A Grammys for the Girls
The 2025 Grammys, that’s it, that’s the tweet. From the fashion, to the performances, to the actual awards, what a great year to be a female music fan.
FASHION
As the show does with the carpet, let’s start with the fashion of it all. Once again, female musicians have shown us that you cannot outdo the doer. The influence these women and their stylists have on fashion is immeasurable. I would even venture to assume that you can track most fashion trends' success back to a female musician, and I mean that. So, after this year’s carpet & performance looks, I think we can expect to see feathers, tailored chic, layers & drapery, and all things sparkly on the menu for 2025 fashion.
I don’t even know where to begin, but I feel like I simply must start with one person, Doechii. Good Lord Doechii, these lewks. Styled by Sam Woolf, Doechii wore custom Thom Browne the entire night. Each look built off the last, perfectly combining feminine and masculine features, something Doechii loves to do and is exceptionally good at. Her red carpet look, a corseted pinstripe dress with exaggerated shapes and a classic white shirt and tie, will live rent free in my head forever. The thumb holes of it all, please God, let this become a trend, I’m so obsessed with them. In her words, “It's just c*nt. That’s what it is.”
In terms of sparkles, two women stood out to me, and I’m sure they did to you as well. Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, girls, you’ve done it again, constantly raising the bar for us all. Styled by Shiona Turini, Beyoncé wore a custom Schiaparelli (perhaps my favorite fashion house, if you even care) haute couture gown embroidered with paisley and bandana like motifs. Upon closer glance, you’ll notice that the little designs are actually her initial, and mine, “B.” Beyond just sparkles, both these artists chose to adorn their initials on “Music’s Biggest Night.” As someone with my initial tattooed on my body and regularly dangling from my neck, you know I loved those details. It’s perfectly personal and recognizable, and especially sweet considering both artists have important people in their lives they share that initial with as well. I genuinely think this look may be Taylor Swift’s best carpet look of all time. Styled by Joseph Falconer, the superstar wore a sparkly red Vivienne Westwood mini dress and of course, her signature red lip. The fabric effortlessly draped the artist, revealing the leg card of the decade and featuring her, and her man’s, initial, “T.” Although this red look ate, I’m so sorry queen, but it’s still “Go Birds” today.
Finally, the drapery of it all. I have been predicting a resurgence of all things drapery for MONTHS and this year's carpet proved me CORRECT! From Taylor Swift, to Charlie XCX, to Chappell Roan, to Vistoria Monét, to Gracie Abrams, to Lady GaGa, to Tems, to Olivia Rodrigo, to RAYE, hell, even to Shaboozey, the girls, and then some, were absolutely draped this year. I am obsessed with this trend, get this girl in a poncho for Spring IMMEDIATELY!
PERFORMANCES
You’re probably thinking, “Beth, how dare you not mention Sabrina Carpenter’s looks.” And you’re right, how dare I? I raise you this- How on God’s green Earth could I speak on her impeccable outfits without mentioning the perfectly produced performance she gave us on that stage? Right right… that’s what I thought. I was lucky enough to experience this performance in the company of my token musical theater friend. Let's just say, our jaws were on the floor the entire time. From start to finish, she gave us a SHOW, and boy did she feed her fans some lewks. Styled by Jared Ellner, the “Best Pop Vocal Album” winner performed wearing Dolce Gabbana featuring, sparkles, drapery, and exquisite tailoring, triple homicide. Beyond looks, her performance itself was incredible, which was absolutely to be expected considering her shows this year. Her tap sequence was to die for, solidifying herself as the multi-talented artist we already knew she was. EGOT when?
This year the Grammys did something different, showcasing all the nominees for “Best New Artist.” I absolutely loved this addition to the show and thought it served as a great opportunity for these up-and-comers to show hall-of-famers and executives all they have to offer. Which, clearly after watching the show, is a hell of a lot of talent and artistry. I absolutely adore RAYE and I am so glad her performance made more people recognize her insane vocal ability. Seeing her barefooted, belting that note was such an incredible Grammys moment, if I was there I would’ve thrown my shoes up on that stage like Jennifer Hudson on The Voice. Of course, Chappell Roan knocked it out of the park, even further solidifying herself as this year’s “Best New Artist.” Her ability to get a crowd up and singing is honestly unmatched, as demonstrated in the way everyone was up in their seats at the end of her performance. I will say, I do wish we got to see all those A-Listers do the Hot to Go choreography, but I’ll live.
Finally, I have to bring it back to Doechii again, and I’m going to do it again when I talk about the actual awards, by the way. Doechii’s performance was without a doubt my favorite of the night, landing itself in my top three Grammy performances of all time. The level of creativity and artistry Doechii exhibited in this performance was actually groundbreaking to me. Seeing artists like Sza and Billie Eilish screaming for her made me so beyond happy for her, she deserves that kind of recognition tenfold. I’m not sure if she and Sabrina Carpenter watch RuPaul’s Drag Race, but they’ve both mastered the art of a ruveal and I have to applaud them for that.
AWARDS
Previously a Grammys hater, I have to give them their flowers this year. This was the first year I didn’t find myself continuously screaming at the TV because they gave the award to the wrong person. In fact, I didn’t have to scream at the TV at all this year. Of course, there were artists I wanted to see win that didn’t, but none of the awards felt like they were outlandishly robbed the way they have in years past. This makes sense because the Recording Academy enacted a new membership model in 2019 in hopes to diversify their voting process to make it more reflective of the actual music community's opinions. This year, they had 13,000 voting members, including more women, people of color, a broader representation of diverse genres and crafts than ever before, AND IT SHOWED!
Given that she won the first award of the evening, I’m going to start with Doechii. Yes, I’m obsessed with her, no one is surprised. Hearing her name announced as the winner for “Best Rap Album” for “Alligator Bites Never Heal” immediately brought tears to my eyes. Her speech absolutely did me in, her message is so important and I thank her for inspiring future artists that I’m sure I’ll listen to. Plus, her acceptance look was iconic, of course.
I’m so happy our pop princesses of the year got the recognition they deserve with Sabrina Carpenter reeling in “Best Pop Vocal Album” and “Best Pop Vocal Performance,” Charli XCX securing “Best Pop Dance Recording” and “Best Dance Electronic Album” along with Von Dutch winning for its production too, and of course, Chappell Roan winning “Best New Artist” as well as her producer winning for The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. These women have been in the industry for years and it feels so great seeing them finally get the recognition they deserve. Though I appreciated the performance-heavy program this year, I really wish we got to see more awards, especially a Charli XCX win. Her performance was so fantastic and energy-raising and we got to see the fun side of her we know and love, but I think her fans would’ve really appreciated getting to hear an acceptance speech from her.
Now, I’m going to get a bit controversial, Record of the Year. I completely agree that Not Like Us should be an awarded song, however, for both record and song of the year…I’m not so sure. Though, it has nothing to do with the song and everything to do with the fact that Billie Eilish’s Birds of a Feather was nominated in both categories as well. In my opinion, Birds of a Feather should have taken at least one Grammy home tonight because not only is it a great song, but it is also extremely loved by the general public as well. Honestly, I think Billie should’ve walked away with “Record of the Year,” but I suppose the Grammys sweetheart can’t win every year.
Okay, alright, I hear you, I know you’re waiting on it, my opinion on the Album of the Year. Be so for real, what do you think my opinion is? Beyoncé deserved to win, Cowboy Carter deserved to win, and that is final. I don’t even know how to go about talking about this because my genuine opinion is that if you don’t agree with my previous statement you either have never listened to the album, wouldn’t know good music if it smacked you in the face, have no ability to be unbiased, or, honestly, are racist. I think people are forgetting what an album is supposed to be, let alone what an Album of the Year should be. The Album of the Year should be unique, it should tell a story, and it should be skillfully produced and sung. I’m not saying the other nominated albums didn’t have these qualifications, I’m saying that Cowboy Carter outranked them in every single one. I need everyone to listen to this album front to back and really take in the lyrics, features, production level, and vocals. The woman sang Italian Opera, country, and rapped in the same album, and I need more people to acknowledge that. This album goes beyond telling a story, this album educates and it is meant to be studied. The conversations this album started and the cultural impact it has had on not just music, but society too was completely intentional on Beyoncé’s part. She knows exactly what she is doing, especially with this trilogy. Something I learned quickly as a Beyoncé fan is that she does very few things without reason. Every piece of this album has a reason, as do her other albums, which won her over 30 Grammys, by the way. 99 Grammy nominations and the most Grammy wins of all time, and this woman has 1, ONE, Album of the Year. She deserves it, she deserved it years past, and she deserved it this year too, end of story.
Ending on Beyoncé’s Album of the Year win, as God intended.
Damn it feels good to be a music & fashion lover in the year 2025.
Write you soon!
Beth
