Between the castle hats and country crossovers, between the local heroes and global superstars, we caught glimpses of where culture might go next. The real show was just as much about how culture might change in 2025 as it was about the awards themselves.
As Beyoncรฉ stunned the country music world, a small LA folk band made Hollywood feel human again, and Lady Gaga turned a credit card commercial into an album drop, there were major cultural signals for brands watching closely.
So, let’s decode what just happened, and more importantly, what it means for brands right now:
๐๐๐ฒ๐จ๐ง๐๐’๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ง โ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฌ-๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐
Cowboy Carter took Best Country Album, and Beyonce’s stunned reaction is already a meme. While Beyoncรฉ expands her cultural footprint, at a macro-level, this is another good signal of brands challenging genre, tropes, and categories in counter-intuitive ways. I expect we’ll see a rise in strange brand collabs and cross-overs in the next few years, often designed to generate attention and perhaps pick up new fans from distant categories. Expect a rise in brands engineering their own “unexpected but it works” collaborations or theme-twists in the next 2-3 years.
It’s already happening, if you don’t believe me. You might remember that during London Fashion Week 2024, Hellmann’s mayonnaise partnered with luxury designers Chopova Lowena to create the ‘Margaret’ bag, named after Hellmann’s founder. This collaboration successfully merged the worlds of condiments and high fashion, generating significant buzz and even earning a mention in Vogue’s list of viral moments from London Fashion Week. Similarly, inspired by the viral vodka pasta trend, Heinz and Absolut vodka collaborated to create a tomato vodka pasta sauce. The product quickly sold out and generated 500 million impressions on social media. In another unexpected pairing, e.l.f. Cosmetics collaborated with canned water brand Liquid Death to create CORPSE PAINT, a makeup collection that brought the beauty brand into concert-centric audiences.
๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ค๐ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ฌ โ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฏ๐จ๐๐๐๐ฒ & ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ
The night seems like a new textbook example of how social commentary can resonate when it feels genuine and when it doesn’t… well, it looks like a Hollywood fundraiser. Chappell Roan’s plea for fair wages and healthcare hit home and was praised on social media because it came from lived experience.
Meanwhile, Alicia Keys’ declaration that “DEI is not a threat, it’s a gift” and Lady Gaga’s brief statement on trans visibility seemed a bit more measured, more like they were cultural temperature checks for 2025, but given their histories of advocacy on these topics, while the messages mostly fell flat, they didn’t generate much negative buzz.
The real victim of the night? Trevor Noah’s ask for donations was not well received on social media. Viewers called it out for feeling performative as the asks appeared alongside celebs like Miley Cyrus bragging about their designer gowns. It’s a good lesson that even genuine care and cause can suffer from poor venue placement.
For brands, the message is clear: social impact works best when it emerges naturally from cultural conversations rather than being forced into them. Those treating these issues as temporary trends risk a significant backlash.
๐๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ค ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ซ & ๐๐จ๐๐๐ก๐ข๐ข’๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ฌ โ ๐๐ข๐ฉ-๐๐จ๐ฉ’๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ฏ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
Kendrick Lamar proclaimed, “At the end of the day, nothing is more powerful than rap music. We are the culture.” Doechii becomes the third woman ever to win Best Rap Album, giving an emotional speech about sobriety and faith.
Hip-Hop music– and by extension Hip-Hop-Centric Brands– are experiencing a renaissance where spiritual growth, personal transformation, and societal reflection are becoming regular themes and messages over what’s historically been a flashy and superficial genre (at least in Hollywood). Artists are proving that hip-hop’s power lies not just in its ubiquity, but in its ability to tackle complex themes with new levels of nuance and depth, appealing to our needs for increased authenticity. Brands need to recognize that connecting with hip-hop culture now requires engaging in deeper conversations around very human topics to stay relevant.
๐๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ’๐ฌ ๐๐ฉ๐ฌ๐๐ญ & ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ค๐ง๐’๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง โ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐ซ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฌ
Two distinct but equally compelling stories emerged tonight. The Weeknd’s return after his Grammy boycott reminded us that audiences love a redemption arc. Meanwhile, Carpenter’s surprise win over industry giants demonstrated that media saturation can translate into real industry recognition. Her consistent content creation and image cultivation strategy this year, after decades around the industry, paid off in a major way. Both stories offer valuable lessons: consumers are drawn to comeback narratives, and in today’s digital landscape, persistent visibility can lead to tangible success.
๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ ๐’๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฉ โ ๐๐ก๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฑ ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
Gaga announced MAYHEM, and she did it inside a Mastercard commercial. This wasn’t a sponsorship but a product drop embedded in an ad. The next wave of brand x artist collabs will look more like this: seamless, non-interruptive, and event-driven, with smart brands understanding the power of association and familiarity over cramming features and messages into a sponsorship spot. The old “presented by” model is dead for brands looking to pick up a few brand points around key associations shared with their favorite artists.
๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ: ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐ข๐ ๐๐ก๐๐จ๐ฌ
The night’s most viral moments weren’t accidentsโthey were attention engineering. Jaden Smith showed up in a literal castle hat, while Willow pushed boundaries in one of the night’s most revealing looks. Bianca Censori’s barely-there outfit had everyone talking, and Benson Boone’s performance-ending-crotch-grab set social media ablaze for a few minutes. But here’s the thing: these weren’t just shock-value plays but calculated cultural disruptions.
We’re seeing a fascinating evolution in the manufacturing of viral moments, particularly in entertainment and fashion. The Smith siblings demonstrated that polarization isn’t just acceptableโit’s a strategy. People aren’t just confused by Jaden’s architectural headpiece or debating Willow’s outfit choice; they’re participating in exactly the conversations as designed.
Other Notable Moments โ Cultural Undercurrents Worth Watching
Beyond the headline-grabbing moments, there were several quieter but equally significant moments. Will Smith’s return to awards shows came through a heartfelt tribute to Quincy Jones, marking a graceful re-entry into the spotlight after he smacked the life out of Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards, demonstrating the power of the three-year pause.
Meanwhile, the power of local storytelling was found at the start of the night, despite some of the flack: opening with Dawes, a modest LA folk band, was not just about the music, but rather, was about making a massive industry event feel intimately human. Instead of leading with megastars, they chose local artists who lost their homes in the wildfires, then surrounded them with music’s biggest names. It’s a brilliant storytelling move by the Grammys. Sometimes, your most powerful storytellers aren’t your biggest stars. They’re the ones who make your audience feel something real, whether that’s empathy or the comfort of knowing even icons have their awkward moments.
Speaking of icons having their awkward moments, Diana Ross’s teleprompter struggles reminded everyone that even legends need media training. It’s 2025, and somehow, teleprompter reading remains the great equalizer of the entertainment world. For brands and talent managers, it’s a gentle reminder that even your most seasoned performers might need a refresher on the basics. Authenticity is great, but maybe not when announcing Album of the Year.
Later, the tender moment between Taylor Swift and Blue Ivy after Beyoncรฉ’s win sparked conversations about generational influence in music. Meanwhile, a reporter’s dismissive treatment of Babyface, who laid the foundation and still influences modern R&B, went viral, leading to a public apology within hours. It’s a nice reminder for brands from an industry obsessed with what’s next: there’s still a cost to forgetting the foundation.
These moments might not generate the same viral heat as castle hats or surprise wins, but they’re equally valuable indicators of where culture is heading. The next 48 hours will determine which brands own these moments and which are just watching them.
Who’s paying attention?
