Before we launch into this Grammys 2025 edition of Snubs and Surprises, let’s answer one question that may come up right at the outset: How can we characterize Beyoncé winning album of the year as a “surprise” when we repeatedly predicted it, as many other prognosticators did? There’s an easy answer for that: Although we rightfully called it, we were very, very, very, very nervous about it. We can relax now. At least one thing has been righted in this chaotic world, so let’s take a deep breath and take the “surprise” of actual perceived justice being rendered while we can get it. Now, onward!
SNUB: Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish getting shut out. Are there two more popular and beloved pop stars in the world right now? There are not. And that is why Recording Academy voters will sleep soundly tonight — and assume that both Taylor and Billie are getting a good night’s sleep, too — knowing that it was OK to let those fields go fallow this year and let somebody else get the love, after all the previous wins they’ve racked up. Still, it is a slightly stark reality to know that neither of these Grammy-beloved superstars got even one win further down-ballot beyond the top three. We did picture Eilish getting either song of the year and pop solo performance for the still-ubiquitous “Birds of a Feather.” But the fact that the whole world is humming it as we speak will probably be enough to keep her warm at night, just as the biggest tour of all time is probably reward enough for Swift in one year. (Now maybe they can come back as nominal underdogs next year.)
SURPRISE: Beyoncé doing what we expected her to do… which no one could be certain to expect her to do. As mentioned above, we had a case of nerves going into the album of the year announcement: Yes, we called it, but didn’t we call “Lemonade” back in the day, too? You can be sure that whatever anxiety we were feeling, it was 1000 times that amount for the Recording Academy, which would have a lot of ‘splainin’ to do. And can there be anyone more sick of Monday morning Grammy-splainin’ than Harvey Mason Jr. — who has to be the happiest guy in the world as of 8:45 p.m. PT Sunday night? There was reason to think things might not go that way during the pre-telecast Premiere Ceremony, when Beyoncé won only one Grammy out of several she was up for. Ultimately, as the climactic album of the year segment approached, she had picked up country album of the year earlier on the telecast… which everyone began to worry was an on-air consolation prize for having missed out on something bigger. That fear was unwarranted, and although Bey hardy swept the board — she picked up a mere three awards, out of 11 nominations this year — she swept up the one that really counted, in the minds of her, Jay-Z and about a billion fans.
SURPRISE: Kendrick Lamar wins both record and song of the year, two barren lands for hip-hop. The nominees for those two categories usually mostly overlaps… and oftentimes, voters who are torn between contenders will see it as a way to spread the love, going for one of their favorites in one division and another in the other. So although we accurately predicted “Not Like Us” winning record of the year, we thought the 13,000 members of the Recording Academy (a phrase we heard so often during the night) would do a split there and give Eilish and Finneas song for “Birds of a Feather.” There were other forecasters who even saw Eilish getting both, given her prior recent Grammy dominance. Also arguing against a Lamar sweep of all his categories was the wan number of past hip-hop winners in the top categories. Only once before has a rap recording won for record of the year (Childish Gambino’s “This Is America”), so we all had to decide: Do we look at the Grammys’ increasingly diverse voter rolls… or do we look at precedent, where the older guard almost always has tipped things toward the most musically conservative choice, in a pinch? It certainly would have been no scandal if Eilish had won either of these… but even she is probably glad Kendrick got ’em.
SURPRISE: Sabrina Carpenter sprints past ahead of the crowded diva field to claim pop album. Just about everyone seriously forecasting these awards saw this one going to Eilish or maybe Chappell Roan. If you were going to pick one of this moment’s major pop divas for a shutout, you might have picked Carpenter, who is very much cherished for her new place in the pop firmament but might have been seen as a bit too frothy for some serious-minded Academy members. As it turns out, Grammy voters love the kind of good wink that Carpenter delivers as much as anybody, or at least enough to push her beyond the competition here. You could also see it as a win for the sheer number of hits she delivered: “Espresso” was up for record of the year, while “Please Please Please” was nominated for song of the year, and voters might have had one or the other of those they loved a bit more… but voting for “Short ‘n Sweet” as an album was effectively a way to vote for both. And also, with Roan winning BNA, to say: We like you, we really like you, just as much as your labelmate.
SNUB: Chappell Roan gets the award everyone most wanted and predicted, best new artist… but, come on, nothing else? Let’s call it a moderate snub at the very most, so best new artist is chopped liver. And since Roan did get that, we can skip the sackcloth and ashes on her behalf. But was there not a place for someone this brilliant to prevail anywhere else? You can love what Roan has done for queer representation in mainstream pop, or you can just love for being as outrightly talented a singer, songwriter and pop conceptualist as anyone to come along in years. Either way, you have to love her, more than Recording Academy voters apparently did — this just should have been a bigger year for someone this smashing, even in a crowded field. Of course, being anointed as a Grammy poster girl can be seen an albatross, so maybe getting an embrace from the Academy that is not so overly huggy will be fine for Roan and her independent-minded followers.
SURPRISE: Sierra Ferrell gets the second-highest number of awards of the night, with four. The roots community has taken to Ferrell like nobody who’s come along in years, so it was not really a total surprise to see her collecting every award she was up for, given that support from lovers of folk, Americana and country. And she’s certainly picked up a lot of affection and discovery from people who don’t normally listen to string-band music, thanks to co-signs from admiring superstars like Zach Bryan and Post Malone. But to realize that the number of wins she got was higher than anyone’s except the five collected by Lamar is still a happy shock, for those of us who’ve been thumping the tub for her for a few years.
SURPRISE: Chris Brown and Dave Chappelle really cannot do anything to turn off the spigot of Grammy love. Anyone who believes that cancel culture prevails in the entertainment industry can just look at the ongoing record of wins by some highly controversial figures who are not beloved among progressives to know that this might be a fallacy. It’s not really a major shock to see Chappelle continue to be a Grammy favorite, but it’s still at least a mild surprise to see Brown continue be on top, after all the heat he’s taken over the years. Here are two guys who, as far as the Academy is concerned, will never have to do a redemption tour.
SURPRISE: DEI and trans rights pick up some sorely needed wins, if only in the realm of artist advocacy. Of course neither of these was on the Grammy ballot, per se. But on an evening where it seemed as if everyone might play nice about the nation’s drastic social and political divisions to find some unity over fire relief, there were at least a couple of artists who weren’t afraid to go there. “DEI,” in particular, has become such a bogeyman term — relegated to the realm of “woke” — that hearing Alicia Keys boldly say “DEI is not a threat, it’s a gift” felt like a bigger shock than any award result.
