By Bel Kelly
Elm Staff Writer
On Nov. 8, the 2025 Grammy nominations were officially announced ahead of the 67 annual Grammy Awards Ceremony.
This year has been refreshing for music, with new voices such as Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter finally breaking out after over a decade of operating on the pop periphery. Both Roan and Carpenter have received six nominations in the same six categories, including the three major awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year.
These two artists, who champion female desire and take on a jocular tone in their music, have undeniably dominated 2024, and so it feels correct that the Academy has acknowledged their great contributions.
Charli xcx has had a similar journey this year: after long lingering on the outskirts of the mainstream, she has risen to unforeseen prominence. She has received great recognition for “Brat,” with a total of 7 nominations. While she was previously nominated for “Fancy” with Iggy Azalea in 2015, these nominations mark the first time her solo work has been appreciated by the Academy.
According to Vulture, “Even the most hardcore Charli xcx fans may not have believed you a year ago if you told them that their favorite artist would be a Grammys darling. This is an artist who has somehow been both ‘pop’s biggest new star’ in 2014 as well as the ‘Pop Star of the Future’ in 2019.”
But it is not only relative newcomers that have been recognized: the great titans of the mainstream too have maintained their position at the top this year. Taylor Swift has racked up six nominations for “THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT,” despite it being one of her most critically divisive albums.
“The most recent thing that you did, because everything that happens is a direct reflection of the passion that you show, is you guys got this album nominated for six Grammys! It’s so wonderful. So, thank you,” Swift said, addressing her fans at the Eras Tour in Toronto on Nov. 14.
Music fans all over noted that “The Eras Tour” film was snubbed for the Best Music Film award, despite its record-breaking box office sales and great critical acclaim.
Moreover, Swift’s longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff failed to receive any nominations this year. As a producer and songwriter, Antonoff has won Producer of the Year, Non-Classical three times in a row. This year, his colleagues Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, and Gracie Abrams have all been nominated for work he helped write and produce, yet Antonoff himself has been snubbed.
Pop icon Beyoncé continues to tower above other musicians, leading the nominees this year with a total of 11 nominations. While she already has 29 awards under her belt as the most awarded musician at the Academy ever, this is her first year being recognized under Country and American Roots Music.
She has also been nominated in the Pop and Dance/Electronic field, as well as the R&B, Rap, and Spoken Word Poetry field. These nominations prove Beyoncé has been successful in her objective of bending genres with her album “COWBOY CARTER.”
“Genres are a funny little concept, aren’t they? / Yes, they are / In theory, they have a simple definition that’s easy to understand / But in practice, well, some may feel confined,” she says in the intro to her song “SPAGHETTII” with Linda Martell and Shaboozey.
Despite her great success here, Beyoncé received no nominations for the Country Music Association Awards. While the Grammys seem open to musician movement across different fields and genres, the CMAs seem more concerned with staying true to artists whose careers exist mostly within the parameters of country music.
According to Billboard, “The awards events’ differing views seem to embody the tug between tradition and progressiveness.”
Breakout star Shaboozey, however, is up for two CMA awards as well as six Grammy awards, for “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” The Grammys’ progressive view toward genre defiance can be seen here again in their recognition of Shaboozey’s marriage of alt-country and hip-hop; however, one might also notice a double standard set by the CMAs.
According to the Grammys website, this year’s nominations hope to “reflect the Recording Academy’s commitment to supporting and progressing the evolving music industry.”
To see the winners, tune in on Feb 2. In the meantime, it is time to celebrate the Grammys’ inclusive attitude toward nominations this year, as they recognize the new voices, perspectives, and creative approaches in 2024’s music.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Photo Caption: The Grammy’s are a yearly tradition to celebrate the music of the year.