At the 67th Annual Grammy Awards on February 2, 2025, Will Smith introduced a musical tribute to Quincy Jones, while Stevie Wonder, Janelle Monáe and other artists performed a medley of songs tied to Jones’s career. Smith presented and spoke about Jones; he did not sing in the medley.
When and where the tribute took place
The 67th Annual Grammy Awards were held on Sunday, February 2, 2025, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, with Trevor Noah as host. The Recording Academy’s announcement listed the Quincy Jones tribute as a special segment. It was distinct from the ceremony’s separate In Memoriam and Los Angeles salute.
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Jones had died on November 3, 2024, aged 91, according to the Academy’s recap.
Who introduced and performed in the tribute
Will Smith introduced the segment and shared a remembrance of Jones. The performers named by the Recording Academy included Stevie Wonder, Janelle Monáe, Herbie Hancock, Cynthia Erivo, Lainey Wilson and Jacob Collier. The Academy’s post-event report also confirms Wonder’s performance with a student choir.
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Which songs were performed, and how they connect to Jones
| Song | Performers in the tribute | Connection to Jones |
|---|---|---|
| “Fly Me to the Moon” | Cynthia Erivo and Herbie Hancock | The Academy says Jones famously arranged the song for Frank Sinatra’s 1964 rendition with Count Basie. |
| “Let the Good Times Roll” | Lainey Wilson with Jacob Collier and a live band | The Academy recap includes the performance in the medley but does not specify a separate Jones connection for this song. |
| “Bluesette” | Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder | The Academy recap includes it among the tribute performances without giving a separate song-specific connection to Jones. |
| “We Are the World” | Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder, with a student choir | The Academy’s post-event report confirms the student choir’s participation; the recap does not identify a further song-specific connection. |
| “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough” | Janelle Monáe | The Academy connects the Michael Jackson song to Jones’s working relationship with Jackson. |
The sequence moved from Erivo and Hancock’s “Fly Me to the Moon” to Wilson, Collier and a live band on “Let the Good Times Roll.” Hancock and Wonder followed with “Bluesette” and “We Are the World,” then Monáe closed with “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough.”
What Will Smith said about Jones
Smith’s remarks focused on Jones’s generosity and influence. The Academy recap quotes him saying, “Quincy Jones always took care of people,” and, “Quincy taught us all that life is a feast, and you don’t stop ‘til you get enough.”
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What the tribute represented of Jones’s career
The medley sampled selected songs and collaborations rather than attempting a full survey of Jones’s career. The Academy’s recap says Jones brought Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and Bono together to cover “You’ve Got It Bad Girl” on his 1995 album Q’s Jook Joint, another example of the range of collaborators associated with his work.
The same Academy recap reports that Jones received 80 Grammy nominations and won 28. It credits him with three Producer of the Year wins, two Album of the Year wins and two Record of the Year wins. The Academy also says he received the Grammy Trustees Award in 1989 and the Grammy Legend Award in 1991.
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The Recording Academy’s contemporaneous viewing guide said the 2025 ceremony aired on CBS and was available live and on demand on Paramount+ at the time. That historical listing does not establish whether the tribute or full ceremony remains available to stream now.
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