Another year, another round of Grammy voting begins . Earlier today, the first batch of submissions for the 2025 Grammy Awards opened to the voting members of the Recording Academy, who will parse through the nearly 100 categories to whittle down the contenders. But before the voting truly kicked into full gear, many were already wondering how the chips might fall.
Would Beyoncé focus strictly on the country categories for her latest album “Cowboy Carter,” or would she submit across the board? Are there going to be any Taylor Swift-sized surprises? Will Kendrick Lamar ‘s scathing “Not Like Us” get considered for top categories, and lend some institutional credence to diss tracks? Did Drake and the Weeknd let go of their Grammy grudges and get back in the race? Needless to say, the 2025 ballot already has its fair share of expected submissions and curveballs. With first-round voting scheduled to wrap on Oct. 15 and final nominations getting announced on Nov.
8, Variety takes a pass at the first-round ballot, answering all of the burning questions that come with it. Q: Did Beyoncé go full country with “Cowboy Carter” and focus mainly on that genre category? A: The million-dollar question. After all the discourse and arguments over whether or not “Cowboy Carter” would be, and in fact is, a country album, the superstar singer is hedging her bets by going big.
Eight different songs were submitted across genre lines, with “Texas Hold Em” gunning for record.