2025 Grammy Nominations: 10 Takeaways: NPR

SCOTT DETROW, HOST:

The nominations for next year’s Grammy Awards were announced on Friday, and Beyonce leads the field with 11 nominations.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM”)

BEYONCE: (Singing) This ain’t Texas, ain’t hold ’em. So put your cards down, down, down, down, down.

DETROW: This is Stephen Thompson from NPR Music and Pop Culture Happy Hour to talk about the Grammys. Hello, Stephen.

STEPHEN THOMPSON, BYLINE: Hello, Scott.

DETROW: So we mentioned Beyoncé. In all things you must start with Beyoncé.

THOMPSON: That’s right.

DETROW: Tell me the key takeaways from this space that go beyond Beyoncé.

THOMPSON: Well, if you look at the year in pop, it was a huge year for women. Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Charlie XCX.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “360”)

CHARLI XCX: (Singing) Yes, 360. When you stand in the mirror, do you like what you see? When you’re in the mirror you just look at me. I’m everywhere. I’m so Julia, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah.

THOMPSON: These six women really dominated the main draws, more or less as expected. I think that many of these awards have been presented in a way that reflects the progression of the musical year. These are the records that left the biggest cultural footprint of the year, the closest thing to a monoculture. Therefore, it is not surprising that these records dominated the field. However, there were a few surprises along the way.

DETROW: Tell me that, because everything you just said, yeah, makes sense. What were the…

THOMPSON: Right.

DETROW: What were the curveballs?

THOMPSON: I think the Curveballs was the record of the year. There was kind of – you know, there was kind of an expectation that a lot of the biggest – you know, a lot of the biggest songs of the year – like – Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” might have been nominated. It was nominated for Song of the Year, but not for Record of the Year. What was nominated for record of the year – “Now And Then” by the Beatles.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “NOW AND THEN”)

THE BEATLES: (singing) Every now and then I’ll love you.

DETROW: Can you explain that to me?

THOMPSON: So “Now And Then” was a demo that John Lennon recorded around 1977.

DETROW: Yes.

THOMPSON: It was completed and then released in late 2023 and announced as the final Beatles song. It’s a beautiful song. It’s pretty. It’s a little something, not necessarily something I would consider one of the records of the year.

DETROW: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “NOW AND THEN”)

THE BEATLES: (singing) For me, I know…

THOMPSON: A bigger surprise for me is in the Album of the Year category. The six artists I named above are all in the Album of the Year category, as is Jacob Collier, who is sort of a Grammy favorite. The eighth nominee was “New Blue Sun” by Andre 3000.

(SOUNDBITE OF ANDRE 3000’S “I SWEAR I REALLY WANTED TO MAKE A “RAP” Album, BUT THIS TIME THE WIND LITERALLY BROKE ME OUT)

DETROW: As a proud millennial, Andre 3000 means a lot to me, but that was the flute album.

THOMPSON: This is the instrumental flute odyssey album. It’s an interesting record, but also a curiosity.

DETROW: Yes.

THOMPSON: Is it one of the eight albums that people listened to and celebrated the most during this funding period? I wouldn’t say or think that. The popularity of Andre 3000 contributes significantly to this.

(SOUNDBITE OF ANDRE 3000’S “I SWEAR I REALLY WANTED TO MAKE A “RAP” Album, BUT THIS TIME THE WIND LITERALLY BROKE ME OUT)

DETROW: Are there any major snubs?

THOMPSON: I think with so many juggernaut women in pop, it’s pushed some major artists out of the field. Dua Lipa was completely excluded.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “HOUDINI”)

DUA LIPA: (singing) You need me. I won’t be here much longer. Catch me or I’ll go Houdini. I come and I go.

THOMPSON: She received no nominations and has certainly been celebrated by the Grammys in the past. Ariana Grande was left out of the main categories, although she received three nominations in the pop categories. The fact that Vampire Weekend was completely excluded really surprised me. I expected a field, especially in Album of the Year…

DETROW: Yes.

THOMPSON: …Where their album “Only God Was Above Us” might have fallen into that field, but they were – they weren’t even nominated for best alternative album. That surprised me. And for those who were expecting a big performance from country music’s biggest star, Zach Bryan…

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “I REMEMBER EVERYTHING”)

ZACH BRYAN: (Singing) A cold shoulder at the end of the day, you begged me to stay until the sun came up. Tense words…

THOMPSON: He didn’t submit any of his music for consideration and was completely excluded.

DETROW: Stephen, last question – broadly speaking, I feel like over the years we’ve talked about times when the Grammys resonate with pop culture and the current musical zeitgeist, and times when they are somehow cartoonishly wrong.

THOMPSON: Far away, yes.

DETROW: What area does this area belong to?

THOMPSON: That really seems to be in keeping with the pop culture zeitgeist. I mean, when you think about the summer of 2024, one of the songs that comes to mind is “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter. It was completely inevitable.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “ESPRESSO”)

SABRINA CARPENTER: (Singing) Now he thinks about me every night. Oh, is it so sweet? I think so. Say you can’t sleep, baby, I know that’s my espresso. Move it up, down…

THOMPSON: The six artists I mentioned above seemed to be the six biggest records of this funding period. It makes sense that they are generously nominated. Here they feel fundamentally in tune with what is going on.

DETROW: OK. This is Stephen Thompson from NPR Music. Stephen, it’s always nice to talk to you.

THOMPSON: It’s always nice talking to you, Scott.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “ESPRESSO”)

CARPENTER: (singing) I’m on vacation and I have…

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