Which Performance at the 2025 Grammys Was Your Favorite? Vote!
Written by djfrosty on February 3, 2025
Music’s biggest night wouldn’t be complete without, well, music — something the 2025 Grammys had in abundance with Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Doechii and more stars delivering buzzy live performances in between the presentation of awards Sunday (Feb. 2).
The show kicked off with Dawes, Brad Paisley, John Legend, Sheryl Crow, Brittany Howard and St. Vincent paying tribute to Los Angeles — where the ceremony streamed live from the city’s Crypto.com Arena — with an all-star performance of Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.” honoring victims and first responders affected by the disastrous wildfires in Southern California last month. The offering set the tone for the rest of the night, which featured numerous odes to the city and found host Trevor Noah continuously reminding the audience to donate via MusiCares to relief efforts; by the end of the night, viewers had contributed $7 million, the comedian revealed on air.
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More artists such as Billie Eilish and Lady Gaga then honored the City of Angels through their performances, with the former singing “Birds of a Feather” on a set made to look like Eaton Canyon in Altadena, and the latter recruiting her “Die With a Smile” collaborator Bruno Mars for an emotionally charged take on The Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreamin.’”
There were also tributes to the artists we lost in the past year — led by Chris Martin, who sang “All My Love” on piano as the names of Liam Payne, Toby Keith and more late stars flashed on screen — and Quincy Jones, who died at 91 in November. In honor of the game-changing producer, Will Smith guided the audience through a string of performances from Cynthia Erivo, Lainey Wilson and Stevie Wonder with Herbie Hancock and Jacob Collier on piano, closing with Janelle Monáe channeling Michael Jackson on “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough.”
Plus, viewers were treated to performances from all eight best new artist nominees, with Carpenter hamming it up for “Espresso” and “Please Please Please,” Roan — who later won the category — serving rodeo princess on “Pink Pony Club,” and Benson Boone, Doechii, Teddy Swims, Shaboozey and Raye all singing their biggest hits of 2024 back to back.
Elsewhere in the night, The Weeknd finally ended his beef with the Recording Academy and made his return to the Grammy stage, Shakira got Taylor Swift and more guests up and dancing, and Charli XCX closed the show with a Brat medley of “Von Dutch” and “Guess.”
With so much musical excellence packed into one night, it might be hard to choose, but Billboard still wants to know which artist delivered your favorite performance at this year’s Grammys. Cast your vote below.