Kendrick Lamar is the cutest muffin (and other Grammys thoughts)

Hi Swifties,

Welcome to the Grammys look-back edition of Taypedia 🫶

On Sunday night, we watched the 67th Grammys and they did not disappoint. Sure, the nearly 4-hour (🫠) program ran well past this Senior Swiftie’s bedtime, but it was so worth it to watch Taylor and all the girlies* truly living their best lives.

*Yes, I’m qualifying Kendrick as a Girlie and won’t be taking further questions 💅.

Here are some of the standout moments (and questions) we can’t stop thinking about from this year’s Grammys.

In today’s issue:

🤔 How did Sabrina qualify for the Best New Artist category?

🔥 What’s the story behind Chappell’s iconic acceptance speech?

😍 Who, and I cannot stress this enough, the f*ck is Doechii and why have I never heard of her?

 🥹 Kendrick! You’re so cute.

🫶 Our favorite Tay pics from the night.

Your friendly Taypedia founder,

Krista

🤔 How was Sabrina Carpenter eligible for Best New Artist?

Even though she didn’t snag the award, Sabrina Carpenter won Best New Artist in my heart 🥹. And while I know how she’s eligible for that (is so cute, etc), I could not stop thinking about how she was nominated for Best New Artist despite having six studio albums under her belt.

Turns out, the Academy plays it fast and loose with the definition of “new” for the Best New Artist category.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Harvey Mason Jr., the CEO of the Recording Academy, said that the Best New Artist category is less about a musician's newness and more about their rise to fame. "For me, what it comes down to is when an artist rises to national or international prominence," he said. "It could be their first record, it could be their sixth record. To me, this feels like a time when our best new artists have broken through and become nationally prominent and are doing amazing work."

Hilariously, while digging into this, I found that none of the Best New Artist nominees were actually New™️. Here’s when our BNA nominees each released their first album/EP:

• Sabrina Carpenter: 2015

• Benson Boone: 2022

• Doechii: 2019

• Chappell Roan: 2017

• Khruangbin: 2015

• Raye: 2014

• Shaboozy: 2018

• Teddy Swims: 2021

PS. Congrats Chappell 🎉

Speaking of Chappell…

🔥 What’s the story behind Chappell’s iconic acceptance speech?

"Labels, we got you, but do you got us?"

In Chappell’s now-iconic acceptance speech for Best New Artist, she calls on labels and the music industry at large to help support their budding (often struggling) new artists with livable wages and healthcare.

"I told myself that if I ever won a Grammy and got to stand up here before the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels in the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and health care, especially developing artists," she said.

"I got signed so young, I got signed as a minor," she continued. "When I got dropped, I had zero job experience under my belt, and like most people, I had quite a difficult time finding a job in the pandemic and [could not] afford insurance."

If you’re like me, you had no idea this happened to Chappell. So, what’s the story?

Chappell released her debut EP with Atlantic Records in 2017 alongside producer Dan Nigro. Apparently, Atlantic wasn’t super thrilled with her lack of commercial success and even opposed the release of "Pink Pony Club” in 2020.

In August 2020, Atlantic dropped a then 22-year-old Chappell, the same week she broke up with her boyfriend of four years (🫠🫠🫠🫠). Once dropped, she moved back to Missouri to live with her parents until heading back to L.A. in 2022.

She continued working on her music independently, but eventually reconnected with Dan in 2022, who then signed her to his own label, Amusement Records. And the rest is history a femininomenon ✨

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😍 I heart Doechii

Probably my biggest Grammys takeaway is that I have been seriously sleeping on Doechii. While I’ve been bumping “DENIAL IS A RIVER” for a minute, she blew me away with her performance Sunday night. And I’m not the only one — Billboard ranked hers the #1 Grammys performance of 2025.

Here’s a quick rundown on Doechii in case you too have been asleep:

• Originally from Tampa, Flordia (hence the self-proclaimed nickname “Swamp Princess”).

• Released her first mixtape, Coven Music Session, Vol. 1, in 2019.

• Saw her first major success when her 2020 single “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake” went viral on TikTok.

• Became the first female rapper to sign a record deal with LA-based label Top Dawg Entertainment in 2021.

• Released her most recent mixtape, Alligator Bites Never Heal, in 2024.

🥹 Whomst gave Kenrick Lamar the right?

To be so cute???

A denim-clad Kendrick Lamar cleaned UP on Sunday night, taking home five wins:

• Record of the year: "Not Like Us"

• Song of the year: "Not Like Us"

• Best music video: "Not Like Us"

• Best rap song: "Not Like Us"

• Best rap performance: "Not Like Us"

I had no idea that in addition to being an industry titan, he was also a tiny muffin boy. A babygirl if I ever saw one.

🫶 And because we’re Taypedia, here are our favorite “Taylor’s Serving” pics from Sunday

Enjoy 😌