Top 5 Performances at the 2025 Grammys
2024 was an amazing year for music—obviously. If you weren’t living under a rock, you’d know that last year was a veritable explosion for musical pop culture. The 2020s is coming into its own as a decade with the prominence of new stars like Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, and Doechii debuting last year. However, this meant that the following Grammy’s came with high expectations. With the show happening in Los Angeles after the disastrous wildfires that took place not too long ago, the need to put on an amazing show was high, with the expectations for performances being even higher. With so many good ones to choose from, I’m narrowing it down to only the top 5 best of the night.
- “Got to Be Starting Something” by Janelle Monáe
The Academy’s tribute to Quincy Jones was a lengthy and rich one, culminating in a centerpiece performance in which Janelle Monáe channels Michael Jackson in voice and in dance. Complete with moonwalking and crotch-grabbing, Monáe brings to life a classic while getting up in the crowd, hopping on tables, and hitching a ride on a security guard. It’s a barnburner for certain, a late in the night shot in the arm to get the crowd and audience at home amped for the last leg of the show, and it succeeds with top marks. It doesn’t rank any higher because, while it brings a great deal of energy, the performances later down this list have an actual affect on me personally or emotionally. This one, however, has my respect on the basis of the amount of fun everyone involved seemed to be having, and that has value as well.
- Sabrina Carpenter Medley
Sabrina Carpenter, I’m quite fond of you. I’m not going to pretend I was an early-adopter before her stardom, only that as a Gen Z individual, I’ve always been aware of her. Given that she’s had a long history as a musician and actor prior to her recent rise, it’s not hard to see how she got here. Unabashedly Sabrina, the performance begins with some light physical comedy during a slow, big band version of her smash-hit “Espresso.” It helps that Sabrina is actually funny. Her whole schtick would get old quickly if she wasn’t a genuine goober inside the body of a WW2 pin-up girl, but the combination of lace, slapstick comedy, and dynamite vocals is the secret alchemy that makes Sabrina such an electric performer.
She transitions into her other hits, “Taste” and “Please, Please, Please,” between outfit changes. This was definitely a crowd-pleaser, but it set a standard for the rest of the show. With impressive stage movements and dancing, it’s the big blowout performance you expect of the night, but also of Sabrina Carpenter. She’s a performer that I hope to see for years to come.
- “California Dreamin’” by Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga
In the wake of the L.A. fires, the show dedicated many performances to songs about the city by local bands and talent. One of my favorite of these was dynamic duo Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars teaming up once more to deliver a cover of one of my personal favorite songs. These two weaponized their chemistry to deliver a somber and moving cover of the classic Mamas and the Papas track that becomes darkly haunting in the wake of very real tragedy. “I’d be safe and warm / if I was in L.A.” makes an already cold and sinister sounding song into something even more heartbreaking when put in context. Warm lighting on two of the greatest artists of our time provides little comfort, although it’s appreciated. Subtle and arresting, these two are pure class, and I think I speak for everyone when I say we need more collaborations between them.
- Best New Artists
The absolute cavalcade of back-to-back performances by the remaining nominees of the Best New Artist category, those being Benson Boone, Doechii, Teddy Swims, Raye, and Shaboozey, was my personal highlight of the show. This felt like a true celebration of 2024’s rising stars. Seeing them all perform one after another cemented them as peers, a united statement about the quality of new music that came out last year. I’ll be the first to say I’m sick of “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” and never could stand “Beautiful Things,” but the sheer strength of this moment and the charisma of these performances made me, even if just for a moment, like these songs.
Benson Boone began the gauntlet with some tear-away pants and some backflips, which, I’m sorry, if you don’t find entertaining then I don’t think we can be friends. Doechii’s performances, however, was by far the best. Its scale dwarfs that of the others, but her charisma and talent as a physical performer made her an enthralling watch. Teddy Swims was lowkey by comparison, but eventually sucked me in his undeniable aura. Being the least familiar with Raye, I was impressed by the power of her vocals. And finally, you’ll never get me to truly like country music, but you got very close last night, Shaboozey. Very close. Overall, this was an amazing showing for 2024’s rising talent. With hope, we’ll be seeing much more of some of these performers in the future.
- “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan
Was there really any other choice? Unlike Sabrina, I will be quick to say that I’ve been a Chappel Roan fan for a while. A “Roanie,” if you will. The shock I felt hearing “Pink Pony Club,” a song I associate with COVID lockdowns and social distancing, being performed at the 2025 Grammys still hasn’t washed away. I expected “Good Luck, Babe!” or even “Femininomenon,” but drill down into the essence of who Chappell is as a musician and public figure, and you’ll find “Pink Pony Club.”
The significance of her performance in this current political and cultural moment is not lost on me. An openly lesbian drag queen bringing the house down at the biggest night in music means something. I’ve criticized awards shows in the past for being representative of the system itself, but I was heartened to see so many artists directly speaking out about those who are scared, vulnerable, and targeted in America right now. As an artist, it can feel like you’re powerless to do anything in the face of monolithic strife like this, but performances like Chappell’s reaffirm that existing, persisting, and making unabashedly authentic art is resistance in and of itself. Music can’t solve all of our problems, but it’s one hell of a start.
Chappell Roan is the star of our time, and it’s a privilege to witness her rise. Whether she’s donning knight’s armor or clown makeup, she’s always the moment. She doesn’t just represent the future of pop music, but she represents change for the better, and that’s something we need more than ever right now.
Good job, Grammys, you made a good show this year. With current events in the state that they are, this show made me feel hopeful for the future of not just music, but for America. Briefly, but still. Maybe I’m getting sentimental in my old age, (I’m 20), but seeing so many talented musicians, young and old, come together to celebrate an amazing year of music truly touched me in a way that I could never have expected a big awards show like this to do. Here’s to more Grammy’s like this, and to more years like 2024 for music.