone trying to do more than just air out dirty laundry in a track, you’re not exactly winning at the Grammys.

At this point, it’s safe to say the Grammys have officially jumped the shark. 

They essentially handed out awards to artists based on their cultural status or ability to stir up drama rather than pure talent. It’s a shame, really, because it’s music’s biggest night, and it should mean something. But instead, it’s just another year of questionable decisions and head-scratching victories.

End rant. 

As for the positives from the night- the real highlight came from Chappell Roan, who won Best New Artist after a fierce battle against some stiff competition (Raye, Doechii, Sabrina Carpenter, and our guy Teddy Swims). 

Roan's “Pink Pony Club” performance, complete with clowns and a giant pony, was just icing on the cake.

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Roan’s win for Best New Artist was deserved, but her speech took a turn for the serious, as she made a public plea for labels to provide healthcare to developing artists. 

Back in september when nominations were announced, Roan was interviewed and said she would say something controversial if she won and had to give an acceptance speech. 

Well this was far from controversial. She said out loud what every person in the room thinks- except for the big wigs running the music labels.

She even went full savage, saying, “Labels, we got you, but do you got us?” Honestly, I was just waiting for her to throw a mic at the audience. It was a bold, unexpected moment, and one that the industry clearly needs to hear. 

Sabrina Carpenter was a babe as usual. And she killed her performance. She has this whole "Vegas showgirl meets variety show" gimmick going and she's crushing it.

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Shakira also made waves by winning Best Latin Pop Album for Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran. And she performed and showed her hips still tell no lies. Zero. Nada. 

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There was a nice tribute to the life and impact of Quincy Jones that Will Smith introduced. It touched on all parts of his life including the Sinatra years, where he produced the musical arrangements for his songs- 

Remember when The Weeknd boycotted the Grammys back in 2021 because he felt snubbed and criticized them for not being "diverse" enough? Well, folks, now he’s back. 

And why? 

Because the Recording Academy now claims to have a younger, more diverse voting body. 

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How nice of them. 

The Weeknd performed two new songs from his brand new album Hurry Up, Tomorrow and surprise, surprise, he was there to promote it. How convenient.

But was it the game-changing, career-altering performance we were expecting after all that hype? Not quite. It actually stunk. As Kelly said, "he totally mailed it in." 

And of course it had to invoke plenty of satanic ritual bullshit into it. Because we can't have a Grammys without it.

Still, The Weeknd getting a standing ovation was probably the most predictable thing of the night.

Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars played a nice tribute cover of "California Dreamin" by The Mamas and The Papas in honor of LA and the disaster they overcame this month.

Benson Boone crushed it and got women everywhere nice and moist.

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Charli XCX performed her song about eating chicks out with a bunch of models on stage and the crowd loved it. 

(Songs an absolute banger)

I think the biggest surprises of the night are that Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish somehow both got shut out and left empty handed. 

(Sidebar - this had nothing to do with Chappell Roan, but it involved her so I'm posting it there. The level of disrespect for a legend like Babyface is appalling. Fire these reporters into the sun.)

Check out our post show recap -

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p.s. - this broke my heart to see. 

don't let the illuminati suck you in Taylor!!!