The 2025 Grammy Nominations

A couple of weeks ago, The Recording Academy announced the 2025 Grammy nominees. I wanted to go over some of the big categories and tell you what I think about the nominations.

Image owned by The Recording Academy

>> Record Of The Year <<

"Now and Then" - The Beatles "TEXAS HOLD 'EM" –  Beyoncé

"Espresso" – Sabrina Carpenter "360" – Charli xcx

"BIRDS OF A FEATHER" – Billie Eilish "Not Like Us" – Kendrick Lamar

"Good Luck, Babe!" –  Chappell Roan "Fortnight" – Taylor Swift Featuring

Post Malone

The Record Of The Year category is basically about awarding everyone who went into making a song. This includes the artist themselves, producer/s, audio engineer/s, etc. All of these nominations were unsurprising except for The Beatles being a little bit of a curveball, I honestly didn't even know they put out any music this year. Regardless, I don't think any of these choices are undeserving of a nomination. Some have said that Beyoncé shouldn't have been in this category, but I disagree. I've heard people say that song is annoying and overplayed (and while that may have some truth to it), I don't think that makes it undeserving of being nominated. In fact, I think the song's ability to stay relevant for so long kind of proves that everyone who had a hand in this song knew how to make it such a hit. I think this one could likely go to Sabrina, Billie, or Chappell. Overall, I don't think the list of songs here was as offensive as it could have been and am pretty happy with how it turned out this year.

>> Album Of The Year <<

New Blue Sun – André 3000 COWBOY CARTER – Beyoncé

Short n' Sweet – Sabrina Carpenter BRAT – Charli xcx

Djesse Vol. 4 – Jacob Collier HIT ME HARD AND SOFT – Billie Eilish

The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT

– Chappell Roan – Taylor Swift

Everyone knows that the Album Of The Year is basically the most important award at the Grammy's. And honestly, these nominees kind of shocked me. There were some that were unsurprising, such as Cowboy Carter, Brat, Hit Me Hard and Soft, and The Tortured Poets Department. I wasn't sure if Short n' Sweet would make the cut given that it's a fairly simple pop record, but I'm glad Sabrina is finally getting her flowers as someone who liked some of her last album Emails I Can't Send. As for Chappell Roan's nomination, I am so happy she's getting recognition for such a good album, but I totally thought that the Grammy's would be hesitant to give her a spot since there were a lot of releases from big names this year and she's still a relatively new name. To see New Blue Sun was shocking but also not really because the Recording Academy sometimes loves it when artists divert their expectations. And Andre 3000 doing an album that mostly focuses on ambience is just the kind of unexpected release they would give a nomination to. As for Jacob Collier's album, that was a real surprise to me. I thought it was alright, but I feel like there were better albums that came out this year that might have deserved the spot a bit more. To not see Eternal Sunshine by Ariana Grande on this list was kind of a shock, and prior to the list coming out, I was pretty certain it would be nominated, and for good reason. But no, I guess the recording academy didn't understand the album like me and so many others did... oh well. As for the elephant in the room, will Taylor take this award again for the second year in a row? I kind of doubt it. Not that winning 2 years in a row is impossible, but I feel like the Recording Academy isn't as willing to do that. I do personally believe that The Tortured Poets Department is a good album, but I felt it was too polarizing in order to become a highlight for some non-swifties. I could see either Beyoncé, Billie, or Charli getting this award. Regardless, it's definitely going to be interesting to see who actually takes it home!

Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer for Getty Images

>> Song Of The Year <<

"A Bar Song (Tipsy)"  — Shaboozey "BIRDS OF A FEATHER" — Billie Eilish

"Die With A Smile" — Lady Gaga "Fortnight"  — Taylor Swift Featuring

& Bruno Mars Post Malone

"Good Luck, Babe!"  — Chappell Roan "Not Like Us" — Kendrick Lamar

"Please Please Please" — Sabrina Carpenter "TEXAS HOLD 'EM" — Beyoncé

Another important category, Song Of The Year, is awarded to any of the writers of these songs (some artists had extra writers that were not included above in order to save space!). Again, pretty unsurprising and expected. That is what I would have said: A Bar Song didn't make this list. I'm sorry, I cannot stand this song. I don't think it's clever or even funny; in fact, I find it pretty monotonous and boring. And I know I am not the only person who feels that way. This song has plagued radio stations across America since it was released all the way back in April and is still being relentlessly played to this day. To see it nominated for an award that is supposed to be for good songwriting is especially strange, considering the songs it's up against. Even Texas Hold 'Em is running circles around A Bar Song, and Texas Hold 'Em isn't even necessarily my favorite Beyoncé song. As for the rest of these nominations, I think they are pretty deserving. I have seen some complaining about Fortnight making this list, but to that I say, what did you really expect? Also, I do believe the song is well written, albeit the point of view of the song is confusing. Overall not a horrible list, but maybe we could have picked a better song over A Bar Song?

>> Best New Artist <<

Benson Boone Sabrina Carpenter

Doechii Khruangbin

Raye Chappell Roan

Shaboozey Teddy Swims

This category has some real competition this year. I don't really have much to say other than I believe it should go to Sabrina or Chappell, especially after both having a very successful year. Which one it should go to is hard to say, as Best New Artist is more about artistry and cultural impact. While Sabrina has gained way more popularity, I feel as though Chappell's music has more artistic intent behind it that needs to be considered. That's not to say Chappell didn't get popular enough or that Sabrina's music doesn't have enough depth. I just think the two both have an equally good chance of winning. If they wanna throw a curveball at us, I could also see Benson Boone or Doechii winning, as they both also had a good breakthrough in the last year. Overall though, I would be most satisfied with either Chappell or Sabrina winning. I guess we will have to wait and see who gets this one.

Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez for Getty Images

>> Other Categories <<

The next categories are smaller than the ones above, so I don't have enough opinions about the nominations so I'll just list some of the ones I will be looking forward to and underline my prediction of who will win.

>> Best Pop Solo Performance <<

"BODYGUARD" — Beyoncé "Espresso" — Sabrina Carpenter

"Apple" — Charli xcx "BIRDS OF A FEATHER" — Billie Eilish

"Good Luck, Babe!" — Chappell Roan

>> Best Pop Duo/Group Performance <<

"us." — Gracie Abrams "LEVII'S JEANS" — Beyoncé

Featuring Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone

"Guess" — Charli xcx "the boy is mine" — Ariana Grande,

& Billie Eilish Brandy & Monica

"Die With A Smile" — Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars

>> Best Pop Vocal Album <<

Short n' Sweet — Sabrina Carpenter HIT ME HARD AND SOFT — Billie Eilish

eternal sunshine — Ariana Grande The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess

— Chappell Roan

THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT — Taylor Swift

>> Best Dance Pop Recording <<

"Make You Mine" — Madison Beer "Von Dutch" — Charli xcx

"L’AMOUR DE MA VIE "yes, and?" — Ariana Grande

[OVER NOW EXTENDED EDIT]" "Got Me Started" — Troye Sivan

— Billie Eilish

>> Best Dance/Electronic Album <<

BRAT — Charli xcx Three — Four Tet

Hyperdrama — Justice TIMELESS — KAYTRANADA

Telos — Zedd

>> Final Thoughts <<

I think that's enough nomination categories for today! 2024 was a great year for music, so I am very excited to see some of my favorite artists and songs/albums on some of these nominations. The Recording Academy did a decent job this year of picking out their nominations, in my opinion (except I would have liked to see Imaginal Disk by Magdalena Bay somewhere on their roster...). Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope that everyone is just as excited for the Grammy's as I am! Please tell me you are... don't make me look crazy all by myself.

Thanks for reading!

~ Joey

:))