Beyoncé makes history (again) with 11 nominations for 2025 Grammy Awards

Beyoncé makes history (again) with 11 nominations for 2025 Grammy Awards

As a long-time music enthusiast and industry professional, I must say that this year’s Grammy nominations have left me feeling both excited and hopeful about the future of music. It’s heartening to see such a diverse range of artists being recognized across various genres, from established veterans like Beyoncé to rising stars like Doechii.


Last year, when Beyoncé snatched the trophy for the best dance/electronic album at the Grammy Awards with “Renaissance,” it catapulted me as a pop devotee to witness yet another milestone in her illustrious career. She surpassed the record, making her the most triumphant artist ever in the nearly seven-decade run of music’s most esteemed award ceremony.

Now she’s history’s most-nominated act as well.

On Friday morning, the Recording Academy announced that Beyoncé is leading the nominations for the 67th Grammys with a total of 11 nods. These nominations span across notable categories such as Album of the Year (for “Cowboy Carter”), Record and Song of the Year (for her hit single “Texas Hold ‘Em”). With these 11 new nominations, Beyoncé’s career tally now stands at 99. As a result, Jay-Z, Beyoncé’s husband who was previously tied with her at 88 nominations, is now second on the list of most nominated artists. (Beyoncé has already won 32 Grammys.)

In other categories for her work, “Cowboy Carter” was recognized for country solo performances (“16 Carriages”), Americana performances (“Ya Ya”), and melodic rap performances (“Spaghettii”). This versatility in style is evident as her nominations with “Renaissance” were primarily within the dance and R&B genres.

At the upcoming Grammy Awards in February 2023, held at the Crypto.com Arena in downtown LA, Beyoncé is among several well-known artists vying for top honors alongside other established favorites.

At the upcoming Grammy Awards, Taylor Swift has been nominated once more in the Album category for “The Tortured Poets Department,” having previously won this prestigious award four times. She is also contending for Record and Song of the Year with her moody electro-pop collaboration with Post Malone titled “Fortnight.” Similarly, Billie Eilish has earned a nomination in the Album category for “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” making her the first artist to receive nominations for the Grammy equivalent of Best Picture with each of her initial three studio albums. She is also up for Record and Song of the Year honors with her single, “Birds of a Feather.

2024 saw Grammy voters acknowledging a bounty of new talent in the pop music scene. Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter are both up for multiple categories this year, including album, record, and song of the year as well as best new artist. For Roan, it’s her album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” and single “Good Luck, Babe!” competing for album and record awards, while “Please Please Please” is her contender for song of the year. Meanwhile, Carpenter’s album “Short n’ Sweet” and single “Espresso” are in the running for record of the year, with “Please Please Please” also nominated for song of the year. (Note that record of the year is awarded to performers and producers, while song of the year honors songwriters.)

British pop artist Charli XCX, who has built a strong reputation in underground circles, has received seven nominations for her album “Brat” and single “360”, including nods for Album of the Year and Record of the Year. Similarly, Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X, and Kendrick Lamar garnered seven nominations each. Notably, Kendrick Lamar’s Drake diss track “Not Like Us” is in contention for both Record and Song of the Year awards. Additionally, artists like Rooney, Carpenter, and Swift also earned six nominations each.

During an interview, Harvey Mason Jr., the head of the Recording Academy, stated that the nominations demonstrate their commitment to updating and broadening the pool of voters following years where they faced criticism for emphasizing the contributions of older white males too heavily.

Mason noted that the current state of music seems to be well-reflected in this [context/instance/event], as he mentioned that over two-thirds of the academy’s total voting membership have joined since 2019.

Beyoncé makes history (again) with 11 nominations for 2025 Grammy Awards ×

Once again, for this year’s Grammys, some unconventional selections have been made within the main categories – choices which are rooted in a historic tradition at the awards show. “New Blue Sun” by André 3000, the Outkast rapper-turned-flautist’s psychedelic jazz album, has been nominated for Album of the Year, as has “Djesse Vol. 4” by Jacob Collier, the eccentric English multi-instrumentalist who has recently played piano alongside Joni Mitchell during her recent comeback concerts at the Hollywood Bowl. These nominations evoke the surprising Album of the Year wins in 2022 by Jon Batiste with a jazz-oriented LP and in 2008 by Herbie Hancock, whose commercial success paled in comparison to their competitors’ despite their winning albums.

Mason stated that voters appreciate the skill, talent, and artistry behind those records, as seen in the nominations for Collier and André 3000. (On Spotify, “New Blue Sun” has been streamed over 10 million times compared to “Espresso” with 1.5 billion.) Mason added that popularity doesn’t disqualify an artist from being considered, and neither does working in a less mainstream genre. He was pleased that there’s recognition for various styles of music and creativity.

An unexpected pick for the song of the year could be “Now and Then,” a newly-released single by The Beatles. This track was pieced together from old recordings using software designed by filmmaker Peter Jackson for his 2021 docuseries “Get Back.” It’s been quite a while since The Beatles last graced the Grammy stage, with their last recognition being the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.

Mason expressed that this situation showcases an impressive application of AI in our present context. He emphasized that the recent rule change at the academy permits AI-aided music submissions for Grammy consideration, provided that AI serves to augment, not supplant, human creativity. In his perspective, AI acted as a useful tool in this instance, enabling the Beatles to extract a John Lennon vocal recording from the ’70s that was initially considered unusable.

In the “Best New Artist” category, Carpenter and Roan will compete against Khruangbin, a Texas-based psych-rock group that’s been releasing albums since 2015, as well as Benson Boone, Doechii, Raye, Teddy Swims, and rising country artist Shaboozey, who is also nominated for “Song of the Year” with “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”, which has spent its 16th week at number one on Billboard’s Hot 100. The other nominee for “Song of the Year” is “Die With a Smile”, a hit single performed by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars that’s been dominating Top 40 radio.

As a devoted music enthusiast, I’m thrilled to share that during the period from September 16, 2023, to August 30, 2024, an astounding number of recordings were eligible for consideration at the 67th Grammys. Over 20,000 submissions were made, according to the academy’s announcement.

As a passionate film buff, I’ve been closely following the Grammy journey of Morgan Wallen, the beloved country singer who faced years of absence after an unfortunate incident involving the use of a racial slur in a TMZ video. However, this year, he’s making a comeback with his first nominations! His chart-topping duet with Post Malone, “I Had Some Help,” has been recognized for both the country song and country duo/group performance categories.

Despite not receiving any nominations for this month’s Country Music Association Awards, causing discussions about Nashville’s openness, Beyoncé garnered Grammy nominations in the categories of country duo/group performance for her collaboration with Miley Cyrus on “II Most Wanted,” and country song for “Texas Hold ‘Em.” Interestingly, her album of the year nomination for “Cowboy Carter” marks her fifth time being nominated in a category she has yet to win. In February’s ceremony, Jay-Z publicly criticized the academy for giving numerous Grammys to his wife while denying her the most prestigious award.

“Think about: The most Grammys — never won album of the year,” he said. “That doesn’t work.”

Beyoncé makes history (again) with 11 nominations for 2025 Grammy Awards ×

As a passionate moviegoer, I’m thrilled to share the nominees for the rap album category. They include J. Cole’s “Might Delete Later,” a masterpiece that has me on the edge of my seat. Also nominated is the collaboration between Common and Pete Rock titled “The Auditorium, Vol. 1,” an intriguing blend of their unique styles. The up-and-coming artist Doechii presents “Alligator Bites Never Heal,” a record I’ve been eagerly anticipating. Eminem’s “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce)” and “We Don’t Trust You” by the duo of Future and Metro Boomin are also in the running, making for an exciting race to the finish.

As we anticipate next year’s event, which is one of only two shows left in the academy’s half-century partnership with CBS before the Grammys shift to Disney’s ABC network in 2027, Mason chuckled when asked if the Beatles’ nomination could potentially bring Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr together for a performance on the broadcast.

“That would be amazing,” he said.

As a son of renowned jazz drummer Harvey Mason and a musician himself, the CEO shared that he hadn’t thought about how the Grammys ceremony could honor Quincy Jones, the 28-time Grammy-winning producer who passed away this week at the age of 91. He recollected watching Jones in the studio when his father would bring him to recording sessions as a child.

In his words, “Quincy was one of my greatest influencers.” He added, “Whatever I’m engaged in, I found myself emulating what Quincy did. If given the choice, I would dedicate approximately 45 minutes during the show to him, as he held such significance.

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2024-11-08 20:02

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