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Doechii Wins First Grammy With Tearful Best Rap Album Victory for ‘Alligator Bites Never Heal’

Rising hip-hop star Doechii picked up her first career Grammy on Sunday night (Feb. 2) with an emotional win for best rap album, for her breakthrough mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal.

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The set beat out a handful of longtime superstars in the genre, like J. Cole, Future and Eminem, the latter being the most frequent winner in the category’s history with his six career victories. During an emotional speech that began with the rapper already in tears, Doechii shouted out how rare her victory was for a female artist in best rap album history.

“This category was introduced in 1989, and two women have won,” she started, before correcting herself: “three women have won — Lauryn Hill, Cardi B and Doechii.” She went on to further introduce herself to the national audience and shout out the music being made in her hometown: “There’s so many people out there who probably don’t know who I am. I call myself the Swamp Princess because I’m from Tampa, Florida. Tampa has so much talent… labels, go to Tampa.”

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She ended her speech by shouting out the kids watching who might see themselves in her: “I know there is some Black girl out there [watching] and I want to tell you that you can do it. Anything is possible. Don’t allow anybody to project any stereotypes onto you… you are exactly who you need to be to where you are, and I am a testimony [to that].”

Doechii is nominated for two additional Grammys on the evening: best new artist and best rap performance for “Nissan Altima,” losing the latter in the pre-broadcast section of the evening to Kendrick Lamar for “Not Like Us.”

Sabrina Carpenter Channels Old Hollywood With ‘Espresso’ & ‘Please Please Please’ Performance at 2025 Grammys

After picking up her first career Grammy during the premiere ceremony for best pop solo performance (“Espresso”), Sabrina Carpenter shut down the stage at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday night (Feb. 2).

After a brief video segment chronicling her career-shifting 2024 — including pivotal moments such as her viral live debut of “Espresso” at Coachella — Carpenter graced the Grammys stage with a medley of two of her Grammy-nominated hits. First, the Billboard chart-topping singer launched into “Espresso” with a cheeky, Old Hollywood-nodding set that blended several costume changes, a nifty tap routine, hilarious comedic timing tied to her trademark sailor’s mouth and lots of baby blue and blonde — two of the defining colors of the Short n’ Sweet era.

In between “Espresso” verses, Carpenter slightly slowed down the pace to head over to a smaller side stage to deliver the first verse and chorus of her Billboard Hot 100-topping “Please Please Please,” which is nominated for song of the year. After the “Please” interlude, the pint-sized pop princess ran back to the stage — by way of some slickly choreographed lifts and twirls — to finish out “Espresso,” delivering a bombastic performance that served as a beautiful cap for her incredible year.

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In addition to its win for best pop solo performance, “Espresso” — which peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100 — is also nominated for record of the year. Her Billboard 200-topping Short n’ Sweet is nominated for album of the year and best pop vocal album (which she won shortly after the performance), while Sabrina herself earned a nod for best new artist.

In the wake of January’s devastating fires in the greater Los Angeles area, this year’s Grammys — held at Crypto.com Arena in L.A. — also served as fundraiser for relief and rebuilding efforts.

Doechii Wins Best Rap Album At 2025 Grammys

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67th GRAMMY Awards - Show

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And the winner is…Doechii. On Saturday, February 2, the MC sensation out of Tampa won Best Rap Album for her proper debut, Alligator Bites Never Heal, at the 2025 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

Doechii accepted her award by noting that two women before had won in the category, Lauryn Hill and Cardi B. It was the latter who present her with the award.

From the stage, she dedicated the win to her sobriety and “God told me he would reward me and show me just how good it can get.”

The “Denial Is A River” rapper also thanked TDE and her mother, show she brought up on stage and made sure to big up her Tampa roots.

Doechii won in a hyper-competitive field that included projects from J. Cole, Eminem, Common & Pete Rock and Future & Metro Boomin.

Hip-Hop is in great hands with Doechii.

Uninvited Kanye West Brings Naked Wife Bianca Censori To Grammys Red Carpet

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Kanye West is back on the Grammys red carpet in Los Angeles. In addition, for 2025, he brought along his wife, Bianca Censori, who was pretty much naked.

Seriously, Censori was on the red carpet at the Crypto.com Arena on Saturday, Feburary 2 rocking what looked like a sheer stocking minidress that didn’t leave much of anything for the imagination. As for Ye, he was rocking a black tee shirt tucked into his black pants along with some big ass combat looking boots—so we guess he wasn’t trying to coordinate.

To her credit, she initially rolled up in big fur coat, before revealing that was…wait for it…naked, again.

https://x.com/PopCulture2000s/status/1886192717056651457

But the kicker is that Ye and Censori reportedly rolled up uninvited, and then were escorted out by security. What a time.

Along with admiring Censori’s body, discussing what is the deal with Ye objectifying his wife and wondering if she voluntarily along for this ride, the social media peanut gallery had plenty more to say.

See for yourself, along with more angle—because, you care—in the gallery.

This story is developing. 

1. Were you really shocked?

2. Does that count as rolling up?

3. Wait…

4. A law or two may have been fractured…

5.

6. The jokes always write themselves.

8. Allegedly.

10. A question that’s actually been answered.

Respectfully. 

11. 67th GRAMMY Awards – Arrivals

67th GRAMMY Awards - Arrivals

Source:Getty

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 02: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) (L-R) Kanye West and Bianca Censor attend the 67th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 02, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic) vertical,color image,photography,celebrities,arts culture and entertainment,usa,topix,music,california,city of los angeles,annual event,ye – musician,crypto.com arena,bianca censori,67th grammy awards

12. 67th GRAMMY Awards – Arrivals

67th GRAMMY Awards - Arrivals

Source:Getty

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 02: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) (L-R) Kanye West and Bianca Censor attend the 67th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 02, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic) vertical,color image,photography,celebrities,arts culture and entertainment,usa,topix,music,california,city of los angeles,annual event,ye – musician,crypto.com arena,bianca censori,67th grammy awards

2025 Grammy Red Carpet: See the Best Pics

Before Sunday’s (Feb. 2) prime-time Grammy Awards, the night’s biggest honorees gathered on a star-studded red carpet, and Billboard has rounded up the best photos from the night.

Sabrina Carpenter — who is already a winner, thanks to her best pop solo performance win for “Espresso” at the Grammy Premiere Ceremony — hit the red carpet in a powder-blue gown accented with a feather waist and train; she was a six-time nominee going into Sunday.

Chappell Roan, who was also up for six 2025 noms, arrived in her signature, drag-inspired makeup and a fringed fascinator atop her crimson curls. Her gown was inspired by impressionist art, with a Degas painting decorating her yellow skirt.

Seven-time nominee Billie Eilish wore a black jacket-and-pants set, completed with a black hat, black sunglasses, black shoes and a wallet chain. Ye set social media ablaze, hitting the red carpet with his wife, Bianca Censori, wearing a completely transparent netted dress that left little to the imagination, covered only by a fur coat. Another conversation-starting red-carpet look was the Smith kids, with Jaden Smith wearing a black-house headpiece and Willow in a black bikini set and floor-length black coat.

The 67th annual Grammy Awards broadcast begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles. The bulk of the day’s awards were handed out at the three-hour-plus Grammy Premiere Ceremony at the neighboring Peacock Theatre.

Below, Billboard has rounded up the best photos from the 2025 Grammy Awards red carpet, and we’ll be updating with new pictures live.

Kendrick Lamar Wins Early Rap Prizes & Best Music Video at 2025 Grammy Awards for ‘Not Like Us’

Kendrick Lamar is a 20-time Grammy Award winner, and he could be adding more to that tally later Sunday night (Feb. 2). Lamar’s “Not Like Us” won in the best rap song, best rap performance and best music video categories during the 2025 Grammy Premiere Ceremony ahead of Sunday night’s prime-time telecast.

With his 20th win, K. Dot becomes the third rapper ever — joining Ye and Jay-Z — to have 20-plus victories at the Grammy Awards.

Lamar — who directed the “NLU” visual alongside pgLang’s Dave Free — beat A$AP Rocky’s “Tailor Swif,” Charli XCX’s “360” and Eminem’s “Houdini” for best music video. In the best rap song category, the Mustard-produced Drake diss track edged out Rapsody’s “Asteroids,” Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s “Carnival” and his other nom with Future and Metro Boomin for “Like That.”

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As far as best rap performance, “Not Like Us” donned the crown over Cardi B’s “Enough,” Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That” (with Lamar), Doechii’s “Nissan Altima,” GloRilla’s “Yeah Glo!,” Eminem’s “Houdini” and Common and Pete Rock’s “Where the Sun Shines Again.”

The Compton, California, native might add a few more trophies to his case, as he’s also nominated in the song of the year and record of the year categories among his seven total noms.

“Not Like Us” arrived in May in the midst of Kendrick Lamar’s feud with Drake and proved to be the knockout shot in their battle. The Cali anthem debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 and broke “Old Town Road”‘s record for most weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Rap Songs chart in October. Next up, Lamar will headline the Super Bowl halftime show, alongside special guest SZA, a week from Sunday, Feb. 9.

Tune in to the 67th Annual Grammy Awards when the televised ceremony begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS.

Beyoncé Wins First Grammy in a Country Category for ‘II Most Wanted’ With Miley Cyrus

Beyoncé was officially awarded her first country Grammy at the 2025 pre-ceremony on Sunday (Feb. 2). It’s her first time to be honored with a win in a country category by the Recording Academy.

Beyoncé’s “II Most Wanted” featuring Miley Cyrus, from Bey’s Cowboy Carter album, was named the best country duo/group performance winner on Sunday. The award for their duet marks Beyonce’s 33rd Grammy win of her career, and Cyrus’ third after collecting her first two Grammys last year for “Flowers” (for record of the year and best pop solo performance).

“II Most Wanted” competed with “Cowboys Cry Too” (Kelsea Ballerini with Noah Kahan), “Break Mine” (Brothers Osborne), “Bigger Houses” (Dan + Shay) and “I Had Some Help” (Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen) in the best country duo/group performance category.

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The award was announced during the 67th annual Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony on Sunday. The Premiere Ceremony, which features the reveal of winners in a number of Grammys categories not aired during the televised portion of the ceremony, was broadcast online via the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel and on live.GRAMMY.com, ahead of the televised ceremony on CBS that begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

The night is still young for Beyoncé, who leads all 2025 Grammy nominees with 11 nods and is the most-nominated artist in the show’s history.

In addition to her already-announced win for her ballad with Cyrus in the best country/duo group performance category, Beyoncé’s nominations this year included: album of the year for Cowboy Carter, record of the year for “Texas Hold ‘Em,” song of the year for “Texas Hold ‘Em,” best pop solo performance for “Bodyguard,” best pop duo/group performance for “Levii’s Jeans” feat. Post Malone, best melodic rap performance for “Spaghetti” feat. Linda Martell & Shaboozey, best country solo performance for “16 Carriages,” best country song for “Texas Hold ‘Em,” best country album for Cowboy Carter and best Americana performance for “Ya Ya.”

Earlier on Sunday, Beyoncé teased an upcoming tour in support of Cowboy Carter.

Mark Ronson & FNZ Win Best Remixed Recording at 2025 Grammys for ‘Espresso’ Remix

Mark Ronson and Australian production duo FNZ won the best remixed recording Grammy Award for their take on Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso.”

The edit won over a slew of remixers, including Kaytranada; David Guetta; A.G. Cook; and Alex Antaeus Footsteps and Mrmyish.

The win marks Ronson’s ninth Grammy win, from a total 18 nominations going back to 2008, when he received multiple wins for his work on Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black. Over the years, Ronson also won Grammys for his work on Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk,” as well as for “Electricity,” a dance song he produced alongside Diplo as Silk City.

FNZ, meanwhile, has clocked five nominations (and now, one win) going back to 2022, when the pair were nominated for their work on Ye’s Donda. They’ve also received nominations for their work on Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers and on songs by Future and Drake and 21 Savage.

“Espresso” won the first prize of the night at the 2025 Grammys, for best pop solo performance, and is also up for record of the year at the prime-time broadcast.

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2025 marks the first year that the remixed recording category existed in the pop and dance/electronic field, after being moved from the production, engineering, composition and arrangement field. Many in the dance world applauded this move, given how deeply remixing is embedded in and largely synonymous with the dance/electronic realm.

See the full list of nominees here:

  • “Alter Ego” – Kaytranada Remix – Kaytranada, Remixer (Doechii Featuring JT)
  • “A Bar Song (Tipsy) [Remix]” – David Guetta, Remixer (Shaboozey & David Guetta)
  • “Espresso” (Mark Ronson & FNZ Working Late Remix) – FNZ & Mark Ronson Remixers (Sabrina Carpenter) — WINNER
  • “Jah Sees Them” – Amapiano Remix – Alex Antaeus, Footsteps & Mrmyish, Remixers (Julian Marley & Antaeus)
  • “Von Dutch” – A.G. Cook Remixer (Charli XCX & A.G. Cook Featuring Addison Rae)

Charli XCX Wins Her First Grammys Ever, Taking Home Two Early Dance Awards

Charli XCX is livin’ that life, with her ferocious “Von Dutch” winning the Grammy for best dance pop recording at the 2025 awards and her year-defining Brat winning for best dance/electronic album.

Charli was not present at the Grammy Premiere Ceremony to accept the award, with the song’s producer Finn Keane accepting for dance pop recording on her behalf. “She has been making this kind of music for, like, 10 years and everybody’s kind of caught up to it and realized what she can do, so thank you very much,” said Keane.

The win marks Charli’s first ever Grammy wins. “Von Dutch” won over Madison Beer’s “Make You Mine,” Billie Eilish’s “L’Amour De Ma Vie (Over Now Extended Edit),” Ariana Grande’s “Yes, And?” and Troye Sivan’s “Got Me Started.”

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Brat, meanwhile, won over Four Tet’s Three, Justice’s Hyperdrama, Zedd’s Telos and Kaytranada’s Timeless.

Charli XCX and Brat were nominated for a whopping eight awards at Sunday’s ceremony, including for album of the year. The album’s “360” is up for record of the year, while “Apple” was up for best pop solo performance (which went to Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” in the Premiere Ceremony). Charli will perform during Sunday’s prime-time ceremony, with other performers during the night including Chappell Roan, Carpenter and Eilish.

The first single to be released from Brat, the electro throwback “Von Dutch,” is now the second song to ever win the best dance pop award, which was introduced at the Grammy Awards in 2024. The award’s addition created more space for dance and electronic music at the Grammys, shining a light on the more pop-oriented area of the broad spectrum of electronic music. Kylie Minogue was the first artist to ever win the award, with her unstoppable “Padam Padam” taking home the trophy in 2024.

Justice Wins Best Dance/Electronic Recording Grammy for ‘Neverender’

Justice‘s “Neverender” won the Grammy Award for best dance/electronic recording at the 67th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday (Feb. 2) in Los Angeles.

The French duo triumphed in a stacked category, beating out Disclosure’s “She’s Gone, Dance On,” Four Tet’s “Loved,” Fred Again.. & Baby Keem’s “Leavemealone” and Kaytranada’s “Witchy” featuring Childish Gambino.

The win marks the third Grammy for the beloved French electronic duo. A major 2024 dance world hit, the soaring, silky, disco-infused “Neverender” features vocals from Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker and comes from the pair’s fourth studio album, 2024’s Hyperdrama, which features vocals from artists including Parker, Miguel, Thundercat and more.

“Justice has been a band saying ‘no’ to everything, exactly like when I used to work with Daft Punk,” Pedro Winter, the founder of Justice’s label Ed Banger, told Billboard last year. “They really wanted to focus on their own music. Now it has been a 20-year career, so it’s time to open the door and work with other people… Of course, a lot of [the fans of people like Parker and Miguel] will not get the Justice sound… but out of those millions, let’s try to grab the attention and love of some of them.”

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The duo, Xaxier du Rosnay and Gaspard Augé, were not present at the Grammy Premiere Ceremony on Sunday to accept the award, as they are currently on tour in Europe, with the pre-telecast show’s host Justin Tranter accepting on their behalf. Hyperdrama was also nominated for best dance/electronic album at the 2025 Grammys, losing that award to Charli XCX’s Brat.