On Feb. 2, the 67th annual Grammy Awards will premiere live on CBS and Paramount+. The ceremony is the biggest night for musicians and their fans alike, and it is shaping up to start 2025 with exciting performances and moments for every nominated artist.
Here are our predictions for who will take home the trophy in a few categories at the 2025 Grammys.
Album of the Year by Sophia Anness
Predicted Winner: “Hit Me Hard and Soft” by Billie Eilish
Being one of the most contested for awards at the Grammys, the Album of the Year award is one of the most anticipated of the event. The 2025 nomination list contained quite the roundup of some of the best albums of the year.
With 10 different albums nominated for the award, it is up in the air which album will take the top spot. Albums nominated include “Short n’ Sweet,” “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” “The Tortured Poets Department,” “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” “Brat,” “Cowboy Carter,” “New Blue Sun” and “Djesse Vol. 4.”
The category brings both surprises, with “New Blue Sun” and “Djesse Vol. 4” being included in the list, but also snubs with the exclusion of Ariana Grande‘s “Eternal Sunshine.” However, the top contender for the award is Billie Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard and Soft.”
Eilish‘s album brought her more original sound reminiscent of her debut album while also bringing something new. The album has many hits including “Lunch” and “Birds of a Feather,” which is the most streamed song of 2024 on Spotify. The album’s exciting sound makes listening over and over interesting.
Record of the Year by Elizabeth Talaga
Predicted Winner: “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter
The Record of the Year category recognizes the most outstanding record of the year. Nominees for this year’s award include The Beatles for their record “Now and Then,” Beyoncé for her record “Texas Hold ‘Em,” Taylor Swift and Post Malone for “Fortnight,” Chappell Roan for her record “Good Luck, Babe!,” Charli XCX for “360,” Kendrick Lamar for his hit “Not Like Us,” Billie Eilish for her song “Birds of a Feather” and Sabrina Carpenter for her record “Espresso.” Each artist nominated created a record worthy of praise; however, the stars will only align for one.
Carpenter’s hit “Espresso” was an incredible success, and one of the most streamed songs of 2024. The song’s achievements make it the perfect candidate for Record of the Year, and the current betting odds also give the award to “Espresso.”
Although the record has big competition with the likes of Beyoncé, Lamar and Roan, Carpenter is bound to win Record of the Year.
Song of the Year by Jen Fosnaught
Predicted Winner: “Texas Hold ‘Em” by Beyoncé
What sets Beyonce’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” apart from the other Best Song nominees is the unique angle she took after an over 22-year-long career. The other artists in this category produced songs that, while fantastic, are very similar to the brands fans have come to recognize them for. Swift stuck with her usual sad pop motifs in “Fortnight,” as did Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga in their duet “Die With A Smile.”
Beyoncé, however, switched her brand from classic pop to an experimental country album which performed phenomenally.
After the release of “Texas Hold ‘Em,” the radio noticed a large increase in country-pop hybrids or pop stars who turned country. Post Malone began a country journey, releasing songs with Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs and Blake Shelton. “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey dominated the Billboard Top 100 for weeks, making country a staple of popular music.
Metacritic even marked “Cowboy Carter” as the fifth highest-rated album of 2024, with an overall score of 91 out of 100. High approval ratings from major critic sites can indicate the odds of a song or album winning.
The lyrics offer a fantastic beat to dance to and was streamed on the radio constantly. Overall, the easy upbeat energy and impact on both the pop and country scenes makes “Texas Hold ‘Em” worthy of being Song of the Year in 2025’s Grammy Awards.
Best New Artist by Clara Leder
Predicted Winner: Chappell Roan
The Best New Artist category celebrates an artist’s arrival into the world of music and winning the award boosts careers moving forward. The competition is fierce this year, as eight talented nominees vie for the Grammy.
Teddy Swims is a standout nominee with an incredible voice and powerful songs such as “Lose Control” and “The Door” making him a top contender.
Fellow nominee, Benson Boone created the hit song, “Beautiful Things” this year. The track gained traction on TikTok and is a contender for the win.
Up-and-coming R&B nominee Doechii is a creative force with a well-executed 2024 album “Alligator Bites Never Heal.” Doechii mixes alternative hip-hop styles with animated flare. Due to the big competition in this category, it seems she will be beaten out this year by two female pop icons: Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan. However, Doechii is an artist to watch moving forward.
Both Carpenter and Roan ruled the music scene this year, but Roan will ultimately win the award.
With the biggest daytime set at Lollapalooza ever and the single “Good Luck, Babe!” reaching number 4 on the Billboard Top 100 charts, 2024 was the year of Chappell Roan. Despite controversies this year with political opinions and canceled performances, her popularity with fans and her songs’ success will secure her win.
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical by Cami Seymore
Predicted Winner: Dan Nigro
While singers often get the spotlight for their hits, music producers are the unsung heroes who bring those tracks to life. Producers work behind the scenes on sound design, mastering and audio engineering to create the music we know and love.
The producers up for Producer of the Year include: Alissia Benveniste, Mustard, Dernst "D'Mile" Emile II, Ian Fitchuk and Dan Nigro. While D’Mile and Fitchuk are seasoned producers with a strong chance at snagging the win, Nigro is the clear standout in this category. Nigro first gained widespread recognition for his work with Olivia Rodrigo on her hit albums “SOUR” (2021) and “GUTS” (2023). More recently, his collaboration with Chappell Roan on her hit album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” (2023) proved Nigro is a master at producing catchy, chart-topping hits.
Another contender is Mustard, known for his contributions to Kendrick Lamar’s music, specifically the track “Not Like Us,” (2024) which is up for Song of the Year. While Mustard's work was popular this year, rap projects are often overlooked in major categories, and the Grammys have historically shown a bias toward pop music over hip-hop. Given Nigro’s success and pop dominance, he is the frontrunner to take home the award.
Best Pop Solo Performance by Grace Schmidt
Predicted Winner: “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter
2024 was a huge year for female pop singers, and they have dominated the Pop Solo category. The nominees include “BODYGUARD” by Beyoncé, “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter, “Apple” by Charli XCX, “Birds of a Feather” by Billie Eilish and “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan.
Best Pop Solo Performance recognizes a solo single or track and goes to the artist, producer and songwriter.
Each nomination had an impact on pop culture, but “Espresso” is ultimately the song which kept relevance the longest and will likely have lasting impressions on pop music in the future.
“Espresso” was number 1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart and remained in the top three for 14 weeks, establishing her as a pop icon after being in the industry since 2015.
“Espresso” became a viral sensation, coining the phrase “me espresso” and creating traction for her album “Short ‘n Sweet.”
Her new sound, clever marketing and charting success gained her six nominations at this year's Grammys and Best Pop Solo Performance is a likely win for her to take home.
Best Rock Album by Brooke Phillips
Predicted Winner: “No Name” by Jack White
Although many of the nominees for this year’s Best Rock Album category are equally relevant in mainstream rock, one album sticks out from the bunch. “No Name” is Jack White’s sixth studio record, and it was entirely produced, written and recorded by White at Third Man Studio in Nashville, Tennessee.
“No Name” received overwhelmingly positive reviews from music aggregators, like Metacritic (rating: 89/100), and magazines, including Variety and Rolling Stone (rating: 4/5 stars). Although its chart standing may be slightly off due to its unconventional release, it still reached number 1 on UK’s Independent Charts, according to OOC. Nevertheless, it still ranked number 1 on MOJO’s end of year list, “75 Best Albums of 2024,” and landed in the top 15 among other publication’s and critic’s end-of-year lists.
Overall, Jack White’s “No Name” is a return to his blues and garage rock roots and offers a side of him fans have not heard since his The White Stripe days. It has gained world-wide acclaim and is the type of quality story The Recording Academy would surely award the title of Best Rock Album.
Best Rap Performance by Nyla Gilbert
Predicted Winner: “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar
“Not Like Us” took the hip-hop community by storm as the perfect conclusion to a weeks-long rap battle which left the rap world at a standstill. Kendrick Lamar’s final reply to Drake became a national anthem. The song was inescapable and continues to dominate airwaves. According to Songstats, the hit garnered an astounding 1.63 billion streams, 1.94 million videos and 12.2 billion views across platforms.
Other nominees in this category, however, could give “Not Like Us” a run for its money. “Like That” from Metro Boomin and Future’s collaborative album, featuring Lamar and widely considered his first response in the feud with Drake, also amassed impressive numbers with 783 million streams across platforms.
Rising artist Doechii found continued success from her 2023 hit “What It Is (Block Boy)” with the release of her debut album, “Alligator Bites Never Heal.” Her song “NISSAN ALTIMA” earned 52.2 million streams across platforms.
Although these are strong contenders, none achieved the cultural or commercial impact of “Not Like Us.” These songs, though standout tracks on prominent rap albums of the year, are pieces of a greater whole. “Not Like Us,” on the other hand, remains the clear frontrunner in this category.
Best Música Urbana Album by Catalina Litts
Predicted Winner: “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana” by Bad Bunny
Latin music is trending in the U.S. due to artists such as Bad Bunny and Feid. In 2024, both artists released albums which connected with numerous listeners. With that said, either artist could take home the Grammy.
Feid’s “FERXXOCALIPSIS” album focused on reggaeton, featuring R&B and techno beats. This album opened doors for him in the U.S. from having the opportunity to sing his hit song “La Luna” at the 2024 Copá América to selling out several stops on his U.S. tour.
His innovative take to producing this album and cartoonish theme lead to its success in the U.S.
However, Bad Bunny’s “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va Pasar Mañana” album was highly anticipated, considering it was the first album released since his groundbreaking “Un Verano Sin Ti” album.
In “NSLQVPM,” Bad Bunny ditched his former reggaeton style from UVST and reverted to his roots, trap. Fans either loved it or hated it. Regardless, from being the most streamed album on Spotify in one day in 2023 to a sold out U.S. tour, “NSLQVPM” still broke records.
Though both artists released captivating albums, due to Bad Bunny’s immense popularity in the U.S. and original talent, I believe he will win.
Best Score Soundtrack Album for Visual Media by Alexandra Hopkins
Predicted Winner: “Challengers”
Often overlooked during awards season, soundtracks are the not-so silent foundation of the visual media we love. The award for best original score created for film, TV or any other visual media, is presented to composers for artistic excellence and achievement.
This year, the competition is as close as ever, with two strong contenders racing for the title. Both the “Challengers” and “Dune: Part Two” soundtracks captured audiences' attention worldwide. However, the “Challengers” score composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross stands out for its ability to enhance the onscreen story.
Reznor and Ross are two time Grammy winners, previously taking home awards for “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (2013) and “Soul” (2022). “Challengers” already took home the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.
The “Challengers” score embraces the push and pull of the tennis court, and the dynamic love triangle at the center of the film. Infused with trance beats reminiscent of the 1990s and themes of electronica and techno often played at European clubs, the duo perfectly captured “Challengers” essence.
“Challengers” may not take home Best Picture, but its soundtrack outshines other contenders for its unapologetic and novel nature.
