The Grammy Nominations 2025 Prove Country-Pop Is Here to Stay
Following the world-shifting election news this week, we’ll have another, luckily much lighter contest to debate—the Grammys. On Friday, November 8, the Recording Academy provided a welcome distraction with the 2025 nominations, announced via livestream by past winners including Kylie Minogue, Victoria Monét, Mark Ronson, and Hayley Williams.
The 67th Annual Grammys will take place on February 2, 2025 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and will air on CBS. No host for the ceremony has been announced yet, though given Trevor Noah has held the job for the past four years, he wouldn’t be the wildest guess. A reminder: the Grammys, known as music’s biggest night, is the only music awards ceremony in which the artists themselves determine the nominees and winners, as the Recording Academy is made up of a jury of musical peers.
Grammy regulars Beyoncé and Taylor Swift released albums a few weeks apart this spring (Cowboy Carter and The Tortured Poets Department respectively)—and it’s no surprise that both artists received nods in several of the major categories this year, including Album of the Year. Beyoncé led the pack with a total of 11 nominations to become not only the most awarded artist in Grammys history but also the most-nominated artist of all time with a whopping 99 nods. Despite that fact she has yet to win Album of the Year, though she’s been nominated four times.
Grammy first-timers Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter (who, at six albums into her career had never been nominated) and Shaboozey—whose country-pop hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” has dominated charts and dancefloors this year—all received Best New Artist nods. Singer-songwriter Benson Boone, rapper Doechii, soul singer Teddy Swims, beloved Brit Raye and psychedelic Houston trio Khruangbin are also competing in the category.
You can’t talk about the year’s music without talking about the Kendrick Lamar/Drake beef and Brat summer—and the products of both cultural phenomena were reflected by the nominations list. Kendrick’s Drake-defeating “Not Like Us” got Song and Record of the Year nods (and it’ll certainly be a centerpiece of his headlining performance at the Super Bowl the same month) , and Charli XCX’s Angels will be pleased to see that she’s having her biggest Grammys year ever, with Brat receiving a coveted Album of the Year nomination, along with several other recognitions. A Brat Winter performance at the February ceremony seems all but inevitable.
Pop girlies Roan and Carpenter also dominated across categories, with both receiving AOTY, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Solo Pop Performance noms. Luckily, the last wave of pop stars weren’t totally snubbed, with Ariana Grande and Grammys darling Billie Eilish being nominated (though Grande has recently vowed to take a break from her pop career to focus on musical theater). Newbie Addison Rae also snuck in via her spot on the A.G. Cook remix of Charli’s “Von Dutch.” Technically, Cook is the one who is nominated, but Rae’s name appearing on the list hints at a promising future and proves that dedication to the pop art sciences (and a well-timed cosign from a tastemaker like Charli) pay off.
The story of country music was also a significant narrative in music this year, and if the Grammys are any indication, crossing pop and country remains a winning formula. Despite its total shutout at the Country Music Awards, Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter was recognized in several key categories, including Album, Record and Song of the Year—in addition to the pure Country categories themselves. Genre-bender Post Malone had some success with his first true foray into country, F-1 Trillion. And Shaboozey’s “Bar Song (Tipsy),” which samples J-Kwon’s early aughts hip pop hit of the same name, nabbing Song of the Year feels like further proof that country has fully infiltrated pop (and vice versa).
Below a list of the major category 2025 Grammy nominees:
Album of the Year
André 3000 - New Blue Sun
Beyoncé - Cowboy Carter
Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft
Chappell Roan - The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
Charli XCX - Brat
Jacob Collier - Djesse Vol. 4
Sabrina Carpenter - Short n’ Sweet
Taylor Swift - The Tortured Poets Department
Record of the Year
The Beatles - “Now and Then”
Beyoncé - “Texas Hold ’Em”
Billie Eilish - “Birds of a Feather”
Chappell Roan - “Good Luck, Babe!”
Charli XCX - “360”
Kendrick Lamar - “Not Like Us”
Sabrina Carpenter - “Espresso”
Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone - “Fortnight”
Song of the Year
Beyoncé - “Texas Hold ’Em”
Billie Eilish - “Birds of a Feather”
Chappell Roan - “Good Luck, Babe!”
Kendrick Lamar - “Not Like Us”
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars - “Die With a Smile”
Sabrina Carpenter - “Please Please Please”
Shaboozey - “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone - “Fortnight”
Best Pop Solo Performance
Beyoncé - “Bodyguard”
Billie Eilish - “Birds of a Feather”
Chappell Roan - “Good Luck, Babe!”
Charli XCX - “Apple”
Sabrina Carpenter - “Espresso”
Best New Artist
Benson Boone
Doechii
Chappell Roan
Khruangbin
Raye
Sabrina Carpenter
Shaboozey
Teddy Swims
Best Country Album
Beyoncé - Cowboy Carter
Chris Stapleton - Higher
Kacey Musgraves - Deeper Well
Lainey Wilson - Whirlwind
Post Malone - F-1 Trillion
Best Country Solo Performance
Beyoncé - “16 Carriages”
Chris Stapleton - “It Takes a Woman”
Jelly Roll - “I Am Not Okay”
Kacey Musgraves - “The Architect”
Shaboozey - “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
Best Dance Pop Recording
Ariana Grande - “Yes, And?”
Billie Eilish - “L’Amour de Ma Vie” [Over Now Extended Edit]
Charli XCX - “Von Dutch”
Madison Beer - “Make You Mine”
Troye Sivan - “Got Me Started”
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
Ariana Grande, Brandy & Monica - “The Boy Is Mine (Remix)”
Beyoncé Featuring Post Malone - “Levii’s Jeans”
Charli XCX & Billie Eilish - “Guess”
Gracie Abrams Featuring Taylor Swift - “Us”
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars - “Die With a Smile”
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
Alissia
Daniel Nigro
Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II
Ian Fitchuk
Mustard
Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical
Amy Allen
Edgar Barrera
Jessi Alexander
Jessie Jo Dillon
Raye
Best Alternative Music Performance
Cage the Elephant - “Neon Pill”
Fontaines D.C. - “Starburster”
Kim Gordon - “Bye Bye”
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - “Song of the Lake”
St. Vincent - “Flea”
Best Remixed Recording
Charli XCX - “Von Dutch” A. G. Cook Remix Featuring Addison Rae
Doechii & Kaytranada Featuring JT - “Alter Ego” (Kaytranada Remix)
Julian Marley & Antaeus - “Jah Sees Them” (Amapiano Remix)
Sabrina Carpenter - “Espresso” (Mark Ronson x FNZ Working Late Remix)
Shaboozey & David Guetta - “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” (Remix)
Best R&B Song
Coco Jones - “Here We Go (Uh Oh)”
Kehlani - “After Hours”
Muni Long - “Ruined Me”
SZA - “Saturn”
Tems - “Burning”
Best R&B Album
Chris Brown - 11:11 (Deluxe)
Lalah Hathaway - Vantablack
Lucky Daye - Algorithm
Muni Long - Revenge
Usher - Coming Home
Best Rap Performance
Cardi B - “Enough (Miami)”
Common & Pete Rock Featuring Posdnuos - “When the Sun Shines Again”
Doechii - “Nissan Altima”
Eminem - “Houdini”
Future, Metro Boomin & Kendrick Lamar - “Like That”
Glorilla - “Yeah Glo!”
Kendrick Lamar - “Not Like Us”
Best Melodic Rap Performance
Beyoncé, Linda Martell & Shaboozey - “Spaghettii”
Future, Metro Boomin & The Weeknd - “We Still Don’t Trust You”
Jordan Adetunji Featuring Kehlani - “Kehlani (Remix)”
Latto - “Big Mama”
Rapsody Featuring Erykah Badu - “3:AM”
Best Rap Song
Future, Metro Boomin & Kendrick Lamar - “Like That”
Glorilla - Yeah Glo!Kendrick Lamar - “Not Like Us”
Rapsody & Hit-Boy - “Asteroids”
¥$, Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign & Rich the Kid Featuring Playboi Carti - “Carnival”
Best Rap Album
Common & Pete Rock - The Auditorium Vol. 1
Doechii - Alligator Bites Never Heal
Eminem - The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)
Future & Metro Boomin - We Don’t Trust You
J. Cole - Might Delete Later
