Canadian Musicians Made a Major Impact at the 2025 Grammys

This year's Grammys were no snooze, with Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar scoring historic wins while pop breakthroughs sizzled on stage.

Canadians loomed large at the event — even some who weren't actually there in person — heading into it with many nominations for songwriting and producing. Here are the best Canadian moments from the ceremony:

The Weeknd Ends His Grammy Boycott

In 2021, The Weeknd famously announced he would no longer submit to the Grammys, after he was snubbed for his 2020 hit album After Hours. He called out a lack of transparency in the voting process, among other structural issues.

Four years later, the Recording Academy has made some major changes. CEO Harvey Mason Jr. took the stage last night to emphasize efforts in modernizing and diversifying The Grammys — 66% of Recording Academy members are new, and membership is now 40% people of colour.

To symbolize how far the Grammys have come, Mason Jr. welcomed back The Weeknd to the stage for a surprise return performance. Hot on the heels of releasing his long-awaited Hurry Up Tomorrow, The Weeknd performed new songs "Cry For Me" and "Timeless," with special guest Playboi Carti and plenty of backup dancers giving sleek and sinister choreography. It was a formidable and slightly unnerving comeback, in true Weeknd style.

Beyoncé Finally Wins the Big One, with Help from Canadian Songwriters

The most-decorated Grammy-winner of all time finally scored her white whale. Beyoncé, who holds 35 wins and 99 career nominations, had been denied album of the year four times before, losing to Taylor Swift in 2010, Beck in 2015, Adele in 2020 and Harry Styles in 2023. Each of those losses was for a culture-shaking album, from I Am...Sasha Fierce to her self-titled record, to Lemonade and Renaissance.

This year, Beyoncé took home album of the year for her country record Cowboy Carter, also winning best country album. It was a historic win for Billboard's greatest pop star of the 21st century, recognizing her for an album that honours the contributions of Black musicians to country as well as blurring the lines between country, pop, dance and R&B. (Not to mention, she seemed genuinely surprised by the country album win, in a reaction that has already been meme'd — a rare moment of fluster from Queen Bey).

Cowboy featured some major Canadian contributions — songwriting team Nate Ferraro, Bulow and Lowell (who also won the inaugural Billboard Canada Non-Performing Songwriter Award) wrote the album's lead single "Texas Hold 'Em" while Dave Hamelin of The Stills co-wrote and produced a half-dozen songs. For his work, Hamelin will also receive an album of the year Grammy.

Another Canadian songwriter did well in a different category — Toronto's Scott Zhang picked up a win in best R&B song for his work on SZA's "Saturn." Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin was the other big Canadian winner of the night, taking home best compilation soundtrack for his work on Bradley Cooper's Maestro.

Spiritbox Has a Viral Red Carpet Moment

Victoria, B.C. metal band Spiritbox were nominated for Best Metal Performance for the second straight year. Their song "Cellar Door" didn't pick up the Grammy win, but they did score a meme-worthy moment on the red carpet. When an interviewer mistook lead singer Courtney LaPlante for fellow scream/singer Poppy, she just went with it.

“I am Poppy, and I am really happy to be here, nominated with Knocked Loose,” LaPlante deadpanned. “I really hope we win.”

It didn't end there, as the interviewer continued to ask her questions about Poppy and she continued to answer as Poppy. "I would be the first woman to win this award,” she said. “I actually haven’t looked at [how many women have been nominated previously] but I just always know that it’s time for one of us to win. I hope it’s me, or Spiritbox and Courtney.”

Kendrick Lamar Dons a Canadian Tuxedo to Accept Awards for "Not Like Us"

Drake may not have been in the room at the Grammys, but he played a major role nonetheless as muse for Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us." The diss track picked up two of the night's biggest awards — record of the year and song of the year — and Lamar accepted them in full denim-on-denim, otherwise known as a Canadian tuxedo.

"Not Like Us" has become an L.A. anthem and Lamar dedicated the award to the city last night, which is facing terrible destruction from the recent wildfires. Lamar's wins marked his first in the "big four" categories, and only the second time a rap song has won those categories, following Childish Gambino's 2019 wins for 'This Is America."

Drake, meanwhile, is suing Universal Music Group for defamation over the song, which dealt some serious blows to his reputation last year and crowned Lamar the winner of their rap beef. Drake has withdrawn a previous filing that accused UMG and Spotify of artificially inflating the song's streams. At the Grammys, at least, no fraud was needed — the room was thrilled to see Lamar win, singing along to the song as it played over the sound system.

Deborah Cox Kicks Off The Premiere Ceremony

Canadian singer and Broadway star Deborah Cox helped kick off the Premiere Ceremony, which takes place before the evening Grammy Awards. That ceremony is where the majority of awards are handed out, and Cox was nominated this year as part of the cast of Broadway musical The Wiz, up for best musical theater album.

Though the cast of Alicia Keys' Hell's Kitchen took home the award — Keys was also honoured during the evening ceremony with the Dr. Dre Global Impact Grammy — Cox and her Wiz co-star Wayne Brady opened up the Premiere Ceremony with a heartfelt rendition of "Bridge Over Troubled Water." Joined as well by Yolanda Adams, Taj Mahal, Scott Hoying, and Angélique Kidjo, they led a gospel-inflected version of the Simon & Garfunkel classic that set the tone for this year's Grammys as an occasion for the industry to come together and support victims of the L.A. wildfires.

Best New Artist Category Features Billboard Canadian Hot 100 Mainstays

Several Canadian favourites took the stage during the best new artist showcase, which allowed the strong group of nominees to show off their chops. Shaboozey brought out some line dancers for a rollicking "A Bar Song (Tipsy)," which saw him break the record for longest No. 1 on the Canadian Hot 100 last year.

The category was loaded with Billboard Canadian Hot 100 mainstays, with many appearing prominently on the year-end charts. Benson Boone, who also topped the charts in Canada with "Beautiful Things" in 2024, backflipped and belted his heart out in a blue jumpsuit from the Grammys stage. Raye, Doechii, and Teddy Swims also took part in the medley, while the rest of the category nominees — Khruangbin, Sabrina Carpenter, and Chappell Roan — were spotlighted throughout the show.

In a tough field, it was Chappell Roan who took home the award, following a mime-themed rodeo performance of her hit "Pink Pony Club." Roan, known for being outspoken, took the opportunity to deliver a heartfelt message to labels and industry members: provide artists with health care and a living wage. She earned cheers from the room as she gave one of the best speeches of the night, making her a best new artist with plans to stick around.