This past Sunday, the 67th Annual Grammy Awards took place in Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena. The event was hosted by South African comedian Trevor Noah and included performances by Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, The Weeknd, Shakira, and Charli XCX. This year saw some surprising wins and snubs, with the ultimate prize of Album of the Year going to Beyoncé for her country album “Cowboy Carter”.
This year, many of the artists who won decided to spend their speeches advocating for various causes. These include: the recent fires in Los Angeles, problems within the music industry, LGBTQ+ rights, etc. For instance, Chappell Roan, a pop singer who had a breakout year in 2024, decided to share her own struggles with the brutal reality of the music industry during her acceptance speech for best new artist. She spoke of not being able to afford health insurance and struggling to find a job when her record label dropped her, according to Vogue.
“I liked how Chappell Roan touched on so many issues during her speech,” junior Franchesqa Landicho said. “It was great to see her use her platform to discuss problems in the music industry,”
Another artist who decided to use their platform to send a message was singer-songwriter Beyoncé. During her speech for Album of the Year she acknowledged the work of the firefighters who have been combating the recent wildfires in Los Angeles, and was one of the many mentions of the devastating fires during the award show.
“I think it’s great that they are bringing attention to the fires,” sophomore Aaliyah Recinos said. “I like seeing artists using their platform for good,”
Following the award ceremony, many people had mixed opinions regarding who should have won. One of the biggest surprises was Beyonce winning the Album of the Year award. According to Grammy, Beyoncé is now the most awarded artist in Grammy history, accumulating over 35 awards over a 24 year period. This year was her first time winning the major category of Album of the Year.
“I watched the Grammys while doing homework last night,” junior Noella Tae said. “I was really surprised that Cowboy Carter won,”
Overall, the Grammy Awards saw heartfelt speeches, records broken and women dominate many of the major categories. This marks the start of award season this spring and offers insight into where music may be headed in 2025.
“I very much enjoyed watching the Grammys this year,” Landicho said. “I also loved Doechii’s speech, it was very touching.”
