The Latest: Sabrina Carpenter wins best pop vocal album
The show began at 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific and can be streamed via CBS and Paramount+.
Shakira, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Doechii, Sabrina Carpenter and Charli xcx are performers. Will Smith, Stevie Wonder and Janelle Monáe are presenting a tribute to the late, legendary producer Quincy Jones. Comedian Trevor Noah is hosting the show for the fifth consecutive time.
Anthony Kiedis and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers gave an a capella rendition of lines from their L.A.-loving “Under the Bridge” before presenting best pop vocal album.
“Tonight, let’s get it on, and let’s all get vocal about helping our friends and neighbors,” Kiedis said.
Sabrina Carpenter bested Taylor Swift for the best pop vocal album Grammy with “Short n’ Sweet,” but Swift was still on her feet for her one-time Eras tour opener.
There’s a beehive of activity.
The famous folks table hop to chat and photographers squeeze through the tables to snap photos of them as flashes light up the dark. Stagehands sometimes appear to set up for the next performance. A disembodied voice then orders everyone to take their seats and counts down the seconds left until the show is live again.
“During the commercial break, Trevor Noah was traded to the Dallas Mavericks,” comedian Jim Gaffigan said, alluding to the jaw-dropping trade of Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis for Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić.
The Grammys are being held at Crypto.com Arena, home to the Lakers and now Luka Doncic.
A weeping Doechii, accepting best rap album, said since the award’s inception, “two women have won.” But then she quickly corrected herself. “THREE women have won, Lauryn Hill, Cardi B and Doechii!”
Trevor Noah has returned to the Grammys for the fifth time tonight. That’s not quite a record, but it is a first for a comedian. The only other people to host five times or more have been musical artists:
Doechii accepted the best rap album award for “Alligator Bites Never Heal” from Cardi B. The mixtape was named one of AP’s best of 2024, with AP Music Writer Maria Sherman noting:
When alligators kill, they do what is known as a “death roll”: They sink their teeth into their prey and spin rapidly, flipping their bodies in and out of the water, drowning, disorienting and dismembering whatever was unlucky enough to get in its way. Florida rapper Doechii’s breakout mixtape, “Alligator Bites Never Heal,” embodies that kind of intensity — not in aggression, per se, but in acuity — for a versatile album that teeters from the romance of her smooth R&B and the particularity of her flows. Single “Boom Bap” made her greatness known. Tracks like “Catfish” confirm it.
Sabrina Carpenter opened her performance of “Espresso” Broadway-style, descending stairs with a deliberate awkwardness and wearing a Rockette-style sequined suit that she then ripped off to finish the song in its normal form.
It was preceded by a pretaped interview bit with her talking about the phenomenon of the song — and her blowout routine.
“Everywhere I turn there’s an espresso sign, and I just assume they’re all about my song.”
Sabrina Carpenter won the first award of the day — and earned the first bleep of the broadcast during the “Please Please Please” portion of her medley performance.
“We love you L.A.!” Eilish yelled after concluding her performance of “Birds of a Feather” alongside brother Finneas. The pair, along with their backing band, performed in front of a superimposed backdrop of a Southern California hillside. They’re very closely associated with their hometown — Eilish also performed the song in a pretaped segment for the Paris Olympics’ closing ceremony, marking the passing of the torch to Los Angeles.
During the performance, Margaret Qualley and Taylor Swift danced along. Qualley is married to frequent Swift collaborator Jack Antonoff.
Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo is also sitting with them.
Small cards are stashed in cup holders with a QR code that allows people to donate to wildfire relief efforts using their smartphones throughout the show.
The five-time host shed quickly the sober tone of his opening speech to a rapid-fire series of jokes, touching on the Beatles’ use of artificial intelligence, the prospect of a new Rihanna album, whether or not Beyoncé will show, the impending rise in the cost of maple syrup and how this might be the last time he’s allowed to host anything in the U.S.
He did pivot back to sincerity before introducing Billie Eilish, plugging wildfire aid.
After a short intro from host Trevor Noah, Dawes kicked off a tribute to Los Angeles with “I Love L.A.,” along with a backing band consisting of stars John Legend, Brad Paisley, Sheryl Crow, Brittany Howard and St. Vincent.
Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith lost a portion of the Altadena house he shares with his wife, actor-singer Mandy Moore, and his home recording studio and instruments were destroyed. His brother and bandmate, Griffin Goldsmith, and his pregnant wife also lost their home in the fire. Dawes also performed at the FireAid benefit concert on Thursday.
A familiar song is blasting inside the arena. Dawes is opening the show with Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.” with some lyrics changed to reflect the wildfires.
The song plays after every Los Angeles Lakers victory in Crypto.com Atena.
Host Trevor Noah replaced the usual revved-up opening to the Grammys with sober talk about the California wildfires.
“Just a few weeks ago we weren’t sure tonight that this show would even happen,” he said from backstage before walking out on the stage at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
“His city has just been through one of the largest natural disasters in American history.”
The slinky bombshell look had a high neck and deep cutout at the front with a low open back and double straps securing the look.
She’s nominated for a track that appeared in the Hunger Games prequel movie “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.” And she’s presenting one of the awards.
The highest profile nominees will be sitting at small tables with white lamps clustered at the foot of the stage. Behind them are rows of traditional seats. The stage runs the width of the arena floor.
The mainly instrumental Khruangbin’s sonic explorations have paid off of late, with a warmly received 2024 album, “A La Sala,” that reached the top 40 of the Billboard 200 and a Grammy Award nomination for best new artist. Not that any of that is going to their heads.
“I think we’re just going to keep leaning in what we do and keep trying to be more the silhouette version of ourselves as much as we can and let the music speak for itself, because that’s who we are. We don’t like the spotlight in that way,” says bassist Laura Lee.
The Texas trio makes music that’s hard to describe, a mix of soul, surf rock, psychedelic and funk that creates a melodic, Afro-pop-inspired, reverb-heavy sound with nods to other cultures. The band’s name is appropriately travel-related — Khruangbin is the Thai word for airplane.
▶ Read more about Khruangbin in the Grammys spotlight
It’s a short little number with a pleated skirt at the bottom and one sleeve up top. It matched her signature red lips perfectly.
The sparkly dress had a little chain with red jewels at one hip.
People are taking turns posing for photos on the stage before the show begins. There’s no forgetting which awards show this is either. The Grammys is in all capital letters and lit at the foot of the stage.
After handing out 85 awards over about four hours, the Grammys Premiere Ceremony is over.
It’s time to move from the Peacock Theater next door to the Crypto.com Arena for the main show and telecast.
Charli XCX and Kendrick Lamar have each already won two Grammys. Beyonce and Sabrina Carpenter also won at the early ceremony and have chances at winning many more tonight.
She’s a bombshell in gold, black and feathers at the bottom. It’s a custom Roberto Cavalli Couture creation. The mermaid design is a true body hugger. It’s covered in hand-embroidered beads and sequins reminiscent of a tiger pattern.
The couple that got engaged on the red carpet just before the Premiere Ceremony isn’t going home quite empty-handed, given the ring. But Todd Boss and Hila Plitmann didn’t take home any Grammys tonight.
Plitmann was nominated for best classical compendium for her album “Mythologies II.” Boss, a poet, was up for a Grammy for best choral performance for his work on the album “A Dream So Bright: Choral Music of Jake Runstad.”
Plitmann already has two Grammys.
In classic Charli XCX fashion, the “Brat” singer is always ahead even when it comes to the latest fashions.
The performer wore a custom look from Jean Paul Gaultier by Ludovic de Saint Sernin. Sernin debuted his first collection for Gaultier titled “Le Naufrage” at Paris couture week. In a twist from the runway look, Charli XCX’s exposed her décolletage and swapped out the white for a bluish gray.
There were no wedding bells on the Grammy red carpet, but singer Gracie Abrams glowed in a demure custom Chanel bridal look.
While some celebrities use the Grammys as a chance to go all out with color, fun cutouts and over-the-top sequined looks, the “I love you, I’m sorry” singer took a more modest route.
In a rare classical performance at the Grammys, sopranos Renée Fleming and Kelli O’Hara and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato sang a selection from “The Hours” by Kevin Puts, nominated for best opera recording.
It came as the crowd thinned at the Premiere Ceremony in Peacock Theater, with the main show next door at Crypto.com Arena growing closer. Host Justin Tranter urged people to fill in the seats in front of the stage.
“There are people all over the world that would do anything to see what you’re about to see!” he shouted.
While the stars hit the red carpet and the preshow continues across the street, regular folks are already inside Crypto.com Arena.
They’re picking up glossy souvenir programs and hitting the bars and concession stands to fuel themselves for the long night ahead.
Accepting the Grammy for best rock song, St. Vincent thanked her wife, Leah, and their daughter.
That was news to some, and the musician born Annie Clark backstage said she kept it “under wraps” until now. She said her child was young, but didn’t reveal an age.
In case there’s any doubt about whose house the Grammys are it, there’s a large reminder on the wall.
A sign reading “Taylor Swift most sold out performances” is next to three photo panels of her performing at Crypto.com Arena. The sign is located next to a bar near a busy concourse.
He and his partner, Raiche Wright, are expecting their first child. So what’s an R&B singer to do? Cover himself in the baby’s birthstone: pearl.
Swims wore a heavily pearl-embellished look in tan. By pearls, we mean pearls from the cap on his head to the outer seams of his trousers. Big pearls. Small pearls. Swims pulled it off beautifully, as he always does.
And he didn’t forget the man bling. He wore a chunky choker around his neck.
Swims is nominated for best new artist.
Bradley Cooper has yet to win an Oscar in a dozen nominations, but he keeps winning Grammys.
He won his third, for best compilation soundtrack for visual media, for the music from “Maestro,” the Leonard Bernstein biopic he directed and starred in. He won the same award for his previous film, “A Star is Born,” which also got him a Grammy for best pop duo/group performance for “Shallow” with Lady Gaga.
But he’s still quite a ways from an EGOT. Major awards in his main disciplines — acting and directing — have evaded him. He’s never won an Oscar or a Tony (or a Golden Globe, for that matter) despite nominations for each. He was submitted for an Emmy for his cameo on “Abbott Elementary” last year but did not get a nomination.
Rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, is no stranger to causing a scene at the Grammys. On the Grammys red carpet, his partner Bianca Censori took all the spotlight in her barely there, seemingly transparent dress that left nothing to the imagination. Censori is known for causing a stir with her sheer street-style shots.
With brother Finneas, natch. They vamped on the carpet wearing hipster shades. Billie wore trousers and a black jacket, a jaunty hat on her head and a big smile on her face. The look is Prada.
One accessory on the Grammys red carpet is making more than a fashion statement.
Stars like Mike Dirnt from Green Day and singer Jacob Collier sported a pin representing the MusiCares fire relief efforts. The organization collaborated with the 67th Grammy Awards to support and raise funds for those impacted by the California wildfires. The pins feature a blue heart and a music note. MusiCares provides financial, personal and medical assistance to the music community.
In January, the Recording Academy and MusiCares launched the Los Angeles Fire Relief effort with a $1 million donation.
Chappell Roan’s vintage Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture look from spring 2003 was first worn by Beyonce in Elle magazine that April.
The two are nominated against each other for top awards.
Teddy Swims is busier than ever with two babies on the way: The child he’s expecting, and his new album, “I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2).” While he’s excited to talk new music, fatherhood is what elates him.
“I can’t wait to hear the voice or ‘What’s your favorite color?’ … I hope he thinks I’m cool – or she thinks I’m cool,” said the soulful crooner. “I want my son – or daughter – to say that, about what I say about my father.”
Continuously switching pronouns, Swims carefully concealed the gender, fearing facing a displeased girlfriend, fellow musician Raiche Wright. But it’s difficult for the Grammys best new artist nominee to contain his joy.
▶ Read more from AP’s interview with Teddy Swims
Jimmy Carter leads all presidents with four Grammy wins. Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have two apiece.
Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon were all nominated, but didn’t win.
First ladies Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton have also each won.
All the wins came for either audiobook or spoken word recordings, none for music.
The first time Chris and Rich Robinson were at the Grammy Awards, it was 1991. The New York Giants had won the Super Bowl, and the U.S. was in the midst of the Gulf War.
The siblings behind the band The Black Crowes had just released their debut album “Shake Your Money Maker” and were nominees for best new artist. They didn’t have high hopes. Sure enough, Mariah Carey would take the crown.
“I don’t remember ever like getting too worked up about it,” singer-songwriter Chris Robinson recalls. “Of course, Mariah Carey is going to get that. Are they going to give it to these dirtbag kids from Atlanta who just came to the party really to get thrown out?”
Fast forward more than three decades and the Black Crowes have been invited back to the party, earning their second career Grammy nod this year for best rock album alongside the Rolling Stones.
▶ Read more about the Black Crowes today
She walked in a strapless look, long wavy hair flowing down her back. Her makeup was whitened and full of color: yellows and blues and pinks and reds. Her look had touches of teal and images of women from a bygone era on the skirt. It was Jean Paul Gaultier vintage from spring 2003.
The best rock performance Grammy has gone to the Beatles for “Now and Then.”
“Since no one is coming up to take this award, I figured I’d come up and sit in,” John Lennon’s son Sean Ono Lennon said onstage.
It’s the group’s first Grammy win in 27 years, and the song was notable for its use of artificial intelligence technology.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s the greatest band of all time,” he added.
He instructed viewers to play his father’s band for their kids, saying the world couldn’t afford to forget about groups like them.
Norah Jones was a remarkable mash-up of texture in an above-the-knee look by In Earnest. Belted in red at the waist, it had short sleeves, an adorned black front and side panels of chunky silver.
Kehlani wore Robert Wun as she walked the carpet with her adorable daughter, Adeya Nomi Parrish. Kehlani’s look was strapless and pinstriped. Long black opera gloves brought home the look.
Willow Smith’s itty-bitty, two-piece sparkler is Versace. Kacey Musgraves’ gold skirt is Ralph Lauren Collection for spring 2025.
The interplay between sports and music is well-chronicled, but a blockbuster NBA trade has yielded quite the collision today.
The Los Angeles Lakers traded forward Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks in return for star guard Luka Doncic. That means Doncic’s new home arena is the Crypto.com Arena — also home to the Grammys.
If any performers from Dallas — or anyone who happens to randomly be a Mavs fan — take the Grammys stage tonight, don’t be surprised if Doncic’s name gets mentioned. The trade of Dallas’ best player for the last few years has shocked those who follow the NBA.
Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube and Kendrick Lamar are among the best-known musical Lakers fans. We’re guessing they’ll be thrilled to see Doncic in purple and gold very soon.
As for that other Los Angeles team, the Clippers had their own musical interlude this past week: Their home arena, the Intuit Dome, and the Clippers-owned Kia Forum were the dual sites of the FireAid benefit concert for wildfire relief.
It’s actually his fourth. His posthumous Grammy joins his three previous ones for spoken word album.
Only recently given stewardship over his late father’s work, Sean Ono Lennon is on a remarkable run.
The only child of John Lennon and Yoko Ono won an Academy Award this year for a short film based on his parents’ 1971 song “Happy Christmas (War is Over”)” and, a few months later, was nominated for his first-ever Grammy, for producing a box set on the album “Mind Games,” originally released in 1973. On Sunday, he won.
For Lennon, who was 5 when the former Beatle was murdered in 1980, the work is a way to connect with his father. It’s more than a preservation mission: On “Mind Games,” he takes artistic license, pulling apart the recordings of John Lennon’s music to create something entirely new.
The late Jimmy Carter won a posthumous Grammy Award for narrating audiobook for “Last Sundays in Plains.”
He received his nomination before his late December death at 100.
“Having his words captured in this way for my family and for the world is truly remarkable and I think really means so much at this moment in our history as a country, as a world to bring people together, to preach that love and kindness,” grandson Jason Carter said, accepting the award.
A$AP Rocky lost out on a Grammy as he goes through a trial just up the street that might mean years in prison. His partner and the mother of his sons Rihanna was in court supporting him for most of the week.
Rocky got his third Grammy nomination for best music video for his song “Tailor Swif.” A win would’ve been his first, but it went to Kendrick Lamar for “Not Like Us.”
Two miles away at a downtown Los Angeles courthouse, he’s been on trial for the past two weeks on two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. A former friend who goes by A$AP Relli testified that Rocky fired a gun at him on a Hollywood street in 2021. Rocky’s lawyers say he was shooting a starter pistol that only fires blanks that he carries for security.
The Grammys Premiere Ceremony moves at a breakneck pace, but much of it is spent waiting on winners as everyone wonders whether they’re in the room to accept.
The answer is often no, at least in the early afternoon. Ten of the first 15 winners were not there to pick up the award, including Beyoncé, Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter.
With several hundred nominees, it’s impossible to keep track of the whereabouts of all of them at the 7,000-seat Peacock Theater.
When Cory Henry won best roots gospel album, the Grammy had already been accepted on his behalf and the show was starting to move on by the time he was able to run up to the stage and make his speech.
There were two winners for the best progressive R&B album Grammy:
Ties are not unheard of at the Grammys, but they still are relatively rare.
All of the nominees in this category were women except Édgar Barrera. RAYE, Jessi Alexander, Amy Allen or Jessie Jo Dillon all had the potential to be the first women to ever win in the category, and Allen took the crown.
The category is also new, only in its third year. Allen dedicated her award to all the songwriters who she says should have been recognized before its inception.
“We are the engine that fuels the entire music industry,” she said of her fellow songwriters.
Jaden Smith is walking the red carpet with his sister Willow, and he’s wearing a large black castle on his head. Willow went classic young Hollywood in a tiny, sparkling black two piece with a long matching coat.
Sierra Ferrell has won BIG with four Grammys. She did it just as BIG in a huge white gown that evoked a way enthusiastic bride with no fashion fears, designed by Jeffrey Kelly Designs.
Ferrell’s dress included huge luminescent sleeves, pearl embellishment all over and a matching choker piece. And she didn’t forget her bold bride’s veil: a head piece with pearls and flower touches above large pearl chandelier earrings. And she had a scepter, where she stashed her acceptance speech.
Beyoncé already snagged a Grammy in a country category, despite not even being nominated at the Country Music Awards.
The superstar singer won best country duo/group performance for “II Most Wanted” with Miley Cyrus during the Grammys’ Premiere Ceremony.
However, Beyonce fell short in two other country categories: best country solo performance, which went to Chris Stapleton’s “It Takes a Woman,” and best country song, which was awarded to “The Architect,” a single written by Kacey Musgraves, Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne.
Sierra Ferrell won three straight Grammys and accepted them in a ruffly white gown and pearly headdress worthy of Marie Antoinette, or the top of a wedding cake.
Ferrell won best Americana performance then best American roots song then best Americana album for “Trail of Flowers.”
“Honestly this is hilarious,” as she came back for a third time after barely leaving the stage.
JaNa Craig, Quigley Goode, Poppy: All lent oomph to the color red. So did the hair of Kara Cannella.
Red is an enduring trend in fashion of late, thanks to Taylor Swift’s commitment to the color at boyfriend Travis Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs games.
Among other vibes: swingy and sparkly metallics. Kacey Musgraves represented in a long gold belted skirt she wore with a simple white muscle T-shirt.
“I know what you’re thinking, someone whose wrists move like this,” Tranter said, letting his wrist go limp, “and legs move like that,” he said, giving a showgirl-style kick, “hosting a celebration during these tumultuous times, ‘this is going to get political.’ But I promise you, I’m going to bring you nothing but joy, fashion and a lot of music. Because record labels trying to win over voters is political enough.”
He said, “This year our Grammy Premiere is a tribute to resilience, creativity and community.”
It may be Groundhog Day, but Punxsutawney Phil’s prognostication of six more weeks on winter is going unheeded at the Grammys.
They’re set to shine, and not just onstage. Los Angeles is serving up perfect award-show weather, with sunny skies and a high of 72 Fahrenheit.
The weather today is quite the contrast from last year’s deluge that flooded streets near the arena and caused many attendees to arrive late and soaked.
The temperature is expected to drop to around 60 degrees by the end of the main show.
The best remixed recording category is one of few that honors singles or tracks that aren’t necessarily new — just newly altered. These aren’t covers, re-recordings or remastered tracks: To qualify as a remix, the remixer has to substantially change the original recording. Shortening the track or adding a featured artist, for example, wouldn’t cut it.
“Espresso (Mark Ronson x FNZ (backslash)nWorking Late Remix)” FNZ & Mark Ronson, remixers (Sabrina Carpenter) won the award.
Fitting with the remixes’ home on the dance floor, the category moved under the pop and dance/electronic field this year, from its previous home in the production, engineering, composition and arrangement field.
There are 94 categories to be awarded today. Of those, around 85 will be handed out during the pre-telecast Premiere Ceremony, per host Justin Tranter.
As guests first began arriving for the 67th Grammy Awards, cheers erupted on the red carpet as two Grammy nominees celebrated their love with a proposal. Poet Todd Boss got down on one knee to propose to Grammy nominee Hila Plitmann on the carpet.
Plitmann, who is nominated for best classical compendium for her album “Mythologies II,” said yes to Boss. Plitmann has previously taken home two Grammy awards. Boss is also up for a Grammy for his work on the album “A Dream So Bright: Choral Music of Jake Runestad.”
The best solo pop performance award is the first of the night — sorry, day — and it goes to Sabrina Carpenter for “Espresso.” She wasn’t on hand to accept.
If you’re not there to accept your Grammy, we’re moving on. That’s what Premiere Ceremony host Justin Tranter instructed the audience — no substitutes will be allowed onstage to accept a Grammy. That’s designed to keep the awards-packed pre-show moving.
Justin Tranter returns as host of the Grammys’ Premiere Ceremony.
The much-nominated songwriter is charged with keeping the three-hour show before the show, where scores of awards are handed out, going.
Nominated himself for song of the year — he’s one of the songwriters behind Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” — he’s written smash hits for Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez, Dua Lipa, Britney Spears, Fall Out Boy and more.
Tranter is “back by popular demand,” said Tammy Hurt, chair of the Recording Academy Board of Trustees in her introduction.
The Grammys Premiere Ceremony has begun with a group rendition of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” over images of the Los Angeles-area wildfires.
The performance from nominees Angélique Kidjo, Wayne Brady, Scott Hoying, Deborah Cox and Taj Mahal began solemnly in front of a big screen showing flames and firefighters, then turned into a gospel-style tribute.
The performance set a very different tone for the usually breezy Premiere Ceremony, and for an entire Grammy night that will be focused on raising money and paying tribute in the aftermath of the fires.
Fashion at music’s biggest night is traditionally the wackiest on the awards circuit. With the loss and devastation of the Los Angeles fires as a backdrop, many went for subdued. Lots of black and other dark tones mixed with a few pops of color and sparkle. But the night is young. Will Grammy fashion go over the top?
The Grammys have nearly 100 awards to hand out. There’s simply not enough time to fit all of that, plus performances and acceptance speeches, into a three-hour, prime-time telecast. That’s where the Premiere Ceremony comes in.
The Premiere Ceremony runs for three hours, starting at 12:30 p.m. Pacific/3:30 p.m. Eastern. It’s where categories like best audiobook narration are handed out and it’s often where many stars earn their EGOT — like Viola Davis, in 2023.
If you’re curious, no one is poised to EGOT (complete the circuit of winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) this year. But there are still some unexpected celebrities who could earn a Grammy this year.