The Beatles, ‘BRAT’ summer, country and more: All the 2025 Grammy nominations rejects and surprises

NEW YORK — It looks similar Grammy Awards 2025 may be a different award ceremony. Beyonce leads the nods with 11, bringing her career total to a record 99 nominations. There is an incredible diversity of genres represented across the major categories, and women continue to succeed. So… who didn’t make the cut? What were the best surprises of all? Let’s take a look.

Country music has bled into other prominent genres, and the Recording Academy has taken notice. Land hybridists – like Beyoncé, Post Malone and first-time nominee Shaboozey – leads many nominations, both in and out of the country.

But that means traditionalists may not see rewards: CMA Awards Favorites Cody Johnson’s “Leather” and Luke Combs’ “Fathers & Sons” saw no nominations. The latter shouldn’t come as much of a surprise: Combs’ blockbuster cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” also wasn’t nominated for record of the year at the 2024 Grammys — though it did get a nod in best country solo performance.

This year also marks Malone and Beyoncé’s first-ever nominations in the country categories.

Who saw this coming? The Beatles last new song, the AI-supported one “Now and Then,” is recorded for the record of the year. Released in 2023, the the song used artificial intelligence extracting John Lennon’s voice from an old demo. It’s the same technology used to separate the Beatles’ voices from background noise during the making of director Peter Jackson’s 2021 documentary series, “The Beatles: Get Back.”

Last summer, the Recording Academy announced a series of changes to Grammy Awardsincluding new protocols involving technological advances in machine learning. The triggered headlines: “Only human creators” could win the music industry’s highest honor in a decision aimed at the use of artificial intelligence in popular music. By the 2025 Grammys, these changes are clearly in action.

Last year’s album of the year category was dominated by pop women – and it continues with Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX rave-ready approach to the genre receiver noms. The latter is a nice surprise (more on that below), but the two men nominated are creative outliers. OutKast frontman André 3000’s experimental jazz flute album “New Blue Sun” is a contender, as is Jacob Collier’s “Djesse Vol. 4,” though that could fill a spot left vacant by Jon Batiste.

Charli XCX, who has never received a solo artist nomination at the Grammys, is up to seven awards at the 2025 ceremony. These include Record and Album of the Year, as well as Pop Solo and Pop Duo/Group Performance, Pop Dance Recording, Dance/Electronic Album and Music Video. Sure her culture-changing “BRAT” album – and that one summer of memes it inspired – has continued to have real influence.

There is no shortage of first-time nominees this year. Some were expected – like Roan, Carpenter and Shaboozey – others less so. Willow Smith has received his first nomination in the arrangement, instruments and vocals category for arranging his song “bigfeeling s.” Linda Martell, the first commercially successful black female musician in the country, features with Shaboozey on Beyoncé’s “SPAGHETTII,” which is inducted in the Melodic Rap Performance category. It gives the progenitor her first ever Grammy nomination at the age of 83.

And finally, Morgan Wallen – undoubtedly one of the most popular musicians in the country, and a fraught with controversy – has received her first two Grammy nominations for her role in Malone’s “I Had Some Help.” Last year his song “Last Night” was nominated for Best Country Song, but that’s a songwriter award, and Wallen didn’t get a nod.

In the past, the country singer has been absent from nominations. In 2021, after a video surfaced of him using a racial concepthe was disqualified or restricted from several award shows and received no Grammy nominations for his bestseller “Dangerous: The Double Album”.

Like last year, Latin music is missing from the top categories at the 2025 Grammys, despite a surplus of eligible talent: Peso Pluma’s “Éxodo,” Shakira’s “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran,” Residente, “Las Letras Ya No Importan,” Carín León’s “Boca Chueca , Vol. 1” and Bad Bunny’s “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana” among them.

Same as above: K-pop also seems to be absent. There are no nominations for the BTS members who have released solo material this year: RM’s “Right Place, Wrong Person,” J-Hope’s “Hope on the Street, Vol. 1,” and Jimin’s “Muse.” As a boy band, BTS has received five nominations throughout their career.

Despite being one of the great global superstars of the present moment – regularly celebrated as one of the the most streamed artists on the planet — Bad Bunny’s “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana” received only one nomination, for música urbana album.

And Usher, who had a blockbuster year — including one star-studded Super Bowl halftime show – also received only one nomination, for R&B album.

in pop, Dua Lipa’s “Eternal Optimism” is nowhere to be seen. in the country, best new artist hopeful Megan Moroney received no nominations. IR&B, Normani’s long-awaited debut album, “Dopamine,” failed to make waves with voters, and in rap, Nicki Minaj’s “Pink Friday 2” and Megan Thee Stallions “Megan” is absent.

Last year, Jack Antonoff went home producer of the year, non-classical for the third consecutive year, tying Babyface as the only other producer to do so in a row. This year he didn’t get a nod in that category – one he’s held a spot in since 2019. Who will take the mantle?

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The 2025 Grammy Awards will air February 2 live on CBS and Paramount+ from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.