2025 Grammys still on, will include relief fund for California fires
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Beyoncé, Karol G behind the scenes at The 66th Annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 4, 2024. Photo: Francis Specker/CBS via Getty Images)
The first major entertainment awards in Los Angeles since its devastating wildfires will go on as scheduled Feb. 2, per a letter from Recording Academy leaders released Monday.
The big picture: The devastation from the deadly L.A. wildfires has been compared to Hurricane Katrina. The 2025 Grammys' organizers say this year's show will also raise funds for first responders and other relief efforts.
- "In challenging times, music has the power to heal, comfort, and unite like nothing else," wrote Recording Academy & MusiCares CEO Harvey Mason Jr. and Tammy Hurt, chair of the Recording Academy's board of trustees.
- The joint statement notes that the Recording Academy and MusiCares launched the L.A. Fire Relief Efforts, pledging $1 million to support music creatives and professionals. The effort has distributed more than $2 million in emergency aid so far, per the letter.
- The 67th annual Grammy Awards— to air live on CBS at 8pm ET — will take place at Crypto.com Arena.
Zoom in: Universal Music Group said on Monday that it will cancel all its Grammy-related events and redirect resources to wildfire relief.
- Those events include the artist showcase and an after-party.
- "L.A. is home to so many of us," the statement said. "We are committed to helping and supporting the music community, our artists, our teams and the people of Los Angeles get through this horrific episode."
Driving the news: At least 24 people have died in the southern California blazes that erupted last week.
- More than 100,000 residents remain under evacuation orders and over 12,000 structures have been destroyed, Axios' Avery Lotz reports.
Zoom out: Nominations for Grammys were announced late last year, Axios' Maxwell Millington reported.
- Beyoncé is the top nominee with 11 nods for her work on "Cowboy Carter" — besting her previous record of 10 — followed by Charli XCX, Post Malone, Billie Eilish and Kendrick Lamar.
- Taylor Swift — who despite many other accolades, has never won Record or Song of the Year — joins Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan with six nominations.
Flashback: Other Grammy awards shows have been impacted by extraordinary events in recent years.
- The 2021 and 2022 shows were postponed because of COVID. In 2022's case, the ceremony relocated to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
What's next: With the Golden Globes behind us, the Academy Awards are set for March 2.
Go deeper: The psychological toll of California's catastrophic fires
Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from Universal Music Group.
