Exonians Reflect on the Grammys 2025

By AUDREY KIM, LYDIA KUHNERT, ALEX LIM, and CHLOE LIND

Every year, without fail, the Grammy Awards roll around, the main highlights of the event being the star-studded red carpet and the much-anticipated award ceremony, in which upon hearing their name called, recipients strut on stage and deliver an often tearful thank-you speech. 

This year’s Grammys had a lot of strong contenders in terms of nominees and award winners. With such a spectacular lineup, fans had great feedback in response to the awards. 

“I think Doechii’s album was great,” shared prep Tiago Bilyk. This year, Doechii’s album, “Alligator Bites Never Heal,” won the award for the Best Rap Album. 

Senior Jaansi Patel agreed, echoing, “I found Doechii’s album incredibly impressive. The award was truly well-deserved, and I’m happy to see her succeed as an artist.”

Bilyk continued, saying, “Funnily enough, I also really enjoyed ‘Short and Sweet’ by Sabrina Carpenter.” “Short and Sweet” was the recipient of the Best Pop Vocal Album Award. This was a major accomplishment for Carpenter, as it was the first Grammy she had ever received. Carpenter has been in the entertainment and music industry for years, so fans were especially excited to see her win. 

In contrast to Carpenter’s case, Exonians also highlighted the accomplishments of newer artists. For example, Chappell Roan received this year’s Best New Artist award. 

Upper Wilson Rhee attributed, “Chappell Roan is a huge force within pop. Her album ‘The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess’ was really grandiose - it had some really well-written melodies and harmonies. Because my sister is a long time fan, I’ve been on the train for a while and I’m really happy to see her succeed. It’s also so cool to see her use her platform to support small artists.”

Patel, a fellow Chappell fan, highlighted another aspect of her success through another perspective, “Daniel Nigro, who produces for Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan, and more won Producer of the Year, which I was really happy about.”

On the note of producing, Rhee added in one final note, “‘Brat’ winning best recording package was another one of the awards I’m most happy about. That album is so well produced and fun, and it sounds really good. I think Best Recording Package is the perfect award for that album to win.” 

Each year along with the Grammys comes great controversy. Between awards, nominations, and more, there are bound to be disagreements attached. Among many interviewed individuals, one particular case stood out - Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” album, which won Best Country Album and Album of the Year. 

“I do not think it was fair,” said Bilyk. “It was of course a long time coming, but Cowboy Carter was barely listened to. I’d argue ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’ by Billie Eilish was more deserving, and Eilish and Finneas clearly worked hard on it.”

Patel agreed, stating, “I was kind of unhappy about ‘Cowboy Carter.’ I just feel like it wasn’t popular enough or didn’t have enough of a cultural impact to win album of the year. And also, I know a lot of people were talking about how it’s barely a country album, so the fact that it won a country album of the year was a bit questionable.”

Patel further echoed Bilyk’s take, explaining, “I really wanted Billie Eilish to win album of the year for ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft.’ I feel like it really resonated with me and it was very popular. However, I could also imagine ‘Brat’ winning because of cultural impact. I was just kind of surprised to see Beyoncé win.” 

However, Rhee provided a contrasting opinion, arguing, “I think a lot of people are fundamentally misunderstanding ‘Cowboy Carter’ as a current trilogy of Beyoncé albums. The entire point of these albums is that she’s trying to reclaim these predominantly historically black genres that are now predominantly white. When people say that Cowboy Carter is not a real country album, either because Beyoncé is not a predominantly country artist, or because Beyoncé is a Black artist, I think her intentions are being misinterpreted.”

Another core part of the Grammys are the performances involved — often some of the most entertaining parts of the night, fans look forward to them for weeks in advance, excitedly dreaming about who will be singing, what they’ll be wearing, and even which songs will be performed. This year, a litany of talented young artists showed off their skills in a grand display of talent — Sabrina Carpenter, Charlie XCX, Chappell Roan, and rising rap star Doechii, all appeared up on the stage that night. 

Rhee praised Charli XCX’s techno-pop performance, especially appreciating how Charli remained true to her signature “Brat” style. “I liked her bringing the same energy as on tour — going against conventions and being loud and abrasive is the whole idea behind that album. It’s really cool when people bring that kind of energy to stuff like the Grammys that are so publicized and very prim and proper.”

Patel also enjoyed the more theatrical aspects of the show, adding, “Sabrina Carpenter’s performance was really great, because it had like a bit of a comedy to it too — it was creative. Same thing with Chappell Roan — her stage, the set, the costume, everything was all very avant garde”

In addition to these performances, also highly anticipated were the outfits showcased by the stars, as well as the interviews and speeches they gave while at the event. Chappell Roan’s acceptance speech was particularly poignant for many people, who respected her willingness to call big industry players out. 

“I really liked how [Chappell Roan] talked about the importance of record labels needing to show appreciation for the artists they sign, with health insurance and things like that. We can always count on her to talk about culturally relevant and important issues,” reflected Patel. 

Rhee echoed Patel’s sentiment, saying that his favourite moment was, “Chappell’s speech calling out people in the industry on the industry’s biggest stage. That was really admirable. I hope that the changes she’s suggesting get put into place before I enter the music scene.”

He then went on to laud Jaden Smith’s bold approach to the red carpet: “People don’t like Jaden Smith, but I see him. You see these other artists wearing Montclair, Maison Margiela, Tom Ford and Ralph Lauren. But Jaden Smith just had a house on his head. You can’t compete with that. He made a house and then he put it on his head, and that’s a fit.”

All in all, the Grammys were certainly an entertaining experience for Exonians all around campus — whether it be judging the winners or losers, or just enjoying the performances, it provided an engaging escape from the monotony of school life.