(Image via NYU TISCH)

Staff Editor: Aidan Danforth

Email: adanforth@umassd.edu 

2025 brought an incredible year of music to the world. The Grammy’s act as an award ceremony that recognizes the various artists around the world through the many artists nominated for each category. 

A lot of artists got multiple nominations for their amazing music while others received a few or none at all. Though the Grammy’s have been questioned for many years due to the winners themselves, it’s still a great event to look back and remember the music that gave us some much joy the previous year. 

Song of the Year 

• “Abracadabra” – Lady Gaga
• “Anxiety” – Doechii
• “APT.” – ROSÉ, Bruno Mars
• “DtMF” – Bad Bunny
• “Golden” – “KPop Demon Hunters” 
• “Luther” – Kendrick Lamar, SZA
• “Manchild” – Sabrina Carpenter
• “WILDFLOWER” – Billie Eilish 

A lot of great picks. Many notable songs that soared up in the billboard charts and a few songs from 2024 which were released too late for this year’s Grammy’s. 

One of the unique selections being “Wild Flower,” which has Billie fans excited as she didn’t win a single grammy for her album “Hit me hard and soft,” but now has another chance to win something with that album. 

A few popular artists were missing include Tate McRae “Sports Car,” “Alex Warren “Ordinary,” and The Weeknd “Cry for me.” Not a terrible category, but definitely one that left some people disappointed with some of the songs left out. 

Album of the Year 

• DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS – Bad Bunny
• SWAG – Justin Bieber
• Man’s Best Friend – Sabrina Carpenter
• Let God Sort Em Out – Clipse, Pusha T & Malice
• MAYHEM – Lady Gaga
• GNX – Kendrick Lamar
• MUTT – Leon Thomas
• CHROMAKOPIA – Tyler, The Creator

This is where people began to get more upset. This is by no means a bad list, a lot of these albums make a great headliner for the year. This is especially true for Justin Bieber who has made a big comeback in music. 

Many favorites, including Tate McRae’s “So Close to What,” and  The Weeknd’s “Hurry Up Tomorrow.” This left many fans of those artists upset though it’s hard to narrow it down to only eight albums. 

Record of the Year 

• “DtMF” –  Bad Bunny
• “Manchild” – Sabrina Carpenter
• “Anxiety” – Doechii
• “WILDFLOWER” – Billie Eilish
• “Abracadabra” – Lady Gaga
• “Luther” – Kendrick Lamar With SZA
• “The Subway” – Chappell Roan
• “APT.” – ROSÉ, Bruno Mars

A very similar category to Song of the Year except this award is more focused around the recording and production of a given song. Song of the Year is all about the songwriting itself. 

A lot of the same artists from that category made this one as well. The same artists mentioned in Song of the Year were also left out with the only new one being Chappell Roan with Kpop Demon hunters were left out of this category. 

Best New Artist 

• Olivia Dean
• KATSEYE
• The Marias
• Addison Rae
• Sombr
• Leon Thomas
• Alex Warren
• Lola Young

Out of all the awards, Best New Artist is always the most interesting. There’s nothing better than the music industry discovering more gems that have changed their genre with their breakout hits. 

A lot of notable artists. Each of them either artists who have recently found their music on the top or brand new artists who were nobodies before releasing their first hits. Many of the awards have clear cut winners but this category is always the most intriguing since it’s an award anyone can take. 

Best Pop Vocal Album 

• SWAG – Justin Bieber
• Man’s Best Friend – Sabrina Carpenter
• Something Beautiful – Miley Cyrus
• MAYHEM – Lady Gaga
• I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy – Teddy Swims

This award takes the Album of the Year nominees and narrows them down to three while adding two other artists known for their incredible vocals. And by looking at the nominees, it makes  sense. 

Each of these artists have built a reputation around their incredible vocals and lyrics as any of these picks would be a good headliner for 2025’s best pop vocal album. 

Best Dance Pop Recording 

• “Bluest Flame” – Selena Gomez & benny blanco
• “Abracadabra” – Lady Gaga
• “Midnight Sun” – Zara Larsson
• “Just Keep Watching” – Tate McRae
• “Illegal” – PinkPantheress

This is by far the category I’m most excited for. Tate McRae finally got nominated for something! The same goes for Selena Gomez and Zara Larsson. This is the newest category for pop music introduced in 2024. 

And it’s a fine addition. This award recognizes artists for their talents in the art of dance recording. Even though my personal bias would say Tate all the way, each of their artists continues to wow the world with their amazing dance recording as they would all be great picks for this award.