The nominations for the 68th Grammy Awards were released last week. Unfortunately, many people were left underwhelmed, and even confused. This isn’t by any means anything new; it seems like every year I see social media posts gathering hundreds of thousands of likes focusing on the way the Grammys have missed the mark. However, in many ways I think this year’s nominations reflect the fact that the relevance of the Grammys has not been overshadowed yet.
Lady Gaga and Kendrick Lamar are dominating this year’s major categories as many people’s frontrunners for Album, Song and Record Of The Year. This is the second year in a row which sees Kendrick Lamar among the most nominated artists, following his five wins last year for ‘Not Like Us’. Sabrina Carpenter is also in the running for six awards with her album Man’s Best Friend, which was an obvious contender, although I am not sure if it can overtake the competition.
Interestingly, ‘Golden’, a song from the hit Netflix animated movie K-Pop
Demon Hunters, is in the running for song of the year with the fictional band HUNTR/X listed as one of the nominated artists, sparking surprise and some internet controversy. The song has already been performed on late night shows like Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, as well as already being featured in this year’s iterations of both Dancing with the Stars and Strictly Come Dancing. I for one am not surprised by its nomination considering the cultural phenomenon; it is a historic nomination for the K-Pop genre, marking the second K-Pop song to be nominated as both Song and Record Of The Year, also competing against Bruno Mars’ and Rose’s collaborative single ‘APT’.
Also shortlisted for six awards this year is Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, his success in the major categories being a welcome surprise, with his nomination for Album Of The Year being the second time that a Spanish-language album is up for the prize. The artist’s recognisable use of mixing Latin music elements and his infectious authenticity is being rightfully recognised, with the artist also set to play the Super Bowl Half-Time Show.
The Best New Artist category will certainly be an interesting race this year, as I myself am unable to choose a favourite from the nominees. If anything, as a year of music, 2025 has certainly set the scene for many powerful and record breaking debuts, including Olivia Dean, Katseye, Lola Young and sombr; all very young artists who have dominated this year’s charts. In this category, as no surprise to anyone, we also have internet starlet Addison Rae who has proved herself as a dedicated artist with her experimental self-titled pop album, which gained her a cult following.
As with every yearly round of nominations, there are several artists who were deemed as ‘snubbed’ and under-represented, I’ve seen some commentators specifically naming Tate McRae, whose only nomination this year was for the song ‘Just Keep Watching’ from the F1 movie soundtrack shortlisted in the Best Dance Pop recording category, overlooking her 2025 album So Close To What. One artist who I definitely would’ve liked to see among the nominees this year is Lorde and her critically praised album Virgin, produced alongside Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes, featuring the iconic artist at her most vulnerable and sonically cohesive.
Despite this, the Grammy nominations this year have been a mix of positive subverted expectations, recognition for young and new voices and historic moments – I don’t know about you, but I for one am seated to watch.