The Grammys 2025 Were the Best Awards Show in Years

Just a few weeks ago, not canceling the Grammys ceremony seemed like a bad idea. Music’s biggest night was scheduled to unfold shortly after the devastating California wildfires razed entire sections of neighborhoods like Altadena and the Pacific Palisades. Multiple Hollywood events were postponed or scrapped entirely; it didn’t feel like the time or, quite frankly, the place to celebrate.

But it’s actually a good thing that the Grammys stuck to their guns. The 2025 ceremony turned out to be one of the best awards shows in recent memory—an unexpected delight featuring an incredible array of performances, memorable speeches, and, most importantly, a innovative way to give back to the communities impacted most by the fires.

That’s not to say that the Grammys were glossy sailing from the top—the red carpet was a bit of a doozy, especially when Kanye West turned up with his wife, Bianca Censori, who left very little to the imagination in a completely see-through mini slip dress. (While initial reports alleged the pair hadn’t been invited to the ceremony and were escorted off the premises, they turned out to be false.) Jaden Smith showed up wearing what seemed to be a compact Victorian dollhouse on his head. And an AP reporter dissed 13-time Grammy winner Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds to his face, cutting him off mid sentence in a bid to get Chappell Roan’s attention as she walked down the carpet. (The reporter apologized after the fact.)

But once the show started, any red-carpet awkwardness became a distant memory. Hosted by Trevor Noah once again, the Grammys functioned, in part, as a telethon to raise money for communities impacted by the fires—with Noah instructing in-person attendees, immense corporations, and viewers at home to open their purses and donate via a QR code that periodically appeared at the bottom of the screen. Throughout the evening, Noah acted more like a sherpa than a established host, helping the audience navigate tricky emotional terrain as they bounced between celebratory and somber moments. Sure, he told some jokes (some of which went over better than others), but with five consecutive years of Grammys experience under his belt, Noah seemed to understand that, this year more than ever, his job was to guide rather than entertain.

Sabrina Carpenter performs onstage during the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards.By John Shearer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy.