A golden year of music has concluded and with it, the coveted ceremony celebrating the hands crafting the stories told through music awaits. Household legends, up-and-coming pop girls, and indie wildcards will all come together for the 67th Annual Grammy Awards.
Beginning with the musicians beginning their legacy in music, the Best New Artist category honors those who put their name on the map by an unavoidable breakthrough year.
Best New Artist nominations are as follows:
This would be one out of six nominations first-time Grammy nominees Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter accumulated. Roan and Carpenter mastered the game of dodgeball with every single hit landing a greater audience after every song release. Songs such as “Espresso” and “Good Luck Babe!” ran 2024 playlisting and radio stations nationwide.
QUEST senior Zariah Ruiz applauds the two icons, “I’m most excited about Sabrina Carpenter being a Grammy nominee because it feels like she’s been snubbed multiple times in the past. While 2024 was a great year for music, I think Chappell Roan had the best year… Her authenticity and vulnerability is so unique and stand out in today’s pop industry, and her rise to fame has truly embodied the term ‘overnight success’!”
Rearing over to Record of the Year, this accolade is awarded based solely on the sound engineering of a song. If it isn’t an acoustic instrument or a bearing synth, the musical composition is emphasized for this nod rather than songwriting.
Record of the Year nominations are as follows:
- “Now and Then” – The Beatles
- “Espresso” – Sabrina Carpenter
- “Texas Hold ‘Em” – Beyoncé
- “360” – Charli XCX
- “Birds of a Feather” – Billie Eilish
- “Not Like Us” – Kendrick Lamar
- “Good Luck, Babe!” – Chappell Roan
- “Fortnight” – Taylor Swift featuring Post Malone
In addition to Record of the Year, Charli XCX, Billie Eilish, and Kendrick Lamar garner an impressive seven nominations. Eilish and Lamar are noted as Grammy darlings, being prevalent nominees in the four main categories in previous Grammy ceremonies.
However, this could not differ more from the breakthrough year Charli has had, being the first time she has been honored with any Grammy nominations in over a decade. QUEST senior Zariah Ruiz would add to the Charli praise, “Charli XCX’s Grammy nomination is long overdue… Her Grammy nominations represent more than just her personal success, it represents an entire cultural resurgence of indie sleaze (brat summer) and its influence on today’s pop culture.” Steamrolling a year of pop-culture relevancy and musical excellency, it would be foolish not to view Charli as a force against these luminaries.
Switching over to Song of the Year, this award celebrates this year’s upscaled songwriting. No matter a solo piece, or a song backed by a team of co-writers, only one song can take the achievement home.
Song of the Year nominations are as follows:
- “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” – Shaboozey
- “Birds of a Feather” – Billie Eilish
- “Die With a Smile” – Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars
- “Fortnight” – Taylor Swift featuring Post Malone
- “Good Luck, Babe!” – Chappell Roan
- “Please Please Please” – Sabrina Carpenter
- “Texas Hold ‘Em” – Beyoncé
- “Not Like Us” – Kendrick Lamar
Notably, two collaborations seem to be front runners for this category, “Fortnight” by Taylor Swift featuring Post Malone and “Die With a Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars proved the power of double trouble. These duets held widespread airplay across streaming platforms nationwide, both peaking at #1 on Apple Music and Spotify charts.
The last honor of the four primary categories is the Album of the Year award. An accolade celebrating the stories told throughout a musical body of work, it’s the most anticipated nod of the night.
Album of the Year nominations are as follows:
- “New Blue Sun” – André 3000
- “Cowboy Carter” – Beyoncé
- “Short n’ Sweet” – Sabrina Carpenter
- “Brat” – Charli XCX
- “Djesse Vol. 4” – Jacob Collier
- “Hit Me Hard and Soft” – Billie Eilish
- “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” – Chappell Roan
- “The Tortured Poets Department” – Taylor Swift
On the topic of legends, Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” would become the most Grammy-nominated album of all time amassing eleven nominations across all song credits, surpassing Micheal Jackson’s “Thriller.” In addition, the record-breaking number of nominations solidified history for Beyoncé, making her the artist with the most Grammy nominations of all time, with a total of 99.
This year is shaping up to be fiercely competitive as category outcomes remain extremely unpredictable with no set-in-stone frontrunners. Tune into the 67th Annual Grammy Awards Feb. 2nd, 2025 on CBS broadcasting and streaming on Paramount+.
