2024 was a great year for music, which made this list pretty difficult to come up with. Below are some of my personal picks for the biggest awards at the upcoming Grammys on Feb. 2, 2025. I’ve included my reasoning for why I think these picks will win, but I’m sure I’ll look back at this list and be mad that I only got one or two right. That’s usually my experience with award shows. To take a look at the full list of nominees, click here.
Record Of The Year
“Die With A Smile” was a massive hit in 2024. Despite having not released an album since 2021’s An Evening With Silk Sonic, or even a solo album since 2016’s 24K Magic, this song was so big that Bruno Mars became the most listened to artist in the world on Spotify. In combination with its popularity and the fact that Mars and Lady Gaga both delivered an incredible performance in this duet, I see it winning for these reasons.
Album Of The Year
As much as I’m pulling for a BRAT win, I think this award is going to Beyoncé. She’s received 11 nominations at this year’s Grammy Awards, which now makes her the most nominated artist of all time with 99 nominations throughout her career. Within those 99 nominations, she’s had the opportunity to win Album Of The Year four times, but she’s never gotten the Grammy. While I don’t think any of the individual songs she’s been nominated for are strong enough to win their respective categories, I’m predicting COWBOY CARTER will secure Beyoncé her first Album Of The Year award. Debuting at No. 01, it made Beyoncé the first black woman to have a country album hit the top spot on the charts. Winning the award would cement her legacy as one of the most decorated artists of all time.
Song Of The Year
As much as I loved Billie Eilish’s HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, I don’t see it winning in many categories outside of Best Pop Vocal Album. However, I do think “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” has a good shot at winning this category due to its lyrics and arrangement, which is what separates this category from Record Of The Year. The songwriting quality that Billie and her brother, Finneas, have come to be known for is what makes them standout from the other nominees.
Best New Artist Of The Year
I feel pretty confident predicting that Chappell Roan will win this category. While I think Sabrina Carpenter is the obvious second choice, she has nothing on Roan when you look at how explosive Roan’s fame was in 2024. As I laid out in my Roan career breakdown, 2024 was a massive year for Roan. Going from a niche artist to one of the biggest artists in the world within one year is a rare feat. Of all the categories Roan’s been nominated in, she has the best chance of winning this one.
Best Pop/Vocal Album
This category might be the toughest to decide out of the bunch. With Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, and Sabrina Carpenter all nominated I can see this award going to any of them. That said, I’m going with Short n’ Sweet by Carpenter. It was a dominant album on the charts, with multiple hit songs that dominated the charts the summer it was released. That said, I still wouldn’t be super surprised if the Grammy went to one of the other nominees I mentioned because they were all so strong in their own ways
Best Dance/Electronic Album
This kind of has to go to Brat by Charli XCX. With the cultural impact Brat has made and its unexpectedly great performance on the charts, I don’t think much has to be said to justify this pick. I would be baffled to see anything else win, even though I enjoy the other albums nominated quite a bit.
Best Rock Album
Romance by Fontaines DC was one of my favourite albums from 2024, and I think it has a great chance of winning here. Romance is a worthwhile addition to the rock genre, released by a relatively new group. While some of the other nominees are well-established acts, like “example”, it may actually give Fontaines DC an edge here. Eventually, a new face has to usher in a new era of rock music, and Fontaines DC has the opportunity to be at the forefront of that new era.
Best Rap Song
I’m really hoping “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar wins this. It would be hilarious to see a song from one of the biggest rap beefs in history take the win here, and I think it deserves the accolades. It was a great diss track in context with the beef, but it’s still a great song when taken on its own. “Not Like Us” has become one of the biggest rap songs of all time, and considering its prominence in last year’s pop culture anything else winning would be a shock to me.
Best Rap Album
Putting aside my bias for Doechii, I have to admit that this award is likely going to The Auditorium, Vol. 1 by Common & Pete Rock. Much like Killer Mike winning Best Rap Album at the 2024 Grammys, the fact that fewer people have heard this album doesn’t make it less likely to win. I’d say the competition between Alligator Bites Never Heal and The Auditorium, Vol. 1 is quite close, but I think Doechii’s newcomer status will hurt her in this category when she’s up against a titan like Common.
Those are my best guesses for what’s going to happen this year, but there’s always bound to be some surprises. Regardless of my personal picks, each artist that’s nominated deserves that honour and I wish them all good luck at the show!