2025 Grammy Nominations: Celebrations and Commiserations

On the 8 of November, through YouTube livestream, the nominations for the 67th Annual Grammy Awards were announced. The ceremony intends to celebrate and champion the best recordings, compositions and artists of 2024 (from music released from September 16th 2023 to August 30th 2024). The nominations – while prompting monumental achievements for certain nominees – have been critiqued, as always, for not highlighting and enshrining the work of some artists. The Grammys will be awarded on the 2nd of February 2025, so until then, let’s discuss the paramount achievements and snubs that the nominations reveal.  

With 26 years in the music industry, this achievement credits Beyoncé for her commitment, not only to her art but, importantly, to her fans.

 The greatest achievement, which is being well recognized, is Beyoncé becoming the most nominated artist, going from 88 to 99 nominations. She was previously tied with Jay-Z, but with her album Cowboy Carter securing nominations in ‘Album/Record/Song’ of the year, as well as ‘Best Country Album/Song’ – alongside six other categories – she has truly outdone herself. Her first nominations, as a soloist, with the Grammys were in 2004, and she continued to receive nominations throughout the 2000’s, 2010’s and 2020’s. With 26 years in the music industry, this achievement credits Beyoncé for her commitment, not only to her art but, importantly, to her fans.  
 
An additional artist that must be acknowledged for their commitment to the craft is Princess Superstar. American rapper and DJ, debuted in the industry in 1995 with her album Strictly Platinum – meaning that when the award ceremony takes place, she will have been making music for 30 years – an incredible feat. Princess Superstar, in her extended career, has finally been nominated for her first Grammy alongside various artists – including Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Girls Aloud – involved in the soundtrack for Saltburn, which has been nominated for ‘Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media’. 
 
In the spirit of ‘firsts’, Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter secured not only their first nomination, but their first six nominations. Interestingly, these two rising stars were nominated in the exact same categories: ‘Album/Record/Song of the Year’, ‘Best Pop Solo Performance/Vocal Album’, and ‘Best New Artist’. At the 2024 VMA’s, Roan secured ‘Best New Artist’ and Carpenter ‘Song of the Year’ with ‘Espresso’. Will these achievements be mirrored in the Grammy’s, or will new competition in these categories such as Doechii, Raye and Billie Eilish change the reflection?

The Grammys should be where Charli xcx receives her flowers for the immense cultural impact of ‘Brat’ – which redefined our summer, altered the fashion market, influenced social media branding, and played a role in political campaigns. 

Another first to be celebrated is Doechii being the first female rapper in the 2020’s to be nominated for Best Rap Album, with the previous female nominee being Cardi B who won in 2019 with Invasion of Privacy.  Her bold rap with experimental production has secured Doechii three additional nominations – ‘Best New Artist’ ‘Best Rap Performance’ and ‘Best Remixed Recording’. This makes her the most nominated female rapper for 2025 which is well-deserved following her diverse and raw craftsmanship on mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal. 
 
A final artist who has achieved unparalleled success this year, which is reflected in their Grammy nominations, is Charli xcx. Charli xcx, is nominated for seven awards: ‘Record/Album of the Year’, ‘Best Music Video’, Best ‘Dance/Electronic Album’, ‘Best Dance Pop Recording’, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance’. and ‘Best Pop Solo Performance’. Furthermore, she deserves credit for her involvement in A. G. Cook’s nomination in ‘Best Remixed Recording’ for ‘Von Dutch a. g. cook remix featuring addison rae’. Charli xcx had, over 10 years ago, secured two grammy nominations, and thus for 2025 has more than quadrupled her nominations with Brat. Following her snubbing at the VMAs, and after ‘brat’ being crowned word of the year, the Grammys should be where Charli xcx receives her flowers for the immense cultural impact of Brat – which redefined our summer, altered the fashion market, influenced social media branding, and played a role in political campaigns. 
 
There has been criticism that artists – notably Ariana Grande, Hozier, Megan Thee Stallion –have been snubbed in the Grammy’s this year. Grande was nominated for  ‘Best Pop vocal album’ with Eternal Sunshine but many fans were shocked at her absence from the ‘Album of the Year’ category. Hozier, following the success of ‘Too Sweet’, was expected by many to receive a nomination for this track – but the lack of one has resulted in Hozier being snubbed for a decade, with his previous nomination being in 2015 with ‘Take Me To Church’. Megan Thee Stallion had an incredibly strong year, but was not able to join Doechii as another female nominee in the ‘Rap’ genre – despite her first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘HISS’ and similar success with tracks ‘Cobra’, ‘BOA’, and ‘Mamushi’.  
 
Following such a strong and diverse year of music – one dominated by rising stars and mature musicians – it’s overjoying to see the work of Roan and Charli xcx be so well rewarded. These artists are exceptional creatives and have undeniably shaped the future of music through their excellence, while simultaneously leading for change in the music industry and wider society. Ultimately, disregarding nominations and the awards, make sure to support the artists that you connect with, and celebrate your favourite artists for their personal achievements – irrespective of whether they were honoured by the Grammy Awards.