2025 Grammy Nominations: Most Mainstream, ever?
Grammy Nominations Led by Beyoncé (11), Kendrick, Billie, and Charli XCX (7).
The 2025 Grammy Nominations were unveiled this morning. The Recording Academy is set to host the next ceremony on February 7th, 2024 in Los Angeles. As it happens every year, we’re here to shed some light on the Grammy nomination Snubs and Surprises.
Leading the pack in 2025 is Beyonce, who once again makes Grammy history as the most nominated artist EVER - her 11 nominations this year bring her total up to 99, and she previously shared the record with her husband Jay-Z at 88.
Pop Girl Summer continues to show its full force in this slew of nominations. It's another strong year for women in the music industry, with female artists dominating several major categories. Women lead in Record and Album of the Year, as well as Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best R&B Performance, Best R&B Song, Best Americana Performance, Best Folk Album, and Best Latin Pop Album.
Sabrina Carpenter's Best New Artist nomination might seem surprising given her long career, with "Short n' Sweet" being her sixth album. However, these are her first Grammy nominations. The confusion stems from the Recording Academy's eligibility rules, which state that an artist must have released at least five singles or one album and achieved a breakthrough in the eligibility period. Additionally, artists can only be nominated for Best New Artist up to three times, including as part of a group. The Academy also uses screening committees to determine if an artist qualifies as a "new" artist based on their impact.
Back in February, we detailed how the Grammys can sometimes be predicted by evaluating sales data and critic ratings, addressing the question: “Are the Grammys a popularity contest?” This year, after reviewing the nominees, that question arose once more. It seems that the Grammy Awards have recently been nominating the most popular artists and songs in the general field.
As shown above, this year’s Grammys have the most “mainstream” general field nominees we’ve seen in the past five years. For this graph, "mainstream" means songs or albums that landed in the top 40th percentile on Billboard charts (like Top 40 on the Hot 100, Billboard Artists, or Top 80 on the Billboard 200).
That said, there’s one big limitation here: The Beatles’ unexpected Record of the Year nomination. While the song might not feel super “mainstream,” it peaked at #7, so it technically counts based on the chart definition. But let’s be real—it’s The Beatles. They’re kind of in a league of their own.
To really confirm this trend, we’d need a bigger dataset, but a couple of things might explain what we’re seeing:
The Recording Academy has expanded who’s eligible to vote in recent years. It makes sense that more voters could lead to more mainstream picks.
Fans might just be streaming and hyping music that naturally fits what the Grammys look for, so there’s more overlap between what charts and what wins.
SNUBS:
Eternal Sunshine
Tommy Richman - Million Dollar Baby
Vampire Weekend
Megan Moroney
Tyla
SURPRISES:
The Beatles
Jacob Collier
Andre 3000
Leading up to February, Pop Lobster will be working through all nominated albums and posting reviews of each, so make sure you are subscribed and follow along. Linked below are some albums we’ve already reviewed.
See the full list of major category nominations below:
Album of the Year
André 3000, "New Blue Sun"
Beyoncé, "Cowboy Carter"
Billie Eilish, "Hit Me Hard and Soft"
Chappell Roan, "The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess"
Charli XCX, "Brat"
Jacob Collier, "Djesse Vol. 4"
Sabrina Carpenter, "Short n’ Sweet"
Taylor Swift, "The Tortured Poets Department"
Record of the Year
The Beatles, "Now and Then"
Beyoncé, "Texas Hold ’Em"
Billie Eilish, "Birds of a Feather"
Chappell Roan, "Good Luck, Babe!"
Charli XCX, "360"
Kendrick Lamar, "Not Like Us"
Sabrina Carpenter, "Espresso"
Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone, "Fortnight"
Song of the Year
Beyoncé, “Texas Hold ’Em”
Billie Eilish, "Birds Of A Feather”
Chappell Roan, “Good Luck, Babe!”
Kendrick Lamar, “Not Like Us”
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars, “Die With A Smile”
Sabrina Carpenter, “Please Please Please”
Shaboozey, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
Taylor Swift Ft. Post Malone, “Fortnight”
Best New Artist
Benson Boone
Sabrina Carpenter
Doechii
Khruangbin
RAYE
Chappell Roan
Shaboozey
Teddy Swims