The Recording Academy, which dramatically retooled the run-up to the Grammys amid the Los Angeles-area wildfires and transformed Sunday’s ceremony into a tribute to victims and firefighters, has raised more than $24 million from those efforts, Variety reported. The Trevor Noah-hosted telecast alone raised $9 million.
While there was debate over whether the Grammys would even happen amid the fires, which killed 29 people and destroyed more than 15,000 homes, the Recording Academy decided to have the ceremony go on as scheduled. However, the organization did scale back Grammy Week, limiting it to the MusiCares Persons of the Year Charity Gala honoring the Grateful Dead on Jan. 31, the Special Merit Awards Ceremony and Grammy nominees reception on Feb. 1, Clive Davis and the Recording Academy’s pre-Grammy fundraising event on Feb. 1, and the Grammys main event on Feb. 2.
Throughout Grammy night, Noah prompted both attendees and viewers to donate to the MusiCares fire relief portal (which is still accepting donations at musicares.org/firerelief). The ceremony featured segments and video packages highlighting the residents, students, and business owners who lost everything in the fires. The California rock band Dawes were among those whose homes burned down. Still, they nevertheless took part in raising money for others by performing Randy Newman‘s classic song “I Love L.A.” with accompaniment from musicians St. Vincent, Sheryl Crow, Brad Paisley, Brittany Howard, and John Legend; Dawes subsequently released “I Love L.A.” as a charity single with proceeds going to MusiCares fire relief.
The ceremony also included an emotional performance by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, who sang “California Dreamin’” together before winning a Grammy for their duet “Die With a Smile.” The show ended with special guest presenters: members of the Los Angeles Fire Department, including Fire Chief Anthony Marrone, who said, “I am confident we will recover and rebuild together. Because we are L.A. strong!” before giving the Album of the Year prize to Beyoncé for Cowboy Carter, her first win in the category on her fifth try.
The Grammys came just a few days after the epic FireAid benefit concert on Jan. 30, which also featured a performance by Dawes as well as a plethora of stars, including Billie Eilish, Gracie Abrams, Green Day, Joni Mitchell, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. That six-hour event raised $60 million from sponsorships and ticket sales at the Intuit Dome and Kia Forum. Altogether, FireAid collected about $100 million, including merchandise sales and donations from the public including private gifts from the Azoff family, the Eagles, Andrew Hauptman and Ellen Bronfman Hauptman, and U2. Steve Ballmer and Connie Ballmer matched every pledge made during the broadcast and VOD viewing of FireAid. With fundraising still ongoing, there’s no shortage of love for Los Angeles when all is said and done.