The 67th Annual Grammy Awards are here!
On Sunday night, the 2025 awards show — which was again hosted by Trevor Noah from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles — started becoming a trending topic before the show even began with both Jaden and Willow Smith making waves on the red carpet.
And then things really got crazy when Kanye West showed up with his basically-naked wife Bianca Censori for a shocking red carpet reveal. Add Babyface getting dissed by reporters, and there was almost as much action before the show as when the live event began.
Music’s biggest night, of course, honors the best of the music industry from the past year, with the Recording Academy handing out trophies in a whopping 94 categories.
Leading into Sunday night’s ceremony, Beyoncé led the pack with 11th nominations for her album Cowboy Carter, followed by Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish, Charli XCX, and Post Malone, who all earned seven Grammy nominations each. Meanwhile, Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, and Chappell Roan were up for six awards.
While the 2025 Grammys were still all about the music, this year’s ceremony also highlighted the tragic wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles last month, with fundraising efforts and local business spotlights. However, like any awards show, there were also laughs, cringes, and surprise moments that went viral on social media.
Check out all of the must-see viral moments from the 2025 Grammy Awards, below:
Before the show even started, both Jaden Smith and sister Willow Smith had X talking with their wild red carpet looks
Jaden hit the arrivals line in a boxy black suit — but it’s his fascinator that really got the comments going, as he stepped out wearing a giant black castle on his head.
Willow, meanwhile, showed some serious skin in her look — wearing a long black coat over a black and silver bra and panty set, highlighting her legs as she posed for photos.
Kanye West and his wife, Bianca Censori nearly stopped the red carpet with Bianca’s jaw-dropping look that left very little to the imagination.
While it was a surprise in itself to see Kanye at the Grammys, what was more surprising was Bianca’s outfit.
Dressed in a fur coat, Bianca wore her dark locks in her signature slicked back bun. And though it seemed like the coat was the look at first, it soon became clear that it was what was underneath, rather — or the lack thereof — that was the true star of the show.
There have been some wild looks at the Grammys, and even nearly naked ones, but this surely takes the cake and marks the first time anyone has shown up virtually naked to the awards show.
Babyface may not be as young and fresh-faced as Chappell Roan, but he’s a 13-time Grammy winner and an industry legend. The iconic singer and producer was totally dissed, though, by a pair of reporters who clearly had no interest in continuing their interview when they caught a glimpse of the Best New Artist nominee.
He was asked on the red carpet before the show about the rise of female artists in R&B, as well as the blending of genres that’s been happening in recent years, but when Babyface started giving his thoughtful answer, one of the women caught a glimpse of Roan.
As Babyface tried to answer, she tried to discreetly shout to Roan as he was mid-sentence. Showing more grace than he was being given, he replied, “You guys wanna do that? Go do that.” He then handed back their mic and walked away.
Social media said all of the things that Babyface didn’t in his gracious and respectful response as the moment quickly went viral — for all the wrong reasons.
Even Khloe Kardashian weighed in, posting to X, “This is so disrespectful how Babyface was treated in this interview. Babyface has had such a significant impact on the music industry, in sooo many ways. Its maddening to see a LEGEND not get the respect and attention they deserve.”
After the moment went viral, the AP reporter who unceremoniously dismissed Babyface made a public apology in a video shared by multiple oultets, including Hollywood Unlocked.
As for Babyface, he said in a statement to TMZ, “It’s all love. The best part of the night was reconnecting with old friends, meeting new artists, and feeling all the love in the room. That’s what I’ll remember. That’s what it’s really about. Music is bigger than any one moment. Much love to everyone who won and everyone out here making great music.”
What better way to kick off the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles so shortly after the horrific LA wildfires devastated the city than by paying tribute to the spirit of the city, the strength and heart of its people, and its impact to the entertainment world.
Host Trevor Noah kicked off the broadcast with somber words about the fires, saying, “As usual, we’re coming to you live from Los Angeles, but what’s unusual are our circumstances this evening. Just a few weeks ago, we weren’t sure that this show would even happen.”
“This city has just been through one of the largest natural disasters in American History. Tens of thousands of people have lost their homes, entire neighborhoods have been erased. Schools, local businesses, and entire communities have burned to the ground,” he continued. “Thankfully, thanks to the heroic efforts of firefighters, the fires have now been contained and despite all the devastation, the spirit of the city has emerged.”
“Neighbors who had never spoken before are helping each other. Community centers are overflowing with donations, families are welcoming strangers into their homes, so they too have a place to sleep,” he added.
“You know, it’s often said in the darkest times, the best of humanity shines through and the people of Los Angeles right now, are a perfect example of that,” said Noah. “So tonight, we decided we’re not just going to be celebrating our favorite music, we’re also celebrating the city that brought us so much of that music.”
The show also had a QR code pointed to GRAMMY.com/FireRelief for donations. Toward the end of the broadcast, he shared that viewers at home had already donated $7 million.
And as the show progressed, he shared that the Grammys had decided to buy some of its own commercial time to help promote local businesses, featuring surprise superstar appearances, with the first one featuring Doja Cat making a flower arrangement for Orla Floral.
The comedian then kicked off the night’s music by sharing how much the members of Dawes have given back to the city after losing so much themselves. He shared that Griffin Goldsmith lost his home, the brothers lost their childhood home, their home studio and most of their instruments.
The group then paid tribute by kicking off the show alongside an all-star band of superstars, performing Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.” They were joined onstage by John Legend, Sheryl Crow, Brad Paisley, Brittany Howard, and St. Vincent.
Doechii took home the night’s first award for her album Alligator Bites Never Heal, and did it in stellar fashion, starting her big moment in tears, and bring it to a close with tears in the audience and all the women on their feet in solidarity and appreciation for her words of empowerment.
First off, Doechii wanted to acknowledge that Best Rap Album was created as a category in 1989, and in all that time, she said, “two women have won–” (at this point, she stopped, realizing, and checked herself) “–three women have won: Lauryn Hill, Cardi B, and Doechii.”
“I put my heart and my soul into this mixtape. I bared my life. I went through so much,” the rapper shared. “I dedicated myself to sobriety and God told me that I would rewarded and that He would show me just how good it could get.”
She then closed with an empowering message to Black women that left everyone speechless. You can check out her big moment below:
Beyoncé may have more Grammys than any other artist in Grammy history, and she may have been up for the most awards Sunday night with her 11 nominations, but she appeared to be genuinely shocked when Cowboy Carter picked up the award for Best County Album (her 34th overall win).
“I think sometimes genre is a code word to keep us in our place as artists, and I just want to encourage people to do what they’re passionate about,” Bey said in her acceptance speech as she took home her second award of the night.
See more about her groundbreaking moment below.
Just as quickly, Beyoncé’s instantly iconic reaction went viral just as instantly as people immediately began to make memes from it across social media. We have a feeling we’ll be seeing this moment for years to come.
“Labels, we got you, but do you got us?” Chappel Roan asked, reading directly from her journal from the stage after winning the Grammy for Best New Artist.
She called out these companies that get so much out of the artists they sign. “I told myself that if I ever got a Grammy and got to stand up here in front of the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels and the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and healthcare, especially to developing artists.”
The “Pink Pony Club” singer went on to share her own experiences as a young artist signed as a minor and then dropped by her label with no job experience, struggling to find work or afford health insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was so devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system, and so dehumanized to not have health insurance,” she continued. “If my label had prioritized artists’ health, I could have been provided care by a company I was giving everything to.”
It was as if she had prepared this dissertation in advance, nailed the wording, and took her opportunity with the biggest award of her career so far to speak for all up-and-coming artists. Roan continues to be the voice for everyone, using her growing platform to help others.
It was a moment that was never supposed to happen, but four years after The Weeknd announced he was going to boycott the Grammys, criticizing the Recording Academy after his album After House was completely snubbed in 2021, including his smash hit “Blinding Lights.”
He demanded a “new Grammys,” calling for more transparency and no more “secret committees” creating shortlists of nominees. Even the abolition of those committees wasn’t enough at the time, though, with the artist saying then he had no intention of ever submitting his music or returning to the show.
See how the Recording Academy made changes leading up to the artist’s surprise return.
Slipped into the commercial break, Lady Gaga partnered with Mastercard not for an ad, but for an entire video for her newest track called “abracadabra.” The surprise moment came after Gaga joined Bruno Mars in a tribute performance of The Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreamin'” for Los Angeles.
Later in the show, fans found themselves suddenly watching a whole video in the middle of a commercial break from Gaga’s upcoming Mayhem album. Though she’d teased the big reveal, it was still a little unexpected to realize this was going to be the whole song.
Mayhem is slated to drop March 7 and will be Gaga’s seventh album, and her first since 2020’s Chromatica. This new single was preceded by a previous track, “Disease,” released in December. Also teased was a collaboration with Mars, though not the one they performed at the Grammys, called “Die with a Smile.”
Will Smith made his own return to an awards show stage nearly three years after he infamously slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. He return came with an expanded role as the emcee for the Grammys’ extended tribute to a true industry legend, Quincy Jones.
Smith stayed on task with the mission of paying tribute to the man he credits for his own career. Aside from his work in music, Jones was also a producer on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which slowly transformed Smith into an actor.
“He changed my life forever,” Smith said, sharing a story of how Jones taught him an important life lesson in his early days. He recalled when Jones called him off the set mid-scene to trash him about the craft service spread at his show.
When Smith said he tried to argue that wasn’t his job, Jones reminded him who’s name was on the show. He told him that even if he had to pay for it out of his own pocket, “It is your job to take care of these people.”
Smith said that it’s a mantra he’s tried to live by in his career since that moment. While Smith is more known for his acting these days, he did get his start as a rapper and has eight Grammy nominations, and four wins, under his belt.
Fans couldn’t resist trolling Smith a bit on social media as he made his awards show return. At the same time, there was a definite mixed reaction as to whether or not we should be welcoming him back to any awards show stage … and that’s perhaps being generous.
No, Kendrick Lamar did not say, “Drake what’s up,” when he took the stage for his Record of the Year win for “Not Like Us.” He said, “Dre, what’s up,” referring to Dr. Dre.
Nevertheless, this moment was sure to add fuel to the beef between Lamar and Drake, considering a Drake diss song just won a Grammy. He proceeded to dedicate his win to “the city,” calling out various Los Angeles communities. “This is my neck of the woods that’s held me down since a young pup,” he said.
“I can’t give enough thanks to these places that I rolled around since high school,” he added, giving a special shout-out to the fire-ravaged Palisades and Altadena communities. Later in the night, Lamar’s diss track won again — making it five total wins — picking up the Song of the Year Grammy.
While it might make sense that Lamar wouldn’t mention Drake in his acceptance speeches, considering the nature of the song, but those online weren’t going to let the moment pass without noting their feud.
She’s been in the industry for decades, and yet it would appear that not a moment has passed for Shakira. The Colombian beauty has been doing body rolls since her debut onto the music scene more than 30 years ago.
On Sunday night, she proved that she’s still got every bit of all that when she took to the stage to prove she’s lost zero flexibility, zero stage presence, zero dance skills, and just zero anything. Shakira’s still got every bit of what she had — and somehow looks virtually identical today to how she did last century.
Her performance came after her Best Latin Pop Album win for Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran. In that moment, she shared her appreciation and support for immigrants, saying, “I want to dedicate this award to all my immigrant brothers and sisters in this country. You are loved. You are worth it, and I will always fight with you.”
Shakira left people inspired after her poignant words, and feeling some kind of way after her powerful performance.
If the Country Album win was a shocker for Beyonce, she was definitely not prepared to finally win her first ever Grammy for Album of the Year. She becomes the first Black woman to win the honor since Lauryn Hill did it in 1999.
Joined on-stage by daughter Blue Ivy, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house as a queen finally got her overdue flowers.
“I just feel very full and very honored,” Bey said, acknowledging,” It’s been many years, and I just want to thank the Grammys, every songwriter, every collaborator, every producer, all of the hard work.”
“I hope we just keep pushing forward,” she declared, “opening doors.” The moment was made even more poignant as the award was handed out by LA firefighters, who Beyonce also paid tribute to in her acceptance speech.
Taylor Swift was toasting Jay-Z and everyone she could find in the audience as the cheers continued and Trevor Noah declared, “We finally saw it happen, everyone. Beyonce has won Album of the Year.”
The celebrations continued onto social media, where her fans celebrated what most consider a long overdue win.
