Few award shows have the star power to keep artists and fans holding their breath months before the big night–but the Grammys? They’ve aced the art of anticipation.
With a whopping 94 categories, the 2025 Grammys have already nailed down their top picks in prestigious categories like Album of the Year and Best New Artist. With no shortage of excellence and innovation in the industry, this year’s crowning process is certain to be competitive and unpredictable as always, with countless artists contesting for recognition for their latest work. The Grammys often face an annual ambush of scrutiny from both fans and artists who feel their submissions were snubbed of nominations. While most award shows only provide merit to their winners, the Grammys have always been different—even just snagging a nomination in a subcategory earns you warranted bragging rights.
That said, due to the near triple-digit stack of categories, all brackets are not created equal. Plenty of the categories aren’t even televised on the big night. While any Grammy win is one to write home about, certain categories are particularly prestigious—and often the most controversial. Album of the Year (AOTY), Song of the Year (SOTY), Record of the Year (ROTY), and Best New Artist, are frequently among the most topical, but naturally, other categories will occasionally ruffle the feathers of dedicated cynics.
The 67th annual Grammys is already setting the precedent for an unforgettable, headline worthy night. However, with such stacked categories, chaos is inevitable when the night ends with the majority of nominees going home, empty handed. Already, the Grammys have faced brutal, yet valid criticism for their perceived snubs and apparent grudges toward individual artists. Beyonce, the most decorated Grammy artist of all time has even shown her distaste for the Recording Academy’s missteps. Despite having 32 notches on her Grammy belt, she has yet to win Album of the Year, a widely recognized misfortune for her undeniable impact on the music industry. Backlash was especially intense in 2015, when the Academy awarded Adele with AOTY, rather than Beyonce for her critically acclaimed album, “Lemonade”, an experimental record, flared with a rare sense of rawness and vulnerability. Adele, herself even protested against her own win, considering herself undeserving. “I can’t possibly accept this award. And I’m very humbled, and I’m very grateful and gracious, but my artist of my life is Beyoncé.”
Once again, Beyonce faces another potential AOTY loss, this time for her 2024 album, “Cowboy Carter”. Despite mixed reception from critics on the album, another defeat would likely lead to widespread objection, both towards the Academy, and whichever innocent artist wins the Gramophone. Grievances toward the Grammy’s internal voting process aren’t exclusive to just public aftermath. Occasionally, artists make public callouts during acceptance speeches, or even red carpet appearances. At last year’s ceremony, Beyonce’s husband and fellow musician, Jay-Z, stood up to the Academy, and their hesitance to award Beyonce with AOTY. Turning to his wife, Jay-Z adds to his lengthy speech: “I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than anyone and never won album of the year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work.” Jay-Z’s critical remarks towards the Grammys sparked mixed reactions, with some praising the brave opposition and others labeling the callout as inappropriate and ungrateful.
While Beyonce’s fans may be bracing for another round of drama, there’s still plenty to look forward to at the 2025 Grammys. After all, their icon remains the most nominated and awarded artist in Grammy history, and this year she leads the charge, garnering 11 total nominations for her latest album, “Cowboy Carter” and its respective singles. Joining Beyonce in the tense competition for Album of the Year is Taylor Swift for “THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT”, Billie Eilish for “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT”, Sabrina Carpenter for “Short n’ Sweet”, Charli xcx for “BRAT”, Chappell Roan for “The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess”, Jacob Collier for “Djesse Vol. 4”, and André 3000 for “New Blue Sun”.
Majority of these nominations went over smoothly with listeners. After all, it is the year of the pop princess. However, a few (particularly the last two nominees) sparked significant pushback from audiences who felt that other albums were more deserving. Fans were disappointed to see Ariana Grande’s 2024 concept album, “eternal sunshine” overlooked for AOTY. Grande’s turnout for nominations is stronger than in previous years though, with nods for Pop Vocal Album, Best Dance Pop Recording, and Pop Duo/Group Performance. Fans of Grande speculate that her 2019 callout of Grammys producer, Ken Ehrlich has caused the Recording Academy to hold a grudge against her. After Ariana’s absence at the 2019 ceremony, Ehrlich told the Associated Press that they had initially planned for her to perform but ultimately “felt it was too late for her to pull something together”. In response, Ariana released a series of tweets, clapping back. “I’ve kept my mouth shut, but now you’re lying about me… i can pull together a performance overnight and you know that, Ken. it was when my creativity & self expression was stifled by you, that i decided not to attend”, she continues. “I hope the show is exactly what you want it to be and more.” It appears her future as a singer may be more promising in Oz, rather than at the Recording Academy.
Only five artists find themselves nominated in all three major categories. (Record, Song, and Album of the Year) Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, and Sabrina Carpenter stand out as the biggest names to keep an eye out for. For both Roan and Carpenter, recognition in Best New Artist gives them a chance at making history–if either wins all four categories, they’d become only the second artist in Grammy history to pull off such a streak, following Billie Eilish’s controversial yet historic sweep in 2020. Additionally, Charli XCX, Post Malone, and Kendrick Lamar earned two nominations in the major categories, confirming their ongoing rise in the industry.
This year’s Record of the Year category has sparked its own share of tension. Beyonce’s, “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” is facing off against Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us”, a hit diss-track on Drake. Both nominations, despite being an awkward place to pit friends against each other, were well received by the public, acknowledging the impact and rounds that both songs made both on the radio, and personal playlists. Unfortunately for the Beatles, their nomination for “Now and Then” didn’t quite elicit the same response. Scrutiny towards the record was immediate, as critics quickly identified the assistance of AI in production, sparking mass discourse on the ethics of AI in song making. Technically, the Beatles hold the record for ‘the first ever AI-assisted song to be nominated for a Grammy’—begging the question: is ‘making history’ always worth celebrating…?
The 2025 Grammys are already cultivating into a pivotal event, especially for women in music. But of course, male nominees also have their due recognition. When it comes to Best New Artist, three men immediately come to mind for their unprecedented breakout into the industry. Shaboozey, Teddy Swims, and Benson Boone all snagged nominations, likely due to the success of their recent hits. Teddy Swims, most known for “Lose Control” and Benson Boone, recognized for hit song, “Beautiful Things”. Shaboozey, in particular, is stacking up nominations not only for Best New Artist, but also for Best Country Song, Best Country Solo Performance, and Best Remixed Recording for the David Guetta remix of “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”. His collaboration with Beyoncé and Linda Martell on “SPAGHETTII” also earned him a nomination for Best Melodic Rap Performance.
Of course, the Grammys have sparked much discussion over the artists who were notably absent from this year’s nominations. Dua Lipa, a typical Grammy sweetheart, received zero nominations for her latest album “Radical Optimism”, a move that some critics supported, arguing that her peak came in 2020, with “Future Nostalgia”. Her fans however are left questioning how she was shut out of all seven categories she submitted herself for. Similarly, alternative singer, Hozier, broke out into the mainstream this year with smash hit, “Too Sweet”, and yet he also found himself snubbed. And perhaps the gatekeeper of snubs granted access to Megan Thee Stallion, despite her first-ever solo Hot 100 No. 1 hit,“Hiss”.
With just a few months left until the 2025 Grammys, the suspense continues to build–and as always, so does the nuanced discourse and hot takes. Who will take home the esteemed Gramophones, and who will be left in the dust?
Catch the 67th annual Grammys live on Sunday, February 2, 2025, on CBS. The ceremony will air from 8–11:30 PM ET, with red carpet arrivals starting at 6pm.
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Full List of Nominations for Main Categories:
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 – Chappell Roan
THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT – Taylor Swift
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
SONG OF THE YEAR:
A Bar Song (Tipsy) – Shaboozey
BIRDS OF A FEATHER – Billie Eilish
Die With A Smile – Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars
Fortnight – Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone
Good Luck, Babe! – Chappell Roan
Not Like Us – Kendrick Lamar
Please Please Please – Sabrina Carpenter
TEXAS HOLD ‘EM – Beyonce
BEST NEW ARTIST:
Benson Boone
Sabrina Carpenter
Doechii
Khruangbin
RAYE
Chappell Roan
Shaboozey
Teddy Swims
Sources:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jay-z-grammys-speech-beyonce-snub-album-of-the-year/
Photo Credits:
Adele/Beyonce Photos – John Shearer / Lester Cohen
Benson Boone Photo – Dennis Leupold
Teddy Swims Photo – Joseph Cultice
Shaboozey Photo – Daniel Prakopcyk / Courtesy of EMPIRE
Beyonce (Cowboy Carter) Photo – Blair Caldwell
Andre 3000 Photo – Epic Records
Taylor Swift Photo – Beth Garrabrant
Jacob Collier Photo – Dustin Yellin
Sabrina Carpenter Photo – Island Records
Billie Eilish Photo – William Drumm
Chappell Roan Photo – Ryan Lee Clemens
Charli xcx Photo – Brent David Freane