The Grammys are a night of celebration and music but this year it had much more of a special meaning.

In the wake of the LA fires, which left the community reeling from the shock, it was decided that the message from the night would be to praise the firefighters who risked their lives and promote the businesses that horrifically suffered.

More than $7 million has been raised for the LA community and firefighters were invited on stage in honour of their work.

But when it came to the awards, it was definitely a night for history.

After decades in the music industry Beyoncé finally won Album of the Year for ‘Cowboy Carter’ making her the first black woman to win the award following Lauryn Hill in 1999. Beyoncé also received the Best Country Album award making her the first black musician to win it ever. The decorated musician cemented her legacy in terms of accolades now having 35 wins.

Doechii won for her mixtape ‘Alligator Bites Never Heal’ making her the third woman to ever win the award for Best Rap Album meaning that she joins the likes of Lauryn Hill and Cardi B. Her speech resonated with the crowd as she said: “I put my heart and soul into this mixtape. I bared my life. I went through so much…I know that there is some Black girl out there, so many Black women out there, that are watching me right now, and I want to tell you, you can do it.”

Chappell Roan won for Best New Artist and she’s more than earned it. Her album ‘The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess’ was hugely successful and was nominated for Album of the Year. Her speech was applauded by the crowd as she spoke about the struggles of being a new artist. She said: “I got signed so young, I got signed as a minor, and when I got dropped, I had zero job experience under my belt, and like most people, I had a difficult time finding a job in the pandemic and could not afford health insurance. It was so devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system, and so dehumanised to not have health insurance. And if my label would have prioritised artists’ health, I could have been provided care by a company I was giving everything to. So record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a liveable wage and health insurance and protection. Labels, we got you, but do you got us?”

A beautiful section was dedicated to the legendary Quincy Jones who died 3 November 2024. The moving tribute was delivered by Will Smith and was followed with goosebump worthy performances by Cynthia Erivo, Lainey Wilson, and Stevie Wonder before Janelle Monae belted out a cover of ‘Don’t Stop ‘til You Get Enough’ by Michael Jackson showcasing Quincy Jones’ varied career.

While it was definitely a night they’ll remember, it was a night that made history and was about something much bigger than itself.

History was made at the Grammys