Philadelphia artists won big at the Grammy Awards on Sunday. Bassist Christian McBride, rock producer Will Yip, and songwriter Andre “Dre” Harris took home trophies in the ceremony that preceded the prime-time telecast from the crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
The four major awards were won by four different artists. A week ahead of his Super Bowl half-time performance, Bad Bunny won album of the year for Debí tirar más fotos, the first Spanish-language album to ever win the award.
Kendrick Lamar and SZA won record of the year for their Luther Vandross-inspired smash hit “Luther,” and Lamar also won best rap album for GNX, and three other Grammys.
Billie Eilish and her songwriting partner Finneas O’Connell won song of year — a writer’s award — for “Widlflower” from her album Hit Me Hard and Soft. British pop-soul singer Olivia Dean beat out nine competitors for best new artist including worthy rivals, such as Leon Thomas and Lola Young, who won best pop vocal performance for “Messy.”
Jazzman McBride won in two of the three categories he was nominated in. The Southwest Philly native won for best jazz performance for Windows (Live), his collaboration with Brian Blade and the late pianist Chick Corea. He also won the best jazz ensemble album Grammy for Without Further Ado, Vol. 1, credited to Christian McBride Big Band.
“It is such an honor to have been in Chick Corea’s orbit for over 25 years,” McBride said in accepting the award for Windows (Live). “I was very honored to witness his legacy of excellence and greatness, watching this man play the piano like no one else did, night after night.”
Sunday’s two wins bring McBride’s Grammy total to 11.
Yip won his first Grammy for his production work on Never Enough, the 2025 album by Baltimore band Turnstile, which won best rock album. Onstage at the Peacock Theater in the ceremony that was streamed on grammy.com, Turnstile frontman Brendan Yates said: “The community we found through punk and hardcore music has given us a safe place to swing in the dark and land somewhere beautiful.”
“It’s surreal. Rock album of the year!!! We all came up from … literally out of basements. To this?! It’s just a testament to what our community can do. Amazing, man,” Yip said in a text message to The Inquirer, after his Grammy win. He had been nominated twice before, in 2014, and recently opened his new Memory Music Studios in South Philly.
Turnstile also won for best metal performance for the Never Enough song “Birds.”
Songwriter and producer Harris won as one of seven writers who teamed to write Kehlani’s smash hit “Folded,” which won for best R&B song. The song also won a best R&B performance Grammy.
Kehlani shouted out Harris in accepting that award. She was one of several winners who spoke in support of immigrants’ protest of the Trump administration’s policies. She, however, was the only one to do so by directing an expletive at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency of the Department of Homeland Security.
Jazz singer Samara Joy, who grew up in New York but is part of a Philly gospel music family, is once again a Grammy winner. The 26-year-old vocalist won her sixth trophy for Portrait, 2025’s best jazz vocal album.
Camden gospel bandleader Tye Tribbett, the Philadelphia Orchestra and its leader Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Sun Ra Arkestra, the Crossing choir, UPenn grad John Legend, and jazz trumpeter Immanuel Wilkins were all up for awards in the early Grammy ceremony but went home empty-handed.
Bucks County pop singer Sabrina Carpenter was the Philly region’s big hitter with six nominations. She pulled nods in three of the four major categories, with Man’s Best Friend up for best album and “Manchild” nominated for both record and song of the year.
Amy Allen won the best songwriter, nonclassical award for the second year in a row for her cowriting credits with several artists, including two by Carpenter in “Manchild” and “Tears.”
Carpenter, however, was shut out in all of the categories she was nominated in, though she still came away as a winner for her prominent performance slot, with an early in the show airline and baggage claim themed “Manchild” production number in which she pulled a live dove out of her cap and flew away on the friendly skies.
Both Philly soul singer Bilal and John Legend were part of the star-studded in memoriam segment tribute to D’Angelo and Roberta Flack that was led by Ms. Lauryn Hill.
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