Grammy Nominations 2025: Snubs and Surprises

Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: WireImage (Joseph Okpako, Kevin Mazur), Dana Jacobs/FilmMagic

The Grammy nominations are here, with exactly zero regard for whether we can actually handle the more controversial results of another vote. At least this one leans a bit more progressive: The Academy’s years-long project to expand and diversify its membership appears to be paying off, with a younger and notably more female-heavy board this year (just don’t look at the rock categories). As always, there are still head-scratchers, like big nominations for the Beatles and Jacob Collier. But there’s also plenty to celebrate, including Beyoncé’s massive move and Charli XCX’s surprise show. Before the Academy goes back to the voting booth, let’s review some revelations and surprises.

We’ve come a long way from 2017, when the Grammys started “Daddy Lessons” from the country field. Beyoncé didn’t just get her first country nomination for Cowboy Cartershe appeared across the board, in Best Country Solo Performance (for “16 Carriages”), Best Country Duo/Group Performance (for “II Most Wanted” with Miley Cyrus), Best Country Song (for “Texas Hold’ Em”), and Best Country Album. She even got a nod for Best Americana Performance for “Ya Ya”! The Academy’s country voters have tended to be more progressive than the Nashville institutions that continue to reject Bey, so this isn’t revolutionary. But such widespread embrace is certainly a big win for her. And she didn’t even do that have to gladhand Nashville record execs to get there.

Beyoncé topped out with 11 nominations, a new record for her (and knocked her out of a tie with her own husband for the most Grammy nods ever, at 99). In addition to the country categories, she also appeared in pop and rap along with the generals. Her only miss was a surprise in Best R&B Song. The R&B field has always been generous to Beyoncé, even with her dance project Renaissance. But maybe Cowboy Carter just didn’t have the right song; her submission, “Tyrant,” feels like a stretch, with a fiddler loop and a Dolly Parton feature.

Before today, Charli xcx had been nominated for just two Grammys, both for Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy.” So while I expected her breakthrough Abrupt to be represented, I had my reservations about how much the Grammys would embrace her. Joke is on me. Charli received seven nods, second for most of the day, including album, record and song of the year. But if you really want to see how much the Academy bumped into it, look a little further down the ballot: “360” is up for Best Music Video, and AG Cook is up for Best Remixed Recording for “Von Dutch.” Abrupt even got a nod for Best Recording Package for the viral cover. These nominations can be bellwether of support across the academy’s departments – and can predict one Abrupt OOTY winter comes February.

The two biggest pop breakouts of 2024 showed up everywhere they were expected: All four major categories, along with Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album. That gives us very little clarity on who the best new artist frontrunner is. But as of today, I’m choosing Carpenter for two reasons. One, she was nominated for different songs in the record and song of the year – respectively “Espresso” and “Please Please Please”, which could be a sign that voters are a little more interested in her music. And two, Short n’ Sweet appeared in Best Engineered Album, perhaps earning her more respect among engineering voters. But this race won’t be decided for months.

Of the bizarre 2021 Grammy slate, Jacob Collier’s AOTY nom for Djesse Vol. 3 seemed the most shocking: Collier’s project had never even been on the Billboard 200. Turns out, that wasn’t a fluke. Collier is up to the same price, med Djesse Vol. 4the last part of his cerebral series. Collier also got a nod in the event categories for the sixth consecutive year. Call him your favorite musician’s favorite musician.

Congratulations to the Beatles for their first Record of the Year nomination since 1971. It’s a submission for “Now and Then,” the band’s supposedly final song, which John Lennon began writing in 1977 but couldn’t finish until now, with new audio restoration technology . I had my eyes on “Now and Then” sneaking in for Song of the Year, but Record of the Year might make more sense given its technical achievement.

How’s this for a comeback: Twenty-one years after winning Album of the Year for Outkast’s double opus Speakerboxxx/The Love BelowAndré 3000 is back in the running with his jazz flute album New blue sun. The Academy never cooled on Three Stacks, meanwhile — he picked up a couple of trophies last year for his feature on Killer Mike’s “Scientists & Engineers” — but it’s pretty impressive to see his embrace of a whole new wing of voters. (He’s also up for Best Alternative Jazz Album and Best Instrumental Composition.) Jazz voters recently flexing their muscles in the Generals, with awards to Jon Batiste and Samara Joy, means André 3000 could have a decent shot at another AOTY trophy .

Shaboozey’s runaway hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” was somehow snubbed for Record of the Year, usually the category that most reflects the charts. Still, the track still got some love in the Song of the Year mainstream category, a surprise to many who thought the Academy wouldn’t appreciate Shaboozey’s flip of J-Kwon’s rap hit “Tipsy.” (It’s more than deserved, as I’ve previously noted – such interpolation takes the ear off of a good songwriter!) It tops off a great day for Shaboozey – who also got requisite nods in the Best New Artist and Country fields, plus a Best Melodic Rap Performance nods along with Beyoncé and Linda Martell for “Spaghettii” — and for Jerrel Jones, aka J-Kwon, who earns his the first two Grammy nominations as well.

When Shaboozey put in a solid showing for “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” there just wasn’t room for one fourth new artist to crack the top categories. That hurt Benson Boone, who only earned one nomination, for Best New Artist, despite having one of the most streamed songs of the year.

Earlier this year, the Academy changed the criteria for Songwriter of the Year to make the award more open to artists who also write songs for other artists. No one benefited more than Raye, who got nods in both Best New Artist and Songwriter of the Year. Her writing portfolio includes three of her own songs along with the most random selection of works you’ve ever seen: Beyoncé’s “Riiverdance,” Jennifer Lopez’s “Dear Ben, Pt II,” and a Rita Ora number.

He still earned five nominations for his work with Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter. But after five consecutive nominations – and three consecutive wins – in Producer of the Year, the Academy is finally making room for others in that category.

At this point, Taylor Swift is a given in the Grammys’ top categories – and she cleaned up again with a nod in Album of the Year for The Ward of Tortured Poets and Record and Song of the Year for “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone. But down in the pop field, Swift actually underperformed. She missed out on Best Pop Solo Performance for “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,” which isn’t a total shock in such a competitive category. But “Fortnight” also missed out on best pop duo/group performance, which could be bad news for Swift’s record and song chances. Swift still got a nod for “us.” with Gracie Abrams, but what does it mean that voters chose that song over her own hit single?

Country singer-songwriter Megan Moroney was a heavily tipped choice ahead of this year’s nominations, thanks to her viral song “Tennessee Orange” and follow-up album am i ok Although she didn’t get a single nomination, somehow, thaw of her co-writers are up for songwriter of the year, for songs they wrote with Moroney. If voters liked those songs so much, why didn’t they have room for Moroney himself?

Exactly zero of the acts nominated for Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song or Best Rock Album are first-time nominees. Once again, rock voters stick with what they’re familiar with: Pearl Jam, Green Day, the Black Keys, St. Vincent and of course the Beatles and the Stones. Congrats to the Black Crowes on their first nomination since 1991 I think?

It’s rare to see a single woman in Best Metal Performance, which has been one of the most male-dominated Grammy categories in its 36-year history. But this year, for the first time ever, there are three: Marina Viotti (with Gojira and Victor Le Masne), Poppy (with Knocked Loose) and the female-fronted Spiritbox. They all have a chance to win – as long as the voters don’t give Metallica theirs eighth trophy instead.

More than forty years into their careers, both indie rock legends are finally seeing their music nominated for the first time — and with two pieces, in Best Alternative Music Performance and Album.

Everyone knows that women have driven the decade in hip-hop so far. The Grammys have tacitly recognized this, nominating a female rapper for Best New Artist for five straight years now (including this year’s well-deserved nod for Doechii). But this year’s rap nominations finally made it clear. At least one woman is nominated in every rap category, including three in the crowded Best Rap Performance, a plurality in Best Rap Melodic Performance and the first woman in Best Rap Album since 2018. There are still a few typical Grammy choices (congratulations, Common & Pete Rock), but overall, the rap field hasn’t looked this fresh in years.

Just ask Linda Martell, a country-soul pioneer who deserves her first-ever Grammy nomination for Best Melodic Rap.

A huge one three Hot 100 no. 1 competes here, between “Texas Hold ‘Em,” “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” and Post Malone and Morgan Wallen’s “I Had Some Help.” The other two slots go past AOTY winner Kacey Musgraves’ “The Architect” and exclaim Jelly Roll’s “I Am Not Okay.” The Academy didn’t even have room for his favorite country artist, Chris Stapleton!

Well, they not nominated Jessica Pratt or Sufjan Stevens, but it was a quiet good day for indie singer-songwriters. Clairo capped a breakout year with a Best Alternative Album nod, while Waxahatchee earned her first career Best Americana Album nod, and Adrianne Lenker added to her tally (solo and with Big Thief) with Best Folk Album.

After Tyla’s debut album was controversially moved from R&B to pop, the nominations did little to restore confidence in the Academy’s ability to handle African music. Rema and Tems are both (deservedly) nominated for Best Global Music Album, despite having made overtures to pop, R&B and hip-hop – which begs the question of why Tyla couldn’t have been worn there too. Tems even earned a nomination for Best R&B Song, showing that R&B voters are certainly open to recognizing African music themselves. Meanwhile, the Best African Music Performance category is already being westernized, with Chris Brown up for “Sensational,” his foray into Afrobeats alongside Davido and Lojay.

Although Cave has previously been nominated for Best Musical Film and Best Recording Package.