A night of unhinged outfits, music and controversies, the 67th annual Grammy Awards were controversial this year to say the least. With performances by Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Benson Boone and Charli XCX, the energy was high as over 13,000 artists and celebrities attended.
Fashion
The red carpet walk is always a highlight, celebrities taking the chance to show off designer outfits. The best look is always debated, but this year showing up almost completely naked was a scandalous way to make a mark on the red carpet, which is exactly what Bianca Censori, Australian model and architect, did.
However, both Censori and her husband, controversial American rapper Kanye West, left shortly after, leaving the focus of the carpet to shift to nominees like Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Doechii, Charli XCX and Gracie Abrams.
Aside from the moment with Bianca Censori, the most talked about outfits from that night had to be that of Taylor Swift or Chappell Roan. Swift showed off a Vivienne Westwood red mini dress and her signature red lipstick. A gold thigh chain she wore that night with a ‘T’ charm created speculation about whether it represented Swift’s own name, her album “The Tortured Poets Department” or her football boyfriend, Travis Kelce.
Roan’s look was designed by Jean Paul Gaultuer, her jewelry was done by Annabella Chan and her boots were designed by John Fluevog. The dress consisted of bright tulle, the blues and oranges giving it a Van Gogh vibe. Roan’s makeup was on brand, the theatrical stage makeup evident with her bright blush and long eyelashes. Another key element of her stunning look was her long red acrylic nails that seemed to almost come out of her light blue sleeves adding elements of dimension.
With the fashion moments setting the stage, the focus soon shifted to the heart of the night, the awards, where the most talked about category was Album of the Year.
Awards
Despite the night of awards and buzzing performances, the most controversial award handed out this year was the Grammy Album of the year. The artists nominated were;
- Beyoncé: “Cowboy Carter”
- Taylor Swift: “The Tortured Poets Department”
- Billie Eilish: “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT”
- Sabrina Carpenter: “Short n’ Sweet”
- André 3000: “New Blue Sun”
- Chappell Roan: “Fall and Rise of a Midwest Princess”
- Jacob Collier: “Djesse Vol. 4”
- Charli XCX: “Brat”
It was assumed that the voting Academy in charge of the Grammys would have an easy decision to make. The most streamed album globally was “The Tortured Poets Department,” closely followed by “Hit Me Hard and Soft” and “Short n’ Sweet.” Despite Taylor Swift being the most streamed artist globally and in the United States, she walked away this year with zero awards. This is the first time this has happened in Grammy history for someone with six nominations.
When Beyoncé won the Album of the Year award with “Cowboy Carter,” it was a slap in the face to artists when neither Beyoncé nor her album were in the top ten in the United States or globally.
“Cowboy Carter” held the record of most streamed album in a day with about one million streams until Taylor dropped her version of “The Tortured Poets Department,” in which the single ‘Fortnight’ had over 25 million streams in its first day of release.
Many fans were outraged that Billie Eilish, with seven nominations, also walked out with no award, some pointing out that Eilish was near tears when Album of the Year was announced. The young artist has frequently stated in interviews and at concerts how much the album meant for her, especially considering the topic of coming out that surrounded her release of it.
Controversy also surrounded the song ‘Not Like Us’ by Kendrick Lamar winning Song of the Year, seeing as it was released later in the year and also wasn’t high in streams. In fact, Drake, Canadian rapper who has a rivalry with Lamar, topples Lamar’s streams by being the fourth most streamed artist globally.
Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ only had around 3.8 million streams the night of the Grammys whereas Eilish’s ‘BIRDS OF A FEATHER’ had 1.78 billion streams. Considering it was the third most streamed song globally, according to Billboard, many fans were upset when Eilish didn’t get recognized for her work.
Artists have started vocalizing their disdain for some of the Academy’s opinions. The Weeknd went as far as saying, “The Grammys remain corrupt [and] I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys” in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. The Recording Academy has failed to respond to his criticism, leaving many to wonder how this 2025 Grammy scandal will affect the future of music awards and the industry overall.
