Sabrina Carpenter has won the first Grammy Award of 2025, taking home best pop solo performance for her percolating summer anthem, Espresso.
British star Charli XCX also won a clutch of early prizes – including best dance/pop album for her razor sharp club album Brat; and best dance/pop song for its lead single Von Dutch. They are the star’s first ever Grammys as a solo act.
The prizes are being handed out at the Grammys’ “premiere ceremony”, which precedes the main event at 5pm Los Angeles / 1am London time.
The show started with an all-star rendition of Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water, dedicated to the victims of the LA Wildfires.
Yolanda Adams and Angelique Kidjo were among the artists performing a raw, gospel-infused version of the 60s classic, dedicated to the first responders who risked their lives to tackle the inferno and protect the vulnerable.
Grammys CEO Harvey Mason Jr told the audience at the Crypto.com arena that the awards would “honour music’s great power to inspire, to heal and to unite”.
He added: “Because of the recent fires that devastated Los Angeles, we’re also going to recognise the resilience of our community and celebrate our first responders and do our very best to lift up this city that we love.”
Beyoncé is the main nominee at this year’s ceremony, with her country-adjacent album Cowboy Carter shortlisted for 11 awards.
However, it has so far failed to win in any of the categories where it was nominated, including best pop solo performance, and best Americana performance.
She is one of eight artists up for the night’s main prize, album of the year, alongside acts like Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan and rapper André 3000, who is nominated for his spiritual jazz flute album New Blue Sun.
Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter are also up for the award – and fans will be speculating whether their early wins increase their odds of taking the night’s main prize.
Neither artist was there in person to collect their trophies, as they are due to be performing at the headline ceremony later in the evening.
However Charli’s producer, Finn Keane, accepted the award for Von Dutch on her behalf, calling her an “amazing collaborator”.
“She has been making this kind of music for 10 years, but everyone’s just caught up to it,” he added.
