Ariana, Chappell, Billie, & Beyoncé—Out's early 2025 Grammy predictions
| 11/07/24
cornbreadsays
The Grammys are coming!
We're still a few months away from the 2025 Grammy Awards, but why not start manifesting our nominations now?
With new releases dropping rapidly — including iconic remixes and literal cultural shifts — 2024 has been a massive year for music. While these artists deserve recognition and praise, here are the nominations and wins we'd love to see at the ceremony.
Before Friday's official nominations announcement, here's who we at Out think deserve some Grammy love in 2025!
First things first: start manifesting a Charli XCX nomination.
The way that "Brat summer" has taken over the culture deserves at least a nod from The Recording Academy.
If she gets nominated at the 2025 Grammy Awards, this would be Charli XCX's first recognition since 2015. And while her chances of winning Album of the Year are slim, we're officially starting the prayer circle for Brat to collect a handful of noms in the so-called "Big 4" categories. We're also rooting for her and Brat to win two specific categories: Best Dance/Electronic Album and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (for the "Girl, So Confusing" remix featuring Lorde).
Record of the Year
The Recording Academy
Ariana Grande — "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)"
Beyoncé — "Texas Hold 'Em"
Billie Eilish — "Birds of a Feather"
Chappell Roan — "Good Luck, Babe!"
Hozier — "Too Sweet"
Kendrick Lamar — "Not Like Us"
Sabrina Carpenter — "Espresso"
Shaboozey — "A Bar Song (Tipsy)"
Teddy Swims — "Lose Control"
Tinashe — "Nasty"
Tyla — "Jump"
OUR WINNER: Billie Eilish — "Birds of a Feather"
Billie Eilish is no stranger to winning this category, and we suspect that she'll continue that streak!
Her latest album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, fits right in with what The Recording Academy knows and expects from her, while still sounding fresh and pushing boundaries at the same time. The lyrics are morose yet hopeful, and Finneas' production is breezy and immaculate. It just makes sense.
But give Tinashe her 10s!
Tinashe's "Nasty" is getting a nomination — we can feel it! The distinct production of the viral hit song might bump her up to the Record of the Year category, but we hope she can at least snag a win in the R&B and/or Dance categories.
Song of the Year
The Recording Academy
If you thought that the Song of the Year categories would be any easier at the 2025 Grammy Awards… well, you guessed wrong!
Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus — "II Most Wanted"
Billie Eilish — "Birds of a Feather"
Benson Boone — "Beautiful Things"
Chappell Roan — "Good Luck, Babe!"
Charlie XCX, Lorde — "Girl, So Confusing"
Hozier — "Too Sweet"
Taylor Swift, Post Malone — "Fortnight"
Teddy Swims — "Lose Control"
SZA — "Saturn"
Tems — "Love Me JeJe"
OUR WINNER: Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus — "II Most Wanted"
We'll say it: the Cowboy Carter collaboration between Beyoncé and Miley Cyrus, "II Most Wanted," is one of the best songs of all time.
Beyoncé put her heart and soul into Cowboy Carter, and this song encapsulates everything we love from both her and Cyrus. The two sound like lovers on the romantic track about a "backseat baby, driving you crazy." It interpolates Fleetwood Mac's legendary 1975 song "Landslide" and has much of the same movement and heart. The lyrics are romantic and sweeping, destined to be played at weddings for many years to come.
Furthermore, Cyrus and Beyoncé's voices blend so beautifully, so magically, that you can't help but feel as if you're in a movie, smiling at your partner in crime as you both drive off a cliff together.
A sneak win for Hozier?
Considering that Song of the Year is also such a stacked category, we have to consider the possibility of another split vote. This means that Hozier's "Too Sweet" could very well be the dark horse in these songwriting categories. It's a catchy earworm with foreboding lyrics and a funky bass line about a desiring a lover with a hint of a dark side.
From the beginning of his career, Hozier has been an outspoken LGBTQ+ ally with a fervent lesbian audience, so we wouldn't be too mad if he snatched this Grammy.
Best New Artist
The Recording Academy
We were introduced to a lot of incredible artists recently, making the Best New Artist category yet another competitive field for the upcoming Grammys. Below are the names that we're predicting might get a nomination.
Benson Boone
Chappell Roan
Flo Milli
Remi Wolf
Sabrina Carpenter
Shaboozey
Teddy Swims
OUR WINNER: Chappell Roan
There's only one winner in our eyes!
Chappell Roan's meteoric rise has made her a shoo-in nominee in the Best New Artist category at the 2025 Grammy Awards. Her album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, came out in 2023 but gained traction on the charts a year later — a monumental testament to her steep rise in popularity.
Roan recently had not one, not two, but as many as six songs charting on the Billboard Hot 100, including a Top 10 hit in "Good Luck, Babe!" She's an out a queer woman, her music boasts 1980s nostalgia featuring soaring vocals, and she's got a killer voice.
Don't f*ck this one up, Recording Academy!
Album of the Year
The Recording Academy
The following albums are likely being considered for the Album of the Year category at the 2025 Grammy Awards.
Ariana Grande — Eternal Sunshine
Beyoncé — Cowboy Carter
Billie Eilish — Hit Me Hard and Soft
Chappell Roan — The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
Charli XCX — Brat
Chris Stapleton — Higher
Sabrina Carpenter — Short n' Sweet
Taylor Swift — The Tortured Poets Department
Tems — Born in the Wild
Vampire Weekend — Only God Was Above Us
Tyla — Tyla
OUR WINNER: Ariana Grande — 'Eternal Sunshine'
The competition is stiffer than ever for Album of the Year. While many people believe that this might finally be Beyoncé's year to win the coveted award for her excellent body of work (and though it is about time!), split votes — especially with Taylor Swift involved — point to her losing it once again for another record that is more accessible to the general public.
One just has to look at Harry Styles' 2023 win. That's no shade to miss Ariana Grande, but with the critical and commercial success of Eternal Sunshine alongside her recent relationship controversies, multiple hit songs, and the press around all of the above, combined with the upcoming Wicked: Part One film in November… will definitely put Grande's name as a top-of-mind consideration.
Since the Grammys have snubbed Grande several times over the years, perhaps 2025 is their year to correct those past mistakes!
