It’s looking like a battle of the heavyweights at the 2025 Grammy Awards, as Recording Academy darlings Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and Billie Eilish all released major albums and singles during the eligibility period (September 16, 2023, to August 30, 2024). Commercial titans Post Malone, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, and Eminem are also likely locks for nominations. Keeping in mind the industry favorites and some of Pitchfork’s own favorite music since late last year, here is a breakdown of potential Grammy nominees, a mix of longshots and safe bets to reflect the academy’s tendency to mix a surprise or two into the field of chart-toppers. Stay tuned for the final nominations on Friday, November 8.
Album of the Year
- Beyoncé – Cowboy Carter
- Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft
- Brittany Howard – What Now
- Chappell Roan – The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
- Charli XCX – Brat
- Sufjan Stevens – Javelin
- Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department
- Vampire Weekend – Only God Was Above Us
Let’s start with the easy ones. Billie Eilish’s first two albums were nominated for Album of the Year (and her debut won the award!), so she’ll get nominated. Taylor Swift is also coming off an Album of the Year victory for Midnights. And Beyoncé, despite never having won in the major album category, is perennially a nominee and, generally, the winningest artist in Grammys history.
After that, the field opens up a little, but it still feels safe to assume that breakout star Chappell Roan will make another splash with an Album of the Year nod. And, if the Democratic candidate for president “IS brat,” then maybe the Grammys ARE brat, too.
With the major pop figures out of the way, there could be room for alternative and indie stars to get nominations. Vampire Weekend vaulted from the alternative to general category, in 2020, with Father of the Bride, and a repeat for Only God Was Above Us is deserved. Brittany Howard’s What Now could be too sonically diverse to fit a single genre category, making it a good candidate for Album of the Year, a category where she and Alabama Shakes were nominated at the 2016 Grammys.
