The 67th Grammy Awards ceremony took place on February 2, 2025, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. It was a big night for music, with artists across different genres getting recognized and taking home the prestigious award. Among the winners were The Beatles, as they added another Grammy to their collection.
Their song, ‘Now and Then,’ beat songs by The Black Keys, Green Day, IDLES, Pearl Jam, and St. Vincent to win the Best Rock Performance category. This victory brought their total Grammy count to 30, including special honors and Hall of Fame awards.
The Beatles’ song that won the Grammys was AI-assisted – and people think it shouldn’t have won
John Lennon originally wrote and recorded “Now and Then” in 1977. After his passing, Yoko Ono gave the demo to the remaining Beatles, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. They tried to complete it in 1995 but struggled because the technology at the time could not separate Lennon’s voice from the piano.
Due to this reason, they abandoned the project until decades later, as new AI-powered technology now makes it possible to extract Lennon’s vocals clearly. Paul and Ringo finally finished the song, making “Now and Then” a posthumous Beatles track.
Fans react to The Beatles’ new Grammy Award
Reactions to The Beatles’ win have not been joyful across the board because some critics feel uneasy about AI being involved. I don’t know. I do not agree with this, I think it’s unfair,” someone admitted, while another protested against making AI-generated music a norm in the music industry. “The beginning of a new era— the AI-assisted songs will only grow from this moment forward,” a third opinion read.
Others defended The Beatles, saying those against AI are too quick with their reactions. “The amount of people in these comments that don’t understand that it’s not an AI song and was, in fact, written and sung by The Beatles,” a fan pointed out. Some were simply proud of The Beatles’ success despite being broken up for 55 years. “If this doesn’t prove they’re the greatest band of all time, I don’t know what does,” they quipped.