On February 2nd, the 2025 Grammy Awards took place, with all our favorite A-list musicians in attendance. As a true music girlie, I have A LOT of thoughts and opinions about this year’s ceremony, from fashion choices to award winners. So, let’s talk about my expectations and predictions in comparison to how everything actually went down. Predictions and explanations were written in the week leading up to the Grammys, and winners the morning after!
- Album of the Year
My prediction: Hit Me Hard and Soft by Billie Eilish
Maybe it’s pessimistic of me, but I think the Recording Academy has an incredibly large soft spot for Billie and FINNEAS (which is SOOOO valid, they are one of the best musical duos of our time, if not the best). So, as much as I love other albums on the nominees list like Short n Sweet, The Tortured Poets Department, BRAT, and The Rise and Fall of A Midwest Princess, I think HMHAS will take the win on this one. If not, my second choice pick is Short n Sweet because of its cohesive album feel, and because I really don’t think they are going to give it to Taylor coming off her Midnights AOTY win last year, as much as I think TTPD deserves it. TTPD also wasn’t as well received by the general public as Midnights. Of course, we can’t leave out Cowboy Carter, which was a great album, but it felt like an obvious awards grab to me. I hope the Recording Academy sees that too. Any album in this category could take it, honestly!
Winner: Cowboy Carter by Beyoncé
Honestly, I am disappointed by this. I don’t think it’s a bad album; let me just say that. And I’m all for the exponential growth of Black country music; it’s long overdue. From that aspect, I understand why this album was awarded. However, it feels so performative to me. It feels like they were just so shocked by the dramatic shift in her music style that they HAD to give it an award. Also, I don’t think we should be awarding temper tantrums (re: Jay-Z last year), but I’ll leave it at that. This album rollout felt entirely too much like a desperate AOTY grab for me to feel like it was actually deserved. I am happy that Bey finally got one AOTY, but I fear it should’ve been for Lemonade or Sasha Fierce. This was disappointing to me just because there were so many albums that I thought deserved the win more, out of the nominees list.
- Best New Artist
My prediction: Chappell Roan
Who has made a bigger impact in the past year alone than Chappell? Despite controversy surrounding her personality in the media, which has largely been blown out of proportion in my opinion, her music hit an exponential growth spurt last year, and she became a megastar almost instantly. I think that earned her the title of Best New Artist 2025. My second choice would be Sabrina Carpenter, for similar reasons. However, Sabrina had success with Emails I Can’t Send and the era surrounding it, so I don’t think she fits the category as much. I could see them giving this award to Benson Boone as well because of how popular “Beautiful Things” is, but I really personally hope they don’t because this category is so women-dominated this year, and a woman should win!
Winner: Chappell Roan!
I want to hug her. I love that she uses her platform to boldly say what others try to dance around, no matter how that makes people feel about her. I hope she knows how loved she is and the number of lives her music has impacted. No one has made more of an effect on the industry in the past year alone than she has, especially considering TRAFOAMP is her FIRST full-length album. I’m astonished by her all the time, and that performance was gorgeous.
- Record of the Year
My prediction: “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” by Billie Eilish
I chose Billie’s hit single as my prediction for ROTY because this award is supposed to focus on the production and engineering of the song, rather than lyrics/performance. Billie’s record definitely encapsulates the talent of the sound engineers, and while I’d call myself a bigger fan of some of the other songs on the list, I really think the Recording Academy will give this one to Billie. My second choice is “Not Like Us” not only because of its digital impact, but the production is so crisp and well done. Every song on the list is a strong contender, so I don’t think any result will truly shock me, but I sincerely hope they choose not to award AI use… that’s just me though.
Winner: “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar
Somebody check on Drake!!!! I wasn’t too far off on this one. I am a fan of the production of this song, and if it can’t go to Billie, I’m glad it went to Kendrick. I’m wondering if the Recording Academy picked this simply to prove that they side with Kendrick in the infamous feud (understandable if so). I’m just a little bit obsessed with how many awards this song garnered this year simply because of the implications of it all.
- Song of the Year
My prediction: “Die With A Smile” by Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars
I just know when this song came out, the Recording Academy was absolutely GAGGED. And honestly, so was I, though I find the song has been overplayed to the point that I can barely listen to it anymore. I am a lifelong Bruno Mars defender and would love to see him and queen Lady Gaga win this award. Also, SOTY going to an A-list collaboration like this just makes sense. I know the Academy hates to see the two of them coming. They could also give this one to “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM,” but I just don’t think that song was as big of a stunner as Queen Bey wanted it to be. So many other songs from Cowboy Carter are so much better; if “16 CARRIAGES” was nominated, I’d say it would win for sure, and I’d be happy about it!
Winner: “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar
Now THIS is a crazy one. I definitely did not think they would give the same song ROTY and SOTY but here we are laughing about it! I am really happy for Kendrick; he’s one of the only male rappers I enjoy listening to, and his lyricism is undoubtedly impressive, especially in comparison to his musical peers (and enemies), so I’m not mad about this choice. I’m just shocked that he got both of these awards!
Aside from the big four, here are some of my bonus opinions:
- Best Pop Vocal Album
My prediction: Short ‘n Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter
While I don’t think this is Album of the Year, I DO think the album deserves some recognition. Enough said! I would also love to see Ariana Grande win this one for eternal sunshine, but I just don’t see it happening because of the recent behavior of the Recording Academy and the AOTY snub.
Winner: Short ‘n Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter
Let the record show that I did shed tears over this acceptance speech. And I am not ashamed of that. Sabrina Carpenter’s performance during the broadcast was so entertaining that she could’ve won in those 5 minutes alone. THAT TAP BREAK?! That was for me personally. Thank you, Sabrina Carpenter, for writing the soundtrack to our lives.
- Best Pop Solo Performance
My prediction: “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan
She’s serving vocals. She’s serving songwriting. She’s serving emotion. She’s serving storyline. If we’re judging this award based on PERFORMANCE, Chappell is the only correct answer. Period. This is a very stacked category! It’s anybody’s game and I would be happy for every one of them.
Winner: “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter
OHHHHH SABRINA MY LOVE. I didn’t think this was going to win, but I am so happy it did! It is finally Sabrina’s time to shine, and I can proudly say I’ve been here since Disney Channel.
- Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
My prediction: “Die With A Smile” by Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars
Everything I said above still stands. It’s a beautiful song.
Winner: “Die With A Smile” by Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars
I knew this was coming; there was no doubt in my mind. And there was also no doubt in my mind that Lady Gaga would use this time to call attention to the drastic injustice going on in America right now. Her acceptance speech is enough to make anyone cry, and I’m so glad she conducted herself in true Lady Gaga fashion when we needed her most.
I also just have to mention Doechii. She is so insanely and unbelievably talented, and it is truly a shame that it took us this long to figure it out! She is one of THREE! That acceptance speech for Best Rap Album was my favorite of the night. Plus, she is so entertaining when she performs. She’s a true star, and I am so glad she finally got her flowers. I am sad, but not surprised that Taylor didn’t walk away with any awards this year, but I thought she had a chance at Best Music Video for “Fortnight.” However, all the “Not Like Us” wins were a great alternative. I hope Drake is scared for the Super Bowl Halftime Show, honestly, because if that wasn’t a wake-up call for him, I don’t know what was. I am also disappointed that HMHAS walked away with nothing because, in my opinion, it’s Billie’s best work yet. FINNEAS is also an amazing songwriter, and I was really hoping he’d get some kind of recognition for that! This year was really surprising to me, whereas last year I was pretty much expecting the wins for the big four. It’s safe to say, no matter what, that music lives in the hands of strong, powerful women (and Kendrick Lamar), and at the end of the day, that’s all I could hope for.