The week since the Recording Academy’s announcement of the nominees for the 2025 Grammy Awards has been full of mixed emotions from fans and spectators alike. Here’s what you need to know:
What we saw coming
To — hopefully — no one’s surprise, women are dominating this year’s awards ceremony, with Chappell Roan (nominated six times, including all major categories), Sabrina Carpenter (nominated six times, including all major categories) and Charli XCX (nominated seven times, including two out of four “Big Four” categories) all running victory laps after fueling the radio and each of our “For You” pages nearly all year. These first-time nominations mark significant turning points in both Roan and Carpenter’s careers, especially after leading some of the most in-demand tours of the year.
The same can be said for Charli XCX, whose inescapable “brat” album — and its subsequent remix album “brat and its completely different but also still brat” — remains one of the highest-rated projects of the entire year, fueling TikTok dances, brand collaborations, a collaboration tour with Troye Sivan and a resurgence of love for highlighter green and the Arial font.
Among some of this year’s most nominated artists is Taylor Swift, whose six nominations (three of which are in the Big Four) for “The Tortured Poets Department” struggle to break through the noise of the other artists she is nominated against. Should she win Album of the Year (AOTY) in 2025, however, she will continue her streak of being the most awarded AOTY recipient, a record which she broke in 2024 with “Midnights.”
“Surprising” snubs
Even though she received six nominations, it was shocking to not see Swift earn a seventh for “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.” The documentary was somehow not nominated for Best Music Film despite becoming the highest-grossing music documentary of all time, earning $250 million at the box office.
Upon nomination release day, there also seemed to be confusion among the masses as to why Ariana Grande and Dua Lipa were seemingly snubbed.
While Grande’s career is seemingly at an all-time high, with the “Wicked” premiere a week away and fans eagerly awaiting its release, there was some surprise at not seeing Grande’s name in any of the “Big Four” categories, though it did receive three nominations (Best Pop Vocal Album for “Eternal Sunshine,” Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “The Boy Is Mine” with Brandy and Monica and Best Dance Pop Recording for “Yes, And?”). Some people are calling the Grammys the “Scammys” on the basis of Grande not receiving any major nominations. However, in a year with chart-topping albums and hits, Grande’s immensely emotional “kind of concept album” struggled to not sound like a side project she worked on while filming her upcoming film even with the help of catchy dance pop songs like “Yes, And?”
Unfortunately a similar sentiment could be shared by Dua Lipa for her third studio album “Radical Optimism” which was unable to garner any nominations for this year’s ceremony. Originally pitched as a collaborative album between her and Tame Impala, the album sounded more like leftovers from “Future Nostalgia” than anything else. Examples like Lipa and Grande might be able to become beacons for fan culture to separate one’s personal favorite from the year’s best.
What to look out for in January
As previously discussed, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX are all major names to watch when the Grammys are televised, but this year still boasts major firsts and record-breaking announcements.
For first-timer Doechii, her four nominations make her the most-nominated woman at the 2025 awards, and it's the first time a woman’s mixtape has been nominated for Rap Album of the Year. This recognition hasn't gone unnoticed by Doechii, who shortly after posted to her social media accounts celebrating the history-making nominations on the tail of having the highest-rated rap album of the year and in the midst of touring for “Alligator Bites Never Heal”.
Then comes Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter,” considered by some to be a thesis on American history and music. The album was introduced to the world as “a Beyoncé album” before a country album, and its awards surely reflect that, being one of the most diverse nominees in Grammys history, appearing across five genres/categories (including three of the Big Four) with 11 nominations in total — tying with Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” for most nominations awarded to a single album and artist at a time. As a result, Beyoncé secured her 99th nomination, officially becoming the most-nominated artist of all time.
The 2025 Grammys also mark a significant moment of inclusion for country artist Linda Martell, who in 1970 became the first Black woman to release a country album with “Color Me Country,” though she later quit the music industry as a result of the racist backlash she received, prompting Beyoncè’s inclusion of her on “Cowboy Carter.”
For those excited at the potential of seeing history made or their favorite artist winning, the 67th Grammy Awards will air on Feb. 2, 2025.
