Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ notches early Grammy wins, along with Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, Beatles

In a good sign for their record of the year category hopes, the Beatles have won for rock performance for “Now and Then.”

The song was notable as the final single all four members performed on, with a little help from AI-driven mixing technology that cleaned up an old demo from the late John Lennon.

“‘Now and Then’ as the last record, to me, is incredibly poignant, a song that John [Lennon] wrote to Paul [McCartney],” producer Giles Martin, son of the Beatles’ longtime producer George Martin, told the Times. “Paul lost his best friend. Whatever differences they had, they lived an incredibly close life. I think Paul missed him, like he missed my dad. He missed him creatively, and he wanted to work with him again, to collaborate again. This technology was a pathway towards that.”

The Beatles bested the Back Keys, Green Day, Idles, Pearl Jam and St. Vincent for the category.

Whatever controversy came with the use of the tech, it’s clear the Recording Academy was ready to reward the effort.

“I think AI is a bit like nuclear power. It can split the atom — is that a good idea? Yes if you’re creating energy, but no if it’s a bomb,” Martin said. “For me, when I listen to to John’s voice, without fabrication, I felt like I was with him. That’s almost the opposite of AI.”

Former President Jimmy Carter, who died Dec. 29 at 100, was honored with a Grammy for the narration of his book, “Last Sundays in Plains: A Centennial Celebration.”

The win for audio book, narration, and storytelling recording marked Carter’s fourth Grammy.

He previously won three Grammys in the spoken word album category, for “Our Endangered Values: America’s Moral Crisis” in 2007, “A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety” in 2016 and “Faith - A Journey for All” in 2019.

His grandson Jason Carter was on stage to accept the award on his behalf.

“I just want to say that having his words captured in this way for my family and for the world is truly remarkable,” Carter said. “I think it really means so much at this moment in our history as a country to bring people together to preach that love and kindness.”

If the former president were alive, he would’ve been the oldest Grammy winner.

While high-wattage dance music from Charli XCX and Chappell Roan is in contention for top prizes, the French duo Justice won for dance/electronic recording.

“Neverender,” a velvety single off their eight-years-in-the-making comeback album “Hyperdrama” (featuring Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker on vocals), bested tracks from Disclosure, Four Tet, Fred Again.. and Kaytranada.

It’s the duo’s third Grammy.

“We had these type of tracks where they have these abrupt ruptures, kind of like a hardcore aesthetic, but composed in a way that is a bit melancholic,” Justice’s Xavier De Rosnay told The Times backstage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival last year.

“We wrote as many parts as possible, until we could get to the juice of our music, that one loop we can listen to forever, and scrub the rest. Everything is rave, then everything is disco, with no overlapping elements.”

This Grammy adds to what has become one of the most accomplished careers in modern electronic music, even as the scene finds its footing in the chaotic post-pandemic nightlife and festival environment.

“It’s harder in terms of like purely commercial achievements, but that’s fine,” De Rosnay said. “We want as many people as possible to listen to it. But not at any price or by any means. We don’t like to be too exposed.”

The progressive R&B album Grammy went to both Avery Sunshine’s “So Glad to Know You” and Nxworries’ “Why Lawd?”

“This is a win for all the independent soul music artists,” Sunshine said in her acceptance speech. “We’ve been working in the dark for a minute, but the light is shining.”

Once Sunshine and her team left the stage, Nxworries, the duo made of Anderson .Paak. and Knxwledge, accepted their award.

“Why Lawd?” is the second studio album from the R&B duo.

“It’s the best birthday gift ever,” said Anderson .Paak. “This album was really tough to make, and it’s because of you I was able to take tough times and turn them into inspiration and therapy.”

This is the first win and nomination for both acts.

Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” became the de facto song of 2024 when dropped in May, and now it’s a Grammy Award winner.

The diss track aimed at rapper Drake topped the Billboard singles charts and crowned Lamar as the victor of the long-simmering beef between the two artists. Lamar is a double Grammy nominee in two categories thanks to another song that fueled the feud: “Like That” by Future and Metro Boomin, which features Lamar. Through his verse in the March track, Lamar rejected the idea that he, Drake and J. Cole were on the same level. Cole had implied this in a verse in Drake’s 2023 song “First Person Shooter.”

Kacey Musgraves won her eighth Grammy award early Sunday afternoon, taking home the award for country song for “The Architect,” which is off her sixth studio album, “Deeper Well.”

She previously won Grammys for country song for “Space Cowboy” in 2019 and “Merry Go Round” in 2014.

“Ultimately, I just want to say there’s so much darkness in this world right now, and it just feels so good to be able to fight some of that darkness with a song,” said Musgraves. “It’s such an honor.”

Immediately after Musgraves’ win, Sierra Ferrell took her fourth award of the day for American roots performance, for “Lighthouse.”

Beyoncé, who netted 11 nominations for the 67th Grammys, won her first award of the day for best country duo/group performance for “II Most Wanted” with Miley Cyrus, bringing her Grammy total to 33 and counting.

The superstar was already the most decorated artist in Grammy history and with the 67th edition she became the most nominated artist as well.

Neither Beyoncé nor Cyrus was on hand to accept the award at the Premiere Ceremony.

In a decadent, all-white gown, Americana singer Sierra Ferrell accepted three consecutive Grammys during the Premiere Ceremony.

“Honestly, this is kinda hilarious,” she said.

She won Grammys for Americana album for “Trail of Flowers,” Americana performance and American roots song for “American Dreaming.”

During the Premiere Ceremony, 85 Grammys will be handed out and the first one went to a notable star.

The first award given was for pop solo performance, which had heavy-hitting nominees Beyoncé, Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX, Billie Eilish and Chappell Roan.

Carpenter’s “Espresso” won the prize, but she was not present to accept.

“Cheers for Sabrina!” premiere ceremony host and charismatic songwriter Justin Tranter said before moving on to the next award.

See the full list of winners, which we are updating live.

Hours before millions tune in on TV to watch the Grammys, dozens of awards are given out during the Grammys Premiere Ceremony.

The ceremony began with a gospel and blues-tinged performance of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” from Yolanda Adams, Wayne Brady, Deborah Cox, Scott Hoying, Angelique Kidjo and Taj Mahal.

Most of the genre awards are announced in this early ceremony, which is happening at the Peacock Theater in L.A.

You can watch the premiere ceremony live on YouTube.

Just hours before tonight’s 67th Grammy Awards, Beyoncé has announced the Cowboy Carter tour via Instagram. Supporting her 2024 release, the tour comes less than a year after her Renaissance world tour. No dates for the tour have been announced yet.

Beyoncé leads the pack with 11 nominations, bringing her career total to 99 Grammy nominations. “Cowboy Carter,” the singer’s country exploration, is in the running for album of the year, a category she has never won.

With 32 Grammys to her name, the most of any recording artist, all eyes are on the “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer to see if she can finally bring it home.

During last year’s ceremony, her husband Jay-Z publicly called out the Recording Academy saying, “I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than everyone and never won album of the year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work.”

But tonight might be the night it all changes.

As soon as Harvey Mason Jr. was convinced that firefighters had gotten a handle on this month’s devastating Los Angeles wildfires, the head of the Recording Academy turned his mind to a somewhat less dramatic matter.

Hotel rooms.

Deadheads mixed with bigwigs Friday night at the annual MusiCares Persons of the Year gala, where the members of the Grateful Dead were honored by the Recording Academy for their philanthropy and cultural impact 60 years after the iconic jam band formed in 1965.

“Longevity was never a major concern of ours,” the Dead’s Bobby Weir said to laughs in the audience as he accepted the award. “Lighting folks up and spreading joy through the music was all we ever really had in mind, and we got plenty of that done.”

The record of the year category for the 2025 Grammys is full of zesty pop hits from young female acts such as Chappell Roan, Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter. There’s also Kendrick Lamar’s operatically vicious “Not Like Us” and some poignant, expansive work from Beyoncé and Billie Eilish.

Then there’s the Beatles’ “Now and Then.” The quartet is back on the Grammy leaderboard a full six decades after winning their first statuette. “Now and Then,” salvaged from a famously muddy demo from John Lennon, was made possible with the AI-driven, instrument-isolating mix technology first showcased in the documentary series “The Beatles: Get Back.”

What makes a record of the year? At the Grammy Awards, it can be a stunning performance or an ingenious production, a glimpse into the future or a glance at the past, a worldwide smash or an obscurity by a longtime fave. Ahead of Sunday’s 67th Grammys, here’s a ranked list of all 66 songs that have won record of the year since the Recording Academy’s first ceremony in 1959. Arranged from worst to best, the rundown includes expert commentary from half a dozen previous winners: Sheryl Crow, Toto’s Steve Lukather, producer Mark Ronson, Michael McDonald, Chic’s Nile Rodgers and Charles Kelley of the country trio Lady A.

In the aftermath of wildfires that devastated much of Southern California this month, the Recording Academy says it has reoriented Sunday’s 67th Grammy Awards around fundraising efforts and a mission to celebrate “the spirit of the city of Los Angeles.”

But of course, there are still awards to hand out: Beyoncé leads the field with 11 nominations, followed by Charli XCX and Post Malone with eight apiece and Billie Eilish and Kendrick Lamar, each of whom has seven. The telecast, set to air live on CBS from Crypto.com Arena, will be hosted by Trevor Noah and will feature performances by Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, Doechii, Shakira, Stevie Wonder, Brad Paisley, Sheryl Crow and Herbie Hancock, among others.

Here is the full list of nominees for the 67th Grammy Awards.

This year’s list of top nominees include Beyoncé (11), Charli XCX (seven), Billie Eilish (seven), Kendrick Lamar (seven), Post Malone (seven), Sabrina Carpenter (six), Chappell Roan (six), and Taylor Swift (six).

The 67th Grammy Awards will have a bit of a pall over them Sunday after the devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area.

However, after a blockbuster year for pop music, with huge singles and albums from veterans Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and the Beatles, alongside newcomers Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter, there’s still a lot to celebrate and debate. Here’s everything you need to know to watch and weigh in.