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Music Sin Fronteras – Grammy’s Edition

The 2025 Oscars: ’differences and same ol’

I am a day late because I wanted to watch the Grammys last night and talk about them this morning.  They were both the same and different…but the differences were most important.

First, was the focus on the LA fires.  As a former resident of Pacific Palisades, I was saddened to learn that my former house is gone, along with my whole neighborhood.  I was more saddened for the family that bought it before I moved to Mexico. While they were not in the music industry – as many people who lost homes in both the Palisades and Altadena were – they likely lost everything.

So, I was very happy to see the Grammys turn themselves so into a fund raiser for the organizations helping families, and especially musicians who often rent and have no insurance and even gave some of their advertising time to businesses that lost everything. I loved the ads where the business owners talked to us and were then joined by a rock star, who pressed the message home.

What else was different? Well, for one, Taylor Swift did not win any awards last night. Despite being nominated in six categories for her album The Tortured Poets Department and the song “Fortnight. ” But, if you were watching, she was a class act, cheering for the winners, standing for every applause, talking with other singers, and handing Beyonce’ the award for Best Country Album.  Since Swift won Album of the Year last year for Midnight, it was classy for her to step back and cheer others, even Sabrina Carpenter, who won in the Best Pop Vocal Album for Short and Sweet, (which I feel was misplaced – The Tortured Poets Department was light years better in my opinion).

The Beyonce’ win – well deserved – for Cowboy Carter, was different. Five years ago, if you predicted a black woman would win Best Country Album, you would have been laughed out of the barroom.  I love country music, but it is so good to see it move out of the pickup- truck-beer-whiskey-she left- me box it has been in (in fairness, it has been climbing out of over the past few years). Artists like Beyonce and Shaboozey bring a fresh outlook and themes to one of America’s music forms. It does make me recall that Black cowboys were present in the American West from the mid-19th century accounting for an estimated 25% of cowboys from the 1860s to 1880s, at least 5,000 individuals. 

It also made me think about how the Academy responded to The Weekend’s request that it expanded its diversity, adding over 3,000 women voting members since 2019, exceeding their original goal of adding 2,500 women voting members by 2025.  The Academy has increased its racial diversity since 2019, with a 65% increase in people of color since 2019, including a 90% increase in Black or African American members and 100% growth in Asian or Pacific Islander voting membership.

There were many other differences like Charli XCX’s rave party on stage with boldface names,  Chappell Roan’s very  direct criticisms of the record labels for making millions on their stars while paying them a pittance (although I am not sure about her  princess hat), the exposure given Raye in the Best New Artist segment which is usually an afterthought, and Doechii’s selection for Best Rap Album, only the third woman to win the honor in a heavy male  environment.  

Speaking of heavy male environment, it was not there last night. The majority of the televised awards went to women. Except for Kendrick Lamar’s wins for Record and Song of the Year men were barely visible in the show, as the creativity of the women overwhelmed them, at least in the eyes of the Academy voters. (I did like Benson Boone’s flip over the piano – no wonder he needed a jumpsuit.) My initial count is 14 women took home major awards compared to 7 men. And did you notice the large number of female guitarists in the stage bands, especially St. Vincent.  

What was the same ol’ thing?  Trevor Noah’s hosting, which was very good, but did not stray from the usual model, except for when he said that Sabrina Carpenter was funnier than he was and maybe should host next year’s show.  The tribute to Quincy Jones, which was wonderful, did remind of earlier tributes. But I still loved it.  The Grammys on time, but that was more editing than discipline, plus the move of technical awards offscreen. And it was stuffed with ads, at least in the stream I watched

The Latin Awards were not especially surprising, at least to me. Shakira in the Best Latin Pop Album, Carin Leon for Boca Chueca, Vol1 in the Best Musica Mexican Album (not my choice, I would have picked Chiquis or Peso Pluma), and  Rawayana for Best Latin Rock Alternative Album, although I would have chosen Keep Me Fed by The Warning.

All in all, the Recording Academy is to be congratulated for a good show with only a few headscratchers, well deserved awards all around, and the dedication of the performance to raising money for people made homeless by the fires.  I am glad I waited a day and watched it.

Patrick O’Heffernan, PhD., is a music journalist and radio broadcaster based in Los Angeles, California, with a global following. His two weekly radio programs, MusicFridayLive! and MusicaFusionLA are heard nationwide and in the UK. He focuses on two music specialties: emerging bands in all genres, and the growing LA-based ALM genre (American Latino Music) that combines rock and rap, blues and jazz and pop with music from Latin America like cumbia, banda, jarocho and mariachi. He also likes to watch his friend drag race.

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