Ariana Grande, Andre 3000 and more

The 2025 Grammy nominations are a wide-ranging reflection of the artists who defined the past year, with Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Charli XCX, Post Malone, Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter leading the nominees and a galaxy of other artists in the dozens Categories represented.

But as always there were surprises, both were happy – Andre 3000's flute work was named album of the year! Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter are both nominated in the first four categories! – and less. Eyes below…

SURPRISE: For Album of the Year, Taylor, Beyoncé and Sabrina are competing against… André 3000? There's no punch whatsoever for André 3000's instrumental flute album, but Grammy enthusiasts may be shocked to see his latest, “New Blue Sun,” up against Charli XCX, Chappell Roan and Billie Eilish in the top album category. If the Grammys are a popularity contest, then “New Blue Sun” is the zen anti-commercialist soaking up the vibes in a sound bath somewhere. It's certainly one of the biggest surprises in the big four categories, which often tend to honor the most popular music from the funding period, and “New Blue Sun” was more of a record that was “if you know what you know”. However, Three Stacks' latest album has also received widespread acclaim elsewhere, with nominations for Best Alternative Jazz Album and Best Instrumental Composition, where the competition (at least musically) seems much more equal.

SURPRISE: Beyoncé reigns supreme in all genres. The discourse surrounding Beyoncé's “Cowboy Carter” began the moment it was announced: Is it a country album? An Americana record? A completely new genre? Bey's big break appears to have earned her not only the most nominations this year (11, in case you were wondering), but also a spread across specific genre categories. In addition to winning album of the year and both record and song of the year for “Texas Hold 'Em,” Bey landed in the pop, country, Americana and rap categories. Her country and Americana nominations include: “16 Carriages” (best country solo performance), “II Most Wanted” with Miley Cyrus (best country duo/group performance), “Texas Hold 'Em” ( best country song), “Ya Ya” (best Americana performance) and best country album. “Spaghettii” lands in best melodic rap performance, while “Bodyguard” winds up in best pop solo performance and “Levii's Jeans” with Post Malone is up for best pop duo/group performance.

It's worth noting that Beyoncé received almost all of the nominations she submitted for, with the exception of “Tyrant,” which was up for Best R&B Song. Regardless, she now has a career total of 99 nominations, making her the most nominated artist in Grammy history (she previously held the record with her husband Jay-Z at 88), and she is also the artist with the most awards in Grammy history. This year is also the first time she has received nominations in the Country & Americana Roots music category.

SURPRISE: Chappell and Sabrina secure the Big Four. Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter are arguably the breakout stars of the year, and their nominations speak for it. Both are nominated for Record, Album and Song of the Year and Best New Artist, becoming the third pair to be nominated in all four general categories this decade.

A snub of sorts: Ariana Grande was excluded from the general fields. Amid the increasing flood of press leading up to her role in the upcoming “Wicked” film, Ariana Grande dropped her seventh album, “Eternal Sunshine,” but didn't exactly promote it like a superstar release, presumably to avoid overexposure leading up to the film. Perhaps that's why she's completely relegated to the pop categories, where she's up for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (“The Boy Is Mine” featuring Brandy and Monica), Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Dance-Pop Recording (“Yes, And ?”).

SNUB: Victoria Monét and Killer Mike are nowhere to be found. Both Monét – who won Best New Artist last year – and Mike had headline-grabbing success earlier this year, with the former taking home three awards and the latter winning the rap categories. This year, in the R&B categories, Monét entered “SOS,” her steamy duet with Usher, while Mike entered his latest, “Michael & the Mighty Midnight Revival, Songs for Sinners and Saints” and the song “Humble Me.” But despite both running against each other, they were excluded from voting at the next year's ceremony.

NO SURPRISE: Zach Bryan receives no nominations. Of course, that's because Zach Bryan decided not to file this year. Earlier this year, he secured three awards in the country categories, winning for best country duo/group performance with “I Remember Everything” featuring Kacey Musgraves. However, he chose not to submit in full at the 2025 Grammys, meaning his fifth album, “The Great American Bar Scene,” released on July 4, will disappear without recognition. In return, Bryan joins an illustrious (and growing) group of artists who have no interest in the Grammys, something Drake and The Weeknd have famously held back in recent years.

SURPRISE: Kendrick competes against himself. …as if you could really call that a surprise, because Kendrick Lamar often plays in a league of his own. This year, even without an album release, he ranks second in nominations with seven nominations (alongside Billie Eilish, Charli won song of the year, best music video, best rap performance and best rap song. However, he will have to contend with himself in the latter two categories, including his contribution to Metro Boomin's “Future” and “Like That.”

SNUB: Jack Antonoff was shut out for Producer of the Year. Jack Antonoff has had his sights set on the Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) category for three years, dominating the category from 2022 through this year. So it's a huge shock that he was completely left out of the nominees, which include Mustard, Daniel Nigro, Dernst “D'Mile” Emile II, Alissia and Ian Fitchuk. And it's not like it's been a slow year for Antonoff, either. In addition to producing Taylor Swift's “The Tortured Poets Department,” which won Album of the Year, he contributed to numerous records for Lana Del Rey, Kendrick Lamar and Gracie Abrams, the latter of which was nominated for the song “The Tortured Poets Department.” is. Us.,” with Swift, in Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (he also produced this one). It's unclear why he wouldn't make it, but at least he'll probably win an award or two for his work with others.

SURPRISE: Best New Artist is a mixed bag. Everyone you'd expect to make it as Best New Artist is here this year: Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Shaboozey, Benson Boone and Teddy Swims. But there are a few less-expected additions, namely Khruangbin, Doechii and Raye, the latter of whom is the first new artist in Grammy history to also be honored in the songwriter of the year category for her solo work and contributions to other artists.' Records.

SNUB: Why are you Hozier, Tyla and Doja Cat? Some artists who seemed like chasers are coming away empty-handed this year. It's a little confusing that Hozier, who made a remarkable chart comeback this year with his single “Too Sweet,” has no nominations for the 2025 Grammys. Tyla won the Grammy earlier this year for “Water” in the first Best African Music Performance category, but none of her subsequent singles can be found. And Doja Cat released her latest album, “Scarlet,” within the eligibility period, even though she doesn’t get anything either.

SNUB: Missed opportunity for diversity in pop categories. Unsurprisingly, Latin music remains largely confined to its genre-specific categories. This is with the exception of another consecutive nomination for songwriter Edgar Barrera in the songwriter (non-classical) category, as well as artists of Latin American origin in categories not part of the main program (Gustavo Dudamel receives his sixth nomination for orchestral performance). . That's strange given the flood of culture-blending Spanish-language pop music released this year. Although the two most popular (and most frequently submitted) pop works – Shakira's “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran” and Kali Uchis' “Orquídeas” – appear in a stacked lineup for the Latin pop albums category, there would have been one Can give recognition to Uchis and Peso Pluma's bilingual mega-pop hit “Igual Que Un Ángel” in the “Pop Duo Group Performance” category. It's an obvious snub, but no surprise: the only Spanish-language songs nominated are “Despacito” (Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber) in 2017 and “Un Día (One Day)” (J Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny and Tainy) in 2021.