Grammy nominations are out Friday. Here’s who we think will make the cut

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Let’s address this upfront: Taylor Swift’s new album won’t be up for awards at the 2025 Grammys. Because “The Life of a Showgirl” was released in early October, it didn’t qualify for consideration this year (the eligibility period was from August 31, 2024, to August 30, 2025). Fans will likely have to wait until the fall of 2025 to see her compete for her eighth Album of the Year Grammy – which she’s expected to earn. For now, here are our predictions for who will likely be nominated in the four top Grammy categories, listed alphabetically. The awards show will be held on February 1st at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Here’s a list of songs: Bad Bunny’s “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” Justin Bieber’s “Swag,” Sabrina Carpenter’s “Man’s Best Friend,” Elton John & Brandi Carlile’s “Who Believes in Angels?”, Lady Gaga’s “Mayhem”, Kendrick Lamar’s “GNX”, Laufey’s “A Matter of Time,” and Tyler, the Creator’s “Chromakopia.”

Possible surprise: The Weeknd, “Hurry Up Tomorrow”

Lamar and Lady Gaga are consistently nominated for the Grammy’s top award, but haven’t won yet. Bad Bunny’s chances of winning are even better now that he’s performing at next year’s Super Bowl halftime show. The Recording Academy seems to really like newer artists with a classic style, like Laufey, who reminds many voters of Norah Jones. Also, after making amends with the academy and performing at the February show following a long break, The Weeknd could be a contender this year.

Review

Chappell Roan was born to do this

Pop star Ashnikko, 27, kicked off the first of two concerts in Pasadena on Friday night with her Visions of Damsels & Other Dangerous Things tour.

RECORD OF THE YEAR

Here’s a look at some recent song releases: Justin Bieber’s “Daisies,” Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild,” Billie Eilish’s “Wildflower,” Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra,” a collaboration between Kendrick Lamar and SZA called “Luther,” Chappell Roan’s “The Subway,” Rosé and Bruno Mars’s “Apt.,” and finally, Alex Warren’s “Ordinary.”

Possible surprise: Huntr/x, “Golden”

I was so thrilled to see Lamar nominated again! He already won this award earlier in the year with “Not Like Us,” so I figured he’d be a strong contender no matter what. Even without “Luther” dominating the charts for so long, he’s clearly a favorite with the academy – it’s like once you’re in, they keep recognizing your work, just like Billie Eilish. I also really hoped Roan would get some love for “The Subway.” It wasn’t a huge commercial success, but it’s exactly the kind of powerful, emotional song that voters always respond to. And how amazing would it be if “Apt.” or, especially, “Golden” by that K-pop group got nominated? That would be a first for K-pop in this category! Can you believe it’s been since “The Chipmunk Song” in 1959 that a cartoon group even got a nomination?

Awards

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SONG OF THE YEAR

Here’s a list of songs and their writers/performers: “Daisies” was written by Eddie Benjamin, Justin Bieber, Daniel Chetrit, Dijon, Tobias Jesso Jr., Carter Lang, Mk.gee, and Dylan Wiggins, and performed by Justin Bieber. “Lover Girl” was written by Laufey and Spencer Stewart, and performed by Laufey. “Luther” was written by Jack Antonoff, Roshwita Bacha, Matthew Bernard, Atia Boggs, Scott Bridgeway, Sam Dew, Marvin Gaye, Kendrick Lamar, Mark Spears, SZA, and Kamasi Washington, and performed by Kendrick Lamar and SZA. “Manchild” was written by Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff, and Sabrina Carpenter, and performed by Sabrina Carpenter. “Ordinary” was written by Mags Duval, Cal Shaprio, Alex Warren, and Adam Yaron, and performed by Alex Warren. “That’s So True” was written by Gracie Abrams and Audrey Hobert, and performed by Gracie Abrams. “The Subway” was written by Daniel Nigro and Chappell Roan, and performed by Chappell Roan. Finally, “Wildflower” was written by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, and performed by Billie Eilish.

The song “All My Love” by Coldplay was written by band members Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion, and Chris Martin, with additional writing credit given to Moses Martin.

During the last Grammy Awards, five out of the eight songs nominated for Record of the Year were also up for Song of the Year. (Record of the Year recognizes artists and producers, while Song of the Year honors songwriters.) This means there’s a lot of crossover between the contenders, and artists like Gracie Abrams, Laufey, and Coldplay are likely to be recognized – especially Coldplay, who have consistently been nominated for Grammys for a surprisingly long time.

Music

I can’t believe this hauntingly beautiful song is still number one – six weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 is incredible! And get this – the artist, Warren, is finally dropping their first full album this Friday. I’ve been waiting for this!

BEST NEW ARTIST

Olivia DeanRavyn LenaeMegan Moroney Gigi Perez Sombr Leon ThomasAlex Warren
Lola Young

Possible surprise: Jensen McRae

This year, Warren has achieved the most chart success of any new artist, with his emotionally intense song “Ordinary” spending 10 weeks at number one and earning over a billion streams on Spotify. However, female artists have dominated this category for the past decade – Chance the Rapper was the last male artist to win in 2017. This suggests the nominations will likely include artists like Moroney, a talented country singer; Lenae, known for her song “Love Me Not”; and Dean and Young, who continue a strong tradition of acclaimed U.K. soul singers like Adele, Sam Smith, and Amy Winehouse. While a nomination for McRae, a rising singer-songwriter from Los Angeles known for her personal and introspective songs, might seem unlikely, her independent label, Dead Oceans, proved it’s a contender last year with Khruangbin.

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2025-11-05 22:32