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Grammys 2025 live updates: Beyonce leads nominations at the 67th awards dedicated to LA fire victims

The Grammys, the music world's biggest award ceremony, is taking place in Los Angeles today hosted by Trevor Noah for the fifth time running. 

Unlike many other events in LA, the Grammys have not been postponed due to the wildfires that have devastated California in recent weeks.

Follow our live coverage of the event. 

Key Events

  1. Best Pop Vocal Album goes to Short n' Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter

  2. Best Rap Album goes to Alligator Bites Never Heal by Doechii

  3. FYI: Kanye West was NOT kicked out of the Grammys

Best Pop Vocal Album goes to Short n' Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter

Best Pop Vocal Album

  • WINNER: Short n' Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter
  • HIT ME HARD AND SOFT by Billie Eilish
  • Eternal sunshine by Ariana Grande
  • The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess by Chappell Roan
  • THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT by Taylor Swift

Doechii celebrates a historic win

Doechii – real name Jaylah Ji'mya Hickmon – has shouted out those who came before her and those who will come after her, in an emotional speech.

As she noted in her speech, Best Rap Album was introduced in 1996: Since then, two women had previously won, Lauryn Hill and Cardi B.

Thanking them, Doechii also spoke to potential Black women watching:

And I want to tell you, you can do it. Anything is possible. Don't allow anybody to project any stereotypes on you, that tell you that you can't be here, that you're too dark, that you're not smart enough or that you're too dramatic or you're too loud.

You are exactly who you need to be right where you are. And I am a testimony.

Doechii's first mixtape came out in 2019, but 2024 was undoubtedly her breakthrough year (hence the Best New Artist nomination).

Alligator Bites Never Heal is wonderful, bizarre and filled with unique tracks, but tracks with Katy Perry and JT helped push her into the mainstream.

If you're not familiar, you'll see exactly why Doechii won with her performance later tonight. Or you could watch her Tiny Desk Concert – one of the best in recent history.

Best Rap Album goes to Alligator Bites Never Heal by Doechii

Best Rap Album 

  • Might Delete Later by J. Cole
  • The Auditorium, Vol. 1 by Common & Pete Rock
  • WINNER: Alligator Bites Never Heal by Doechii
  • The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) by Eminem
  • We Don't Trust You by Future & Metro Boomin

FYI: Kanye West was NOT kicked out of the Grammys

Despite online reports, Kanye West and his wife Bianca Censori were not removed from the Grammys due to Censori's revealing red carpet look.

Variety has confirmed that the duo were not removed, though the two are seemingly not at the awards, either. The trade magazine reports that the two were seen getting into a car and leaving after their stunt.

Sabrina Carpenter:'I never expected Espresso to be what it became'

(AP)

Descending down a staircase in her cheeky and old Hollywood glamour style we've come to know her for, Sabrina Carpenter hits the stage with a reworked version of her hit song Espresso.

Stripping off a tuxedo-style outfit, she bops along in a glittery leotard before a tap-dance break.

The singer is up for six awards tonight and during her introduction she spoke about how big of a year she's had.

"I never expected Espresso to be what it became," she said.

"I'm just being myself, maybe with bigger hair."

I don't think anyone is going to have more fun on stage tonight than Sabrina.

Grammys 2025 live updates: Beyonce leads nominations at the 67th awards dedicated to LA fire victims

(AP)

One more Australian was nominated tonight

FYI Jared, there's another Aussie that you missed in your list. Carmel Dean is on the writing team for "The Notebook", nominated for Best Musical Theatre Album. (Which was taken out by "Hell's Kitchen".) Carmel Dean is from Perth. The Notebook — John Clancy, Carmel Dean, Kurt Deutsch, Derik Lee, Kevin McCollum & Ingrid Michaelson, producers; Ingrid Michaelson, composer & lyricist (Original Broadway Cast) (taken from grammy.com)

– Liz

Thanks Liz for pointing this out!

Carmel Dean was also nominated tonight.

Unfortunately, she and her team lost Best Musical Theatre Album to the Broadway recording of Hell's Kitchen, but we're still gonna celebrate a nom!

Here's a quick tally of Grammy winners so far

While the televised awards have just begun, more than 80 awards have already been handed out today during the Premiere Ceremony.

Kendrick Lamar has already three awards, as has Charli XCX and St. Vincent, with Lamar and Charli up for several more awards tonight.

Here's a tally of major contenders so far:

  • 3 wins: Kenrick Lamar, St. Vincent, Charli xcx
  • 2 wins: Sabrina Carpenter
  • 1 win: The Beatles, Beyoncé

Trevor Noah continues to push focus to LA fires recovery

Grammys 2025 live updates: Beyonce leads nominations at the 67th awards dedicated to LA fire victims

(Reuters)

The emphasis is very much on raising money for wildfire recovery efforts and supporting local LA businesses this year.

Host Trevor Noah just pointed out that all the flowers and food has beeen done by local LA businesses who have been impacted by the wildfires this past month.

You can expect this to dominate conversations throughout the show.

Billie Eilish performs first

Opening with the song that's been everywhere this year, Billie Eilish hits the stage with Birds of a Feather, which is up for Record and Song of the Year.

Accompanied by her brother and songwriting partner, FINNEAS, Eilish is up for several awards tonight for her album Hit Me Hard and Soft.

At just 23, she already has nine Grammys under her belt.

She ends the song by saying, "I love you LA".

Record of the Year and Song of the Year: What's the difference?

Wait, there's a record of the year and then a song of the year too? Aren't they the same thing

– Confused

With five nominations overlapping between Record of the Year and Song of the Year, the distinction between the two isn't exactly clear. But there is a slight difference.

Song of the Year is a songwriting award for the track's composers, while Record of the Year goes to the artists, producers and engineers behind a track.

For example, The Beatles' posthumous song Now and Then is nominated for Record but not Song, given it's celebrated here as an AI-assisted engineering feat reminiscent of Frankenstein's monster. (Whether that feat is ethically icky or just kinda weird is another question.)

Record of the Year is probably a touch more prestigious than Song of the Year, but the biggest is Album of the Year.

A superband of stars open the Grammys with musical tribute to Los Angeles

John Legend, Brad Paisley, Sheryl Crowe, Brittany Howard and St. Vincent have just opened the show backing the LA band Dawes, who lost their homes in the fires last month.

They covered Randy Newman's 'I Love L.A.', changing the lyrics to shout out firefighters.

(You may know the song from Kris Jenner's iconic cover…)

And we're off!

The ceremony has begun, with host Trevor Noah starting sombre, paying respect to all those who have worked to protect Los Angeles during the fires.

A close-up of some of the best red carpet looks

As the show is minutes away, we've seen many of the big names arrive on the red carpet.

Here's some more details of their outfits.

Grammys 2025 live updates: Beyonce leads nominations at the 67th awards dedicated to LA fire victims

Cardi B's fierce, long nails (Reuters)

Grammys 2025 live updates: Beyonce leads nominations at the 67th awards dedicated to LA fire victims

Lady Gaga sports a micro-fringe (Reuters)

Grammys 2025 live updates: Beyonce leads nominations at the 67th awards dedicated to LA fire victims

The rosary-style detail on Taylor Swift's red mini dress (Reuters)

Grammys 2025 live updates: Beyonce leads nominations at the 67th awards dedicated to LA fire victims

A closer look at Will Smith's embellished jacket (Reuters)

What awards will they hand out tonight?

With the Premiere Ceremony tackling the vast majority of the Grammys 94 awards, it means that just nine awards will be televised tonight.

They're the juicy main categories, and we'll keep you updated on any major Premiere wins, anyway.

Here's what to expect during the main awards (which, as a reminder, start at 12pm and stream on Stan in Australia):

  • Record of the Year
  • Album of the Year
  • Song of the Year
  • Best New Artist
  • Best Rap Album
  • Best Pop/Duo Group Performance
  • Best Country Album 
  • Best Pop Vocal Album
  • Best Latin Pop Album

Kanye West is nominated tonight. Here's why fans think he's planning a stunt

Another stunt, I mean. He's already lost his Best Rap Song nomination to Kenrick's Just Like Us, but fans think we haven't seen the last of him tonight for one reason.

Kanye West currently follows one person on Instagram: Taylor Swift.

Grammys 2025 live updates: Beyonce leads nominations at the 67th awards dedicated to LA fire victims

He also tagged her in a (now-deleted) Instagram post celebrating his Best Rap Song nomination tonight for Carnival, alongside tags of President Trump's @POTUS handle, the Grammys and his collaborators.

In case you've forgotten, Swift and West have a sordid relationship – all beginning at the 2009 VMA's when West interrupted the then 19-year-old Swift's acceptance speech for Best Female Video.

Grammys 2025 live updates: Beyonce leads nominations at the 67th awards dedicated to LA fire victims

This moment arguably shaped the next decade of pop culture. (Gary Hershorn: Reuters)

I won't recount all the twists, turns and snake emojis, but it's fair to say that without this moment, we wouldn't have West's 2010 opus My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Or the phrase "I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative". 

Or Swift's 2017 album Reputation… which, come to mention, hasn't yet been re-released as part of Swift's Taylor's Version series.

And Swift did announce album The Tortured Poets Department mid-Grammys last year…

I'mma let the Swifties finish this Easter Egg hunt themselves, but West willingly doing Swift promo seems… unlikely… to say the least, especially given that red carpet moment.

For what it's worth, West has also announced a post-Grammys party in Los Angeles with social media figure Justin LaBoy. We'll just have to wait and see.

Did Kanye West get kicked out of the Grammys?

I heard that Kanye turned up uninvited and got kicked out. Is that true??

– Holly

Hey Holly!

I've seen this too on the likes of Pop Crave and other aggregators but I can't confirm it.

These social media accounts are pointing towards an Entertainment Tonight post that seems to have been deleted, if it was real in the first place.

I wouldn't trust it just yet, unless it's confirmed from another source – we'll keep an eye out.

It's also unlikely Kanye West wasn't invited, as he was up for Best Rap Song this year. (It was announced in the pre-televised awards, and he lost to Kendrick's Not Like Us). 

But West's invite to perform was rescinded in 2022, following his series of anti-Semitic remarks, so maybe that's where the confusion comes in.

What Australians are up for Grammys?

Grammys 2025 live updates: Beyonce leads nominations at the 67th awards dedicated to LA fire victims

Kevin Parker, Troye Sivan, Nick Cave lead this year's Aussie Grammys hopefuls. (Supplied/Australian Story/Tom Hancock)

All of today's five Aussie nominees were for categories announced in the pre-televised Premiere Ceremony.

As already mentioned, Kevin Parker – the man behind Tame Impala – has already won Best Dance/Electronic Recording for Neverender, his collab with French duo Justice.  It was Parker's first win after five nominations!

Meanwhile, the other four were nominated but didn't win. But I'm still gonna celebrate them for a sec.

Between Parker and Troye Sivan, it was a big night for Perth.

The queer pop star was up for Best Dance Pop Recording with Got Me Started, the Bag Raiders-sampling single from 2023 album Something to Give Each Other.

 (If you're wondering how this song's nominated in 2025, it just scraped in, coming out four days after the Sep 16, 2023 cut-off for eligibility.)

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds was up for two trophies: Best Alternative Music Album for Wild God, and Best Alternative Music Performance for album track 'Neon Pill'.

Repping Australia's metal-core scene is Alpha Wolf, who was nominated for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package. It looks like a boombox, check it out:

And finally, indie-pop group Lake Street Dive was up for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Group for their album Good Together.

Okay, that last one only kind of counts. They're an American band – but vocalist Rachael Price is Australian-American!

Follow our red carpet coverage

More interested in the Grammys fashion? We've got you.

Jump onto our red carpet gallery which will be updated over the next couple of hours with all of the latest looks.

And if you're a music and entertainment fan, stick with us as Jared gives you all you need to know about who is nominated this year in the lead up to the ceremony.

Half an hour until show time!

Australian Bianca Censori, Kanye West's wife, is nude on the red carpet

Censori – who married West in 2022 – has popped up in a completely transparent short-cut dress on the red carpet. She arrived in a fur coat before dropping it to reveal that she was, in essence, nude. Here's the before look:

Grammys 2025 live updates: Beyonce leads nominations at the 67th awards dedicated to LA fire victims

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images))

Censori, 30, is a trained architect and is currently working for West's clothing company Yeezy.

She's known for her revealing looks, including stepping out in Florence with just a pillow held in front of her chest. It's a lot, especially given Censori rarely, if ever, speaks in public. (New Yorker staff writer Naomi Fry tried to detangle what it all meant last year, if you're interested.)

What do you think? Art provocateur? Completely unacceptable and worrying? Or a combination of both?

Who's presenting at the Grammys?

Grammys 2025 live updates: Beyonce leads nominations at the 67th awards dedicated to LA fire victims

In addition to being nominated six times tonight, Taylor Swift will present an award (AP: Scott A Garfitt/Invision/File)

Latin-pop legends, Los Angeles royalty and more are presenting awards tonight.

Expect to see:

  • Cardi B
  • Gloria Estefan
  • Olivia Rodrigo
  • Queen Latifah
  • Red Hot Chili Peppers's Anthony Kiedis and Chad Smith
  • SZA 
  • Taylor Swift
  • Victoria Monét
  • Will Smith

And no, this isn't Smith's first televised awards show appearance since the 2022 Oscars's slap incident, having performed at the BET Awards last June.

But his appearance here is part of a big musical comeback, with Smith planning three albums for this year alone.

His latest song is Beautiful Scars with Big Sean, with a Matrix-themed music video – a nod to how, in another life, Smith took the red pill and said yes to playing Neo.

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