Courtesy AP / Chris Pizzello
The 2025 Grammy Awards ceremony was a historic occasion, with many record-breaking award wins in multiple categories, such as Best Rap Album, Best Record and Best Country Album. Though the annual event is often regarded as the music industry’s biggest night, this year’s ceremony fell flat to many viewers.
The award show resulted in strides for diverse artists, most notably rapper Kendrick Lamar and music icon Beyoncé. However, despite the recognition of many artists, some Grand Valley State University students felt underwhelmed by the Grammy spectacle they’ve come to expect.
The 67th Grammy Award ceremony was held on Feb. 2 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The ceremony celebrates musicians and recording artists selected by the Recording Academy from Sept. 16, 2023 to Aug. 30, 2024. The nominees were announced through a YouTube livestream on Nov. 8, 2024, while the ceremony itself was streamed on CBS and Paramount+.
GVSU student Janelle Weiberg said she was disappointed by the slights made toward some artists in attendance, referencing jokes made by the show’s host, comedian Trevor Noah, about Shakira’s background.
”I enjoyed watching new artists win awards that (they) haven’t before, (but) I was disappointed by some of the host’s (Trevor Noah) comments toward artists, and especially attacking Colombian culture,” Weiberg said. “As always, it is a fun show to watch, but the results tend to disappoint me, as the Grammys are known for snubbing so many talented artists.”
Kendrick Lamar received the most awards, winning all five of his nominations– Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance, Best Music Video, Best Song and Best Record. His single “Not Like Us” is the first diss-track to receive any Grammy recognition, and is the most successful song in the award show’s history. Lamar is the second rap artist to receive both the Record of The Year and Song of the Year awards in one night, following Childish Gambino in 2019.
Beyoncé was nominated for the most categories of any artist this year– Best Record, Best Country Song, Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Country Album, Best Album, Best Country Solo Performance, Best Song, Best Country Duo/Group Performance, Best Melodic Rap Performance and Best Americana Performance. Of the 11 nominations she received, she won Best Album, Best Country Album and Best Country/Duo Group Performance. Beyoncé is the first Black artist to win Best Country Album, as well as the first Black woman of the 21st century to win Album of the Year.
Live performances throughout the night included Chappell Roan with her hit single “Pink Pony Club,” Sabrina Carpenter with her “Short n’ Sweet” medley and rap artist Doechii with a mashup from her album “Alligator Bites Never Heal.” Doechii received Best Rap Album of the Year, making her the third woman to ever win Best Rap Album at the Grammys.
After receiving the Grammy for Best New Artist, Chappell Roan’s acceptance speech called attention to social and economic issues that can often be overlooked in performance spaces. Many GVSU students found this call to action to be a refreshing moment of clarity, and a space to call for change among the lofty ceremony’s glamour and prestige.
For GVSU student Chloe Schram, Roan’s message was a highlight of the program.
“I feel really happy that Chappell Roan won Best New Artist (because) she definitely deserved it,” Schram said. “She has really important messages to share, not only about queer people and making them feel heard, but also about healthcare for artists and people.”
Despite the amount of records broken at the ceremony, the show seemed to lack interest from many music fans.
It turned out that the year’s “biggest night in music” decreased in audience size compared to previous ceremonies. There were roughly 15 million viewers during this year’s program– about two million less than last year. The most viewers the show has ever received was 39 million in 2012. Despite multiple record-breaking moments, the 2025 Grammys had the fourth least-viewed airing since the ceremony in 2000. The event’s lowest engagement was in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and garnered just less than 10 million viewers.
Other award shows have experienced this significant drop-off as well; the 2021 Oscar’s viewership resulted in less than half of what it had been in 2020. Since, the numbers have risen slowly but remain unsteady. Easy access to social media recaps of the Grammys beg the question: is there a point to watching the entire, multi-hour ceremony anymore?
Students Joey Hidenbach and Garek Pawlek both said they had little interest in watching the Grammys. Hidenbach said he was able to retain the most “worthy” award winners, nominees, snubs and performances on social media after the fact.
“Taylor Swift wore red (and) she won zero (awards),” Hidenbach said. “People are mad (that) Billie Eilish (was snubbed). I mean, I think that, too.”
Pawlek said he wasn’t knowledgeable about certain albums and songs that went on to win Grammys. He said this was the first year he hadn’t watched the show.
“I didn’t even know (Beyonce) released a country album,” Pawlek said.
Regardless of the viewership amount, listening to music is a popular pastime among students. There seems to be hope among students that award ceremonies in the future will reflect the outstanding performances and talents of everyone in the industry without refracting the accomplishments and glossing over others.