On February 1, 2025, the 68th Grammy Awards took place, hosted by Trevor Noah. It was the 6th and last time he hosted the biggest night in music. He did an excellent job. Thank you, Trevor Noah, for hosting the Grammys for the past 6 years. It was bittersweet, but I wish you well in your future projects.
This year, I will write my music awards editorial a little differently. I will discuss the speeches, some bold moments, and the performances (my favourite moments) in more detail.
Congratulations to all the winners of last night’s Grammy Awards. There were remarkable performances and speeches.
Here are some of the highlights from the Grammys.
The Grammys started with an impressive opening act: Bruno Mars and Rosé performing their single, APT. It was an upbeat way to start the show. They gave a dynamic performance.
After that fantastic performance, Trevor Noah’s monologue was lovely. It was a perfect blend of humour and sentiment. He paid a nice homage to both emerging and legendary artists. He was enthusiastic about the evening’s event.
It was impressive to see the 8 Best New Artists nominees perform their latest singles, all of them back-to-back. The flow was smooth, going from one performance to the next.
The list of performances by the nominees for Best New Artists
The Marías – No One Noticed
Addison Rae – Fame Is a Gun
KATSEYE – Gnarly
Leon Thomas –Mutt
Alex Warren – Ordinary
Lola Young – Messy
Olivia Dean – Man I Need
SOMBR – 12 to 12
It was nice to see Bruno Mars perform (a second time) his latest single, “I Just Might,” for the first time. It was an incredible performance with a 70s vibe that I really liked.
Another performance I absolutely loved was Lady Gaga’s recent hit “Abracadabra,” performed like a music video. It was theatrical and magnificent. It was epic. Soon after, she won the award for Best Pop Vocal Album for the record Mayhem. Congratulations, Lady Gaga!
Seeing Carole King, whose hits include It’s Too Late, present the award for Song of the Year was a touching moment. Congratulations to Billie Eilish for winning Song of the Year for her single Wildflower.
The most heartfelt moments include Pharrell Williams winning the Dr Dre Global Impact Award, the In Memoriam segment and performances, Harvey Mason Jr.’s speech, and Cher’s win of the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Dr Dre Global Impact Award
Pharrell Williams won the Dr Dre Global Impact Award. His contributions to music and philanthropy were both remarkable. I learned so much about him as a person and artist. Congratulations!
The In Memoriam Segment
The performances during the In Memoriam segment of the Grammys were profound. It started with Reba McEntire performing a beautiful rendition of Trailblazerby Reba McEntire, Brandy Clark, and Lukas Nelson. It was a heartfelt tribute to Reba McEntire’s late stepson and manager, Brandon Blackstock.
The next part showed the image of Ozzy Osbourne on screen, then it lifted to feature Post Malone along with Andrew Watt, Slash, Duff McKagan, and Chad Smith. They performed a rendition of War Pigs by Black Sabbath. They also made a moving tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne. The images of Sharon Osbourne, along with Kelly and Jack, were heartfelt.
The third and final parts of the In Memoriam were tributes to the late R&B pioneer D’Angelo. It started with Lauryn Hill performing her track Nothing Even Matters then she introduced John Legend and Shaka Khan, who performed Where’s The Love then back to Lauryn Hill, joined by Lucky Daye, Leon Thomas and Jon Batiste, paying tribute again to D’Angelo with a medley of songs Brown Sugar and Devil’s Pie. There was also a tribute to Flack. It then ended with Lauryn Hill performing her version of Killing Me Softly With His Song – an homage to the Fugees.
This In Memoriam was the most impressive segment I have seen in the many years of watching the Grammys.
Before and after this segment, there were touching tributes narrated by various artists, including Bruce Springsteen’s homage to the late Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys and Shaka Khan’s tribute to Sly Stone.
Lifetime Achievement Award
Congratulations to Cher for winning this award. She’s a legendary artist. Her speech was inspirational, especially when she said, “Never give up on your dream,” and to keep going. It was from the heart.
So much happened at the 68th Grammy Awards, including heartfelt speeches about never losing hope and the importance of uniting to fight injustice worldwide. There was a beautiful sense of camaraderie.
It then ended with Trevor Noah’s last speech, set to a lovely montage of memorable moments from the Grammys airing on CBS for the past 54 years.
Trevor Noah did an excellent job hosting the 68th Grammy Awards. It won’t be the same without him as the host. I will miss his humour and passion for music. I wish him all the best in his future endeavours.
Congratulations again to the Grammy winners.
Flora Youssef
