Originally published on 2/3/25

On Sunday, February 2, 2025, people from around the world celebrated music’s biggest night: The Grammys. It was a night filled with shocking wins, moving speeches and surprising celebrity guests. Below, we have rounded up the seven best moments from the show, including Beyoncé’s win, Frankie Valli’s award, Quincy Jones’s tribute and so much more. Scroll down for more. 

Frankie Valli won an award

At age 90, Frankie Valli—best known for his work in the band Four Seasons—won a Grammy in the Lifetime Achievement category before the official ceremony. It was his first-ever Grammy win after eight nominations. 

“I’m really feeling terrific about all of this,” Valli said. “I waited a long time.” 

This award comes after the singer faced criticism online for his performance of “Dawn” in September 2024. 

“I am blessed to be 90 years old and still be doing what I love to do, and as long as I am able, and audiences want to come see me, I am going to be out there performing as I always have,” Valli said at the time. “I absolutely love what I do. And I know we put on a great show because our fans are still coming out in force, and the show still rocks.” 

Valli was at the 2025 Grammy Awards, and his wife, Jackie Jacobs, walked the red carpet with him. 

The late Jimmy Carter was honored 

Former President Jimmy Carter might have passed away on December 29, 2024, at age 100, but that didn’t stop him from getting a Grammy in the  Best Audiobook, Narration, and Storytelling Recording category.

This was Carter’s fourth win and 10th nomination, and the president’s grandson, Jason Carter, accepted the award. 

The Beatles win a Grammy—decades after their last one! 

It was a historic night for The Beatles as they took home Best Music Film for Now and Then: The Last Beatles Song. The award marks the band’s first Grammy win in over 25 years, and Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr accepted it on behalf of the group. Fans were emotional as the band was honored for what is likely their final new release.

The award show raised over $7 million for victims of the Los Angeles wildfires 

Along with awards, the Grammys also took the time to raise millions of dollars for the victims of the Los Angeles County wildfires. They also gave some of their commercial slots to local businesses that were affected by the tragedy and had Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars perform a very moving duet to Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song.” 

Taylor Swift called out Travis Kelce 

Singer Taylor Swift was a vision in red during the 2025 Grammys, but it wasn’t her dress that captured people’s attention. It was the chain “T” on her thigh. 

Many people believe it was a call out to her boyfriend, Travis Kelce—who could not attend due to his Super Bowl practice schedule—while others believe it was just a reference to the singer’s first name. 

Either way, Swift looked amazing and was often seen having the time of her life during the show despite not winning any awards. 

Quincy Jones and several other late musicians were recognized 

Quincy Jones was a music producer who sadly died in November 2024. To honor him, the Grammys had Will Smith, Cynthia Erivo, Stevie Wonder, Janelle Monáe and Lainey Wilson perform a medley of some of the most famous songs Jones worked on—including “Fly Me to the Moon” and “Let the Good Times Roll.”

“A brilliant 28-time Grammy Award-winning producer, arranger, film, television composer, conductor, trumpet player, recording artist and humanitarian. In his 91 years, Q touched countless lives. He changed mine forever,” Smith said. 

Wonder echoed similar thoughts, saying, “You see the people there that day, Quincy told us to keep our egos out and at the door. And we are still the world. And I say to you: We’re still the children, we are still the people who fight and will die for this nation. So we definitely have to be able to celebrate each other.” 

Wonder is 74 years old and has won 25 Grammy Awards. 

The Grammys also paid tribute to the other musicians we lost in 2024,  including Liam Payne, Wayne Osmond, Toby Keith, Kris Kristofferson and more. 

Coldplay’s Chris Martin performed the tribute. 

Several singers won their first-ever Grammy Award 

The 2025 Grammys were certainly historic, thanks to its incredible number of first-time winners. 

First was Doechii, who won Best Rap Album for her hit record Alligator Bites Never Heal. 

“I put my heart and my soul into this mixtape. I’ve bared my life. I went through so much. I dedicated myself to sobriety, and God told me that I would be rewarded and that he would show me just how good it can get,” Doechii said in her speech. “I know that there is some Black girl out there, so many Black women out there that are watching me right now and I want to tell you: You can do it. Anything is possible. Anything is possible.”

Next, fan-favorite singer Sabrina Carpenter won Best Pop Vocal Album for Short and Sweet, beating out Swift, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande and more. 

“I love you guys, you have no idea how much I love you and how much this album means to me,” the singer said.  “I feel so lucky to be able to come together and do something so special and beautiful and celebrate music.” 

Another fan-favorite artist who won big was Chappell Roan, who won the Best New Artist award. She then took the time to call out the record labels during her speech. 

“I told myself if I ever won a Grammy and I 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 health care, especially to developing artists,” Roan said.  “Record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a livable wage and health insurance and protection… Labels, we got you, but do you got us?”

Perhaps the night’s biggest win came when Beyoncé finally won Album of the Year for her hit country record Cowboy Carter. 

“I just feel very full and very honored. It’s been many, many years. Just want to thank the Grammys, every songwriter, every collaborator, every producer, all of the hard work,” the singer said. 

The Weeknd returned after four years away 

In 2020, popular singer The Weeknd called out the Grammys for being “corrupt” after not receiving any nominations that year. He then proceeded to skip the award shows for years to come, saying that they weren’t transparent with their system. 

“I remember waking up to the headlines that The Weeknd called out the academy for lack of transparency in our awards,” The Recording Academy’s CEO, Harvey Mason Jr., said. “But you know what, criticism is ok. I heard them. I felt his conviction.”

Mason Jr. then proceeded to let people know that they had changed up their voting members to include younger members and more people of color before announcing that after four years away, The Weeknd was back and ready to perform! 

He performed “Cry For Me” and “Timeless” with his close friend ​​Playboi Carti and then reportedly left. 

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