Shocks and surprises at 2025 Grammy’s greeted with contrasting reactions

by Mick the Ram

The 2025 Grammy’s was full of surprises, some widely regarded as well overdue and one other in particular seen as shocking and totally inappropriate.

At the 67th gathering for these prestigious awards, Beyoncé was finally able to correct what has long been seen as an historic wrong when she picked up the best album accolade.

The star’s victory comes 25 years after her first Grammy nomination as part of the R&B group Destiny’s Child, and she went on to become the most-awarded artist in event’s history, with an overall haul of 35 trophies, but that main prize had always eluded her.

The night’s proceedings took place in Los Angeles just a few weeks after the devastating wildfires and their impact featured heavily as a theme throughout the ceremony, with more than $7 million (£5.7 million) raised for those severely affected.

Some 55 years after they split up, The Beatles took home the prize for best rock performance in recognition of their track “Now And Then” which was assembled from a demo by the late John Lennon and made possible by machine learning, a form of Artificial Intelligence.

However, the evening was overshadowed by a shameful act on the Red Carpet seemingly instigated by rapper Kanye West, who when accompanying his wife Bianca Censori onto the carpet, saw her proceed to drop her fur coat theatrically to reveal she was wearing essentially… nothing!

To be exact, she had on a completely sheer/nude minidress that basically hid nothing, so in effect she was topless and wore no underwear leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination.

However, it was the leering stance of her husband and Ms Censori’s extremely uncomfortable demeanour that caused outrage from many onlookers, and it was later reported that the 30-year-old designer was taken in by police to answer questions on indecent exposure in a public place.

Tribute to the firefighters

Comedian Trevor Noah hosted the ceremony for the fifth year and opened up by admitting that just a few weeks ago he wasn’t sure that the event would go ahead – referring to the devastating LA wildfires.

“Thankfully, due to the heroic efforts of firefighters, the fires have now been contained, and despite all the devastation, the spirit of the city has emerged,” he added, which was greeted with generous applause.

Special guests

Indeed, several squads of the very firefighters he spoke of had been invited to the awards to honour their efforts; and they walked the red carpet taking selfies with the biggest stars in music.

Later, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars delivered a rousing version of “California Dreamin’”, dedicated to the first responders who helped tackle the fires.

LA native Billie Eilsh took to the stage and played her award-nominated song “Birds Of A Feather” against a backdrop inspired by California’s natural beauty and closed by shouting: “I love you LA” at the end of her track.

First black woman to win best album this century

Accepting her award for “Cowboy Carter” being voted best album, Beyoncé dedicated her award to Linda Martell, one of the pioneers for black musicians in country music and the first black woman to perform solo at the Grand Ole Opry. She actually features on several of album’s songs.

The superstar had previously been passed over for the ceremony’s main prize on four separate occasions and in accepting the award she said: “I just feel very full and very honoured, it has been many, many years; I hope we just keep pushing forward and opening doors.”

In winning the award Beyoncé became the first black woman to be successful for that honour since 1999, when Lauryn Hill’s “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” took the title.

Lady Gaga speaks out

Lady Gaga was one of many artists to stand up for the LGBTQ+ community, after President Trump outburst and subsequent executive orders.

“I just want to say tonight that trans people are not invisible; they deserve love” she said, accepting the award for best pop duo/group performance with Bruno Mars, for their duet “Die With A Smile”.

Tribute to Quincy Jones

The show also regularly paid tribute to Quincy Jones, who died last year at the age of 91. The legendary music producer was responsible for some of music’s most iconic tunes for artists such as Frank Sinatra, Dizzie Gillespie, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Chaka Khan.

A step too far?  

Even though Kanya West and Bianca Censori have not been short of risqué displays in the past, their antics on the Red Carpet totally stunned most onlookers. Fans reacted by accusing West of holding his wife “hostage“ and brainwashing” her;  with another pointing out: “her eyes are screaming help…”

Other winners

A selection of the other award winners of the night included: Record Of The Year, Best Music Video, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song – Kendrick Lamar “Not Like Us”; Best New Artist – Chappell Roan; Best Pop Solo Performance – Sabrina Carpenter “Espresso”; Best Pop Dance Recording – Charli xcx “Von Dutch”; Best Country Solo Performance – Chris Stapleton “It Takes A Woman”; and Best Latin Pop Album – Shakira “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran”.