There’s an argument to be made that Charli XCX was the defining artist of 2024 thanks to Brat. It was her biggest mainstream moment yet, so of course she’s involved with the 2025 Grammys. Not only is she nominated, but she is also one of the evening’s performers.
She started by emerging from a black van as she sang “Von Dutch” and strutted into the venue. Once she finally made it to the stage, she transitioned into “Guess” (without Billie Eilish, although she was seen enjoying the performance from the audience), featuring a bunch of party people dancing and making out surrounded by underwear.
Charli, unsurprisingly given how big a year she had thanks to Brat, was one of this year’s leading nominees. Beyoncé leads the pack with 11 nods, but then Charli isn’t far behind with 9: Record Of The Year, Best Music Video (both for “360”), Album Of The Year, Best Dance/Electronic Music Album, Best Recording Package (all for Brat), Best Pop Solo Performance (“Apple”), Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (her and Billie Eilish’s “Guess”), Best Dance Pop Recording (“Von Dutch”), and Best Remixed Recording (“Von Dutch A. G. Cook Remix Feat. Addison Rae”).
Find the full list of nominees and winners at the 2025 Grammys here.
SOMEONE CHECK ON DRAKE IMMEDIATELY. Kendrick Lamar just won the 2025 Grammy for Song Of The Year for “Not Like Us,” receiving the award from Diana Ross just moments after being awarded Record Of The Year, with Mustard celebrating the sweep (“Get the broom out!”). The song, as we previously noted, is just the second to win Record Of The Year, and shares the same distinction with the Song Of The Year award.
The field also included Beyoncé, for “Texas Hold ‘Em”; Billie Eilish, for “Birds Of A Feather”; Chappell Roan, for “Good Luck, Babe!”; Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars, for “Die With A Smile”; Sabrina Carpenter, for “Please Please Please”; Shaboozey, for “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”; and Taylor Swift, for “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone.
A quick refresher on the difference between Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year: Song Of The Year “goes to the songwriter(s) (hence ‘song’) of new material (not including sampled or interpolated material) of a song.” Meanwhile, Record Of The Year “goes to the artist(s), producer(s), and engineer(s) involved in crafting the specific recording (hence ‘record’) of a song.” So, the person that put the pen to the paper or composed the melodies would get a trophy for Song Of The Year, while the producer (the person who supervises the overall recording) or the engineer (the person who operates the recording/mixing equipment) is eligible for Record, along with the singer/rapper/musician. They are two of the collective Big Four awards, which also include Album Of The Year and Best New Artist, the most prestigious awards of the ceremony.
Check out Uproxx’s full list of 2025 Grammy Award winners here.
Kendrick Lamar is the winner of the 2025 Grammy Award for Record Of The Year. His song, “Not Like Us,” won over a field that included The Beatles’ “Now And Then”; Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em”; Billie Eilish’s “Birds Of A Feather”; Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!”; Charli XCX’s “360”; Kendrick Lamar’s “; Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso”; and Taylor Swift’s “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone.
The win makes “Not Like Us” just the second rap song to win Record Of The Year, following the 2019 win for “This Is America” by Childish Gambino. It’s certainly the first over diss song to achieve the distinction/ During his acceptance speech, Kendrick shouted out just about every LA neighborhood from his own Compton to Pacoima — while wearing a “Canadian tuxedo.” Mustard, who accompanied him to the stage, simply said, “West side!” Someone check on Drake — he can’t possibly be doing well right now.
A quick refresher on the difference between Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year: Record Of The Year “goes to the artist(s), producer(s), and engineer(s) involved in crafting the specific recording (hence ‘record’) of a song.” Meanwhile, Song Of The Year “goes to the songwriter(s) (hence ‘song’) of new material (not including sampled or interpolated material) of a song.” So, the person that put the pen to the paper or composed the melodies would get a trophy for Song Of The Year, while the producer (the person who supervises the overall recording) or the engineer (the person who operates the recording/mixing equipment) is eligible for Record, along with the singer/rapper/musician. They are two of the collective Big Four awards, which also include Album Of The Year and Best New Artist, the most prestigious awards of the ceremony.
Check out Uproxx’s full list of 2025 Grammy Award winners here.
Lady Gaga is having a terrific 2025 Grammys: She (alongside Bruno Mars) landed two nominations for their No. 1 single “Die With A Smile,” she and Mars performed a cover of “California Dreamin,” and there’s more: During a commercial break, she debuted a high-production video for “Abracadabra,” a new song from her upcoming album Mayhem.
Shortly after, she gave the song a proper release and shared the video. The visual was directed by Gaga alongside Parris Goebel and Bethany Vargas (and featuring choreography by Parris Goebel). The clip features Gaga and a group of 40 dancers conveying a struggle between light and dark via evocative human movement.
“Abracadabra” is so far the third song to be revealed from Mayhem, following previous singles “Die With A Smile” and “Disease.”
Gaga previously said her upcoming album “started as me facing my fear of returning to the pop music my earliest fans loved,” and she described the creative process as “reassembling a shattered mirror: even if you can’t put the pieces back together perfectly, you can create something beautiful and whole in its own new way.”
Watch Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra” video above.
Mayhem is out 3/7 via Streamline/Interscope. Find more information here.
The Dallas Mavericks have to win a championship, and soon. After trading away a perennial All-NBA performer in Luka Doncic on the cusp of entering his prime years, the Mavs have shortened their apparent title window considerably on their own accord.
The Mavs had concerns about Doncic’s conditioning, an issue they reportedly believe got worse this season as Doncic had played in just 22 of 49 games prior to being traded, currently recovering from a calf strain suffered on Christmas. With Doncic eligible for a $345 million supermax extension this summer, Dallas felt the clock was ticking on their chances to avoid a potential disaster by paying him that much money with no guarantee he would remain healthy. Had they refused to put that offer on the table, it would’ve almost assuredly led to a trade request. Had they put the offer on the table, he would have signed it but they wouldn’t have had a guarantee that he would stay healthy or that would not do what others (like Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal) have post-supermax signing and request a trade.
Those hypotheticals that Mavs general manager Nico Harrison seemingly couldn’t get out of his head led him to not only trade Doncic, but keep conversations so quiet that he did not make calls around the league to maximize his value. It seems obvious that Harrison realized this would be a wildly unpopular move, not just with fans but within the organization as a whole, but he is insistent this was the right path forward for the franchise. Perhaps his move will be looked back on as bold rather than crazy as a result of a Dallas championship run helmed by two of LeBron James’ former co-stars, Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving. Pairing the two together on a team makes plenty of sense in a vacuum, but coming off of a Finals run with Doncic last season there is nothing short of a championship that will make this trade look like a success.
Even then, there are Mavs fans so hurt by this trade that they might never fully embrace this team the same way. This is a franchise that built an identity on loyalty to its stars over the last two-plus decades, with Dirk Nowitzki spending a record 21 years in Dallas. The Mavs only won one title in that time frame, but to their fans, that title meant something more because of how they built to it. There was so much pain, so many disappointments and close calls, that when they finally won — and in the manner they did by slaying every giant in the league — that one ring felt bigger to the Mavs faithful.
Now, that identity has been completely scrapped by new ownership and a new front office regime. This is a franchise that somehow managed to draft a guy that looked to be a true franchise cornerstone right as Nowitzki was getting ready to hang it up. He was seven seasons in to what fans hoped would be another 21, and while they hadn’t reached the mountaintop yet, Mavs fans had reason to believe in the climb, knowing how much sweeter it feels once you finally reach the summit. That pursuit has now been cut short for a bunch of reasons that don’t make much sense to anyone, especially Mavs fans.
Being concerned about Doncic’s long-term durability is valid, but trading him for Anthony Davis, a fantastic player six years his elder with a worse history of injuries and absences than Doncic, is tough logic to follow. Taking a team that just went to the Finals and, when healthy this year, looked as good if not better and then trading away your best player under the guise of wanting to “win now” also doesn’t pass the smell test. Highlighting the long-term concerns of Doncic’s durability and then shortening your title window considerably by building around a 31 and 32-year-old (with the latter being eligible for free agency this summer) likewise makes little sense.
Nothing about what Dallas did adds up, and it has made everyone wonder what was going on behind the scenes that we are all missing. We may never know, but what the Mavs fail to understand in this situation is by trying to anticipate a messy situation, they’ve created, at best, an equally messy one where they appear entirely at fault.
Dallas’ leadership group seems to not comprehend how fandom works, and why perception matters so much when it comes to these kinds of situations. Fans don’t care about whether a guy comes into camp out of shape or misses a few games when he has career averages of 28/8/8 and has always looked pudgy. You’re not going to get them on your side by floating that Doncic was heavier this year or that his commitment was questionable when they just saw him lead you to the NBA Finals. And you will never, ever convince fans a beloved star who has been with a team his whole life will actually ask out of town.
That last piece has driven fans crazy for years, and it’s usually folks in the media that bear the brunt of the anger. No matter whether there’s truly smoke or whispers about them, until that trade request gets filed, fans aren’t turning on their guy. The Mavs may have had good reason to be concerned about Doncic asking out, but they would’ve been far better off in the court of public opinion (which definitely matters when you’re a sports team dependent on fans spending money) making him be the one to make that decision. Instead, they are the ones who ran the beloved star out of town, allowing him to pen a touching statement to the fans where he gets to say he thought he’d be in Dallas for his whole career and ensure that every time he comes back he gets a rousing ovation rather than the boos and vitriol that greet a guy who requests a trade.
Beyond the optics, I think the Mavs invented a scenario where they would’ve been backed in a corner that wouldn’t have really existed. Doncic on a $345 million extension, even with conditioning concerns and even if he had some injury issues, would still be extremely tradable in the near future. A guy who makes five consecutive All-NBA first teams, averages almost a triple-double per game, and leads a team on a Finals run is still going to garner plenty of interest around the league when he’s in the midst of his prime. I have a hard time believing that a similar deal to what they got from the Lakers wouldn’t have been out there, and they very likely could’ve gotten more by opening it up to the highest bidder.
Instead, they will play out this season hoping desperately that Irving and Davis find a rhythm quickly, the supporting cast adjusts just as fast, they get healthy at the right time, and can make a run through a very competitive Western Conference to make good on title-or-bust expectations without the best roster in the league. That’s a really tough situation to be in, but what I cannot get my head around is the fact that they willingly put themselves here. No one was forcing them to do this now. No one was forcing them to negotiate exclusively with the Lakers. And yet, here we are, with a team actively choosing to play the game on the highest difficulty possible.
As the old saying goes, winning fixes everything. However, in Dallas, there definition of that is now just winning a championship. There are no more moral victories for a conference finals appearance that make you feel on the precipice of a breakthrough. No more “well, we’ve got time to figure it out” if an injury derails a run. There is just winning a championship, which is incredibly difficult to do.
They are in one of the hardest positions to be in in all of sports, purposefully and by choice, because they imagined a world where they’d end up in a different one later.
The 2025 Grammys were already full of surprises (Beyoncé winning Best Country Album, Doechii winning Best Rap Album), but one that couldn’t have been predicted was the return of a performer who swore four years ago that he was done with the institution: The Weeknd.
After a heartfelt introduction by Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr., The Weeknd brought the cult-inspired staging that has marked his Hurry Up Tomorrow rollout to the Grammys, performing two songs from his new album: “Cry For Me” and “Timeless” featuring Playboi Carti. He even brought Carti out with him, withe recalcitrant rapper prowling the stage in front of The Weeknd’s dancer pyramid. The performance marks the second time Carti has been a guest on another artist’s set (following last year’s appearance on Travis Scott’s less-than-enthusiastically-received set to perform “Fe!n“); he’s nominated for Best Rap Song alongside Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign for their song “Carnival.” It’s his second nomination, behind a Best Rap Album nod for Kanye’s Vultures 1.
The Weeknd’s Grammys boycott dates back to 2021, when his hit song “Blinding Lights” and its album After Hours were effectively snubbed by the Academy, leading to him telling the New York Times, “Because of the secret committees, I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys.”
After the performance, host Trevor Noah cleared up another Weeknd-related controversy, making sure to draw attention to the fact that they were both in the same room at the same time and thus, not the same person despite their resemblance. You can watch the performance here.
THE WEEKND’S FULL PERFORMANCE AT THE GRAMMY’S TONIGHT!
Kanye West (Ye) sure knows how to make an entrance. Apparently, the “Carnival” rapper and producer is also great at bold exits.
Today (February 2), Ye and his wife, designer Bianca Censori decided to make a bold entrance at the 2025 Grammy Awards. With the Ye’s chart-topping record with Ty Dolla Sign, “Carnival,” nominated for Best Rap Song he hit the red carpet.
Although Ye lost out to Kendrick Lamar’s smash “Not Like Us,” he found another way to snatch attention. As Ye and Censori posed for photos, Censori dropped her luscious what appeared to be fur jacket, she revealed nothing but a sheer garment underneath (viewable here).
Shortly after the risqué moment, ETreported that Ye and Censori were escorted out. Users online began to speculate that Censori’s indecent exposure (viewable here) could be to blame.
However, Variety claims that rumor is false. An insider close to the matter told the outlet that Ye and Censori’s sudden exit after their red carpet appearance was their choice.
“[The rumors] are not true,” said the source. “[Ye and Bianca] walked the carpet, got in his car and left.”
Today (February 2), during the 2025 Grammy Awards ceremony, Chappell Roan did just that beating out some stiff competition.
During Roan’s emotional speech (viewable here), she used her time on stage to demand a livable wage for rising artists from their respective labels. “Record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a livable wage and health insurance and protection,” she said. “Labels, we got you — but do you got us?”
The callout earned Roan a standing ovation from her peers.
Roan’s name now follows Victoria Monét in the Grammy history books, who took home the win at last year’s ceremony.
The 2025 Grammys Best New Artist nominees also included Benson Boone, Doechii, Khruangbin, Raye, Sabrina Carpenter, Shaboozey, and Teddy Swims. Prior to the event, users online had a difficult time calling a winner, while others predicted Roan would come out victorious considering the impressive year she had in 2024
Check out our full coverage of the 2025 Grammys here. To view the full 2025 Grammy Awards nominations and winners list, click here.
There’s more to the Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars story than their No. 1 collaborative hit “Die With A Smile”: At the 2025 Grammys, the two reunited to perform a cover of “California Dreamin” (most famously recorded by The Mamas & The Papas). The two kept it minimal, letting their era-defining voices do the heavy lifting as they were accompanied by some light instrumentation.
Speaking of “Die With A Smile,” the track earned two nominations this year, for Song Of The Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Those are the sole nominations this year for both artists. While this year is relatively light for them, they both have especially strong (and very similar numbers-wise, actually) Grammy histories: Gaga has 13 career wins and 38 nominations, while Mars has 15 and 33.
Find the full list of nominees and winners at the 2025 Grammys here.
In 2024, Doechii went from being a relative unknown with a handful of viral hits to a legit Grammy nominee and Billboard hitmaker with the release of her debut mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal. To highlight the achievements of the past year, she was selected as one of the performers at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, where she put on yet another in a line of signature imaginative performances, this time of her songs, “Catfish” and “Denial Is A River.”
The performance revolved around a “clone factory,” with the Florida native’s trademark airboat making an appearance, and incorporated her recognizable elaborate choreography. It was part of a whole medley performance of the Best New Artist nominees, following Benson Boone and preceding Teddy Swims.
In addition to performing tonight, the TDE rapper was nominated for four awards, including Best New Artist (which she won), Best Remixed Recording (for “Alter Ego [Kaytranada Remix]” with JT and Kaytranada), Best Rap Performance (for “Nissan Altima”), and Best Rap Album. While Sabrina Carpenter took home Best Remixed Recording (for “Espresso [Mark Ronson x FNZ Working Late Remix]”) and Kendrick Lamar won (for “Not Like Us,” naturally), as of this writing, Doechii can still secure Best New Artist and Best Rap Album.
Watch Doechii’s performance of “Catfish” and “Denial Is A River” from the 2025 Grammys above and here.
Check out Uproxx’s full list of 2025 Grammy Award winners here.
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