It’s been a big year in music: Women are in pop-dominated charts, several new artists had huge breakout albums and songs, and there was the first major rap beef in quite some time. All of that and more is reflected in the nominations for the 2025 Grammy Awards that were announced Friday. Of course, there were some snubs and surprises as well—this is the Grammys, after all.
Here are eight takeaways from a list that was mostly predictable, but serves as a reflection on the state of popular music, and sets up some major story lines for the ceremony on February 2. Beyoncé Might Finally Win the Big One Beyoncé, predictably, cleaned up in the nominations. She and her album Cowboy Carter were nominated in all three top categories (Album, Record, and Song of the Year) and picked up other nods in pop, rap, country, and Americana categories.
Over the course of her career, Beyoncé has now earned a record-demolishing 99 Grammy nominations. But the real question is whether this will finally be the first time in her career that she wins Album of the Year. Two separate past ceremonies felt defined by the impression that she was overlooked in the ultimate category, both when Adele pleaded for Beyoncé’s Lemonade to have won over 25 back in 2017, and in 2023, when Harry Styles gave a clumsy acceptance speech after Harry’s House won over Renaissance .
At last year’s Grammys, Jay-Z used his time during an acceptance speech to call out the Recording Academy for its inconsistenci.
