The show will go on for music’s biggest night at the 67th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday — despite the fires that have raged through Los Angeles.
And the top contenders include Beyoncé, who leads the nominees with 11 nods for her “Cowboy Carter” opus. Two years after becoming the biggest winner in Grammy history, Mrs. Carter is now also the most-nominated artist ever with her 99 total breaking the tie she previously held with husband Jay-Z.
The “Texas Hold ’Em” diva is followed by Billie Eilish, Charli XCX, Kendrick Lamar and Post Malone with seven nominations apiece — just ahead of Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Taylor Swift with six.
While there are 94 categories up for grabs on Sunday, we break down the Big Four that will have the highest stakes when Trevor Noah hosts the festivities at LA’s Crypto.com Arena.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
André 3000 — “New Blue Sun” – André 3000
Beyoncé — “Cowboy Carter”
Sabrina Carpenter — “Short n’ Sweet”
Charli XCX — “Brat”
Jacob Collier — “Djesse Vol. 4”
Billie Eilish — “Hit Me Hard and Soft”
Chappell Roan — “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess”
Taylor Swift — “The Tortured Poets Department”
Beyoncé, Beyoncé, Beyoncé. The biggest story of this year’s Grammys is if Queen Bey will finally win the big prize after previous losses for “I Am … Sasha Fierce” in 2010, her surprise self-titled set in 2015, “Lemonade” in 2017 and “Renaissance” in 2023. And after “Cowboy Carter” — her groundbreaking, genre-bucking country collection — was released last March, it seemed as if she was finally destined to lasso an Album of the Year Grammy.
But “Cowboy Carter,” once the clear frontrunner, lost its early momentum as new-school divas Roan, Charli XCX and Carpenter picked up steam. The 43-year-old superstar probably has more to worry about from buzzy Brit Charli XCX than 2020 AOTY winner Eilish and Swift, who can’t possibly snag a record-extending fifth gramophone in this category after last year’s historic victory for “Midnights.” (Although never underestimate the power of Tay-Tay…) And André 3000’s flute alt-jazz joint is just the kind of left-field choice that could surprise.
But late in the fourth quarter, her Netflix halftime-show extravaganza on Christmas just before voting closed — as her hometown Houston Texans were trounced by the Baltimore Ravens — feels like the hail Mary that will finally get Beyoncé over the goal line this time.
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Beyoncé
RECORD OF THE YEAR
The Beatles — “Now and Then”
Beyoncé — “Texas Hold ’Em”
Sabrina Carpenter — “Espresso”
Charli XCX — “360”
Billie Eilish — “Birds of a Feather”
Kendrick Lamar — “Not Like Us”
Chappell Roan — “Good Luck, Babe!”
Taylor Swift featuring Post Malone — “Fortnight”
As with Album of the Year, this category is dominated by female artists, which should split the pop-diva vote between Carpenter, Roan, Eilish and Swift, who has shockingly never won here. Neither has
Beyoncé, but it feels more like Album of the Year will be the breakthrough over ROTY.
Eilish, though, has already won twice, for “Bad Guy” in 2020 and “Everything I Wanted” in 2021. As great as “Birds of a Feather” is, it’s hard to see her winning a third just yet. And while “Espresso” has the edge over “Good Luck, Babe!” here, it may still have too much girl power to overcome in a stacked field.
So it could very well come down to the fellas: While we wouldn’t count out The Beatles with their AI-assisted “last song,” this feels like Lamar’s moment — just a week before he headlines the Super Bowl halftime show. It would be only the second time that a rap track won ROTY — after Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” in 2019 — and it’s a hip-hop anthem for the ages.
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Kendrick Lamar
SONG OF THE YEAR
Shaboozey — “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
Billie Eilish — “Birds of a Feather”
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars — “Die With A Smile”
Taylor Swift featuring Post Maline — “Fortnight”
Chappell Roan — “Good Luck, Babe!”
Kendrick Lamar — “Not Like Us”
Sabrina Carpenter — “Please Please Please”
Beyoncé — “Texas Hold ‘Em”
Let’s start with how Shaboozey’s smash “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” — which spent a record-tying 19 weeks at No. 1 — was nominated here but not for Record of the Year, where it deserves to be. And it would have had a better shot there. But as usual, there’s a decent amount of overlap with ROTY for this songwriter’s award, and the winner will likely come from one of the songs that is nominated in both categories.
That works against “Die With a Smile,” the current No. 1 hit that was peaking just as voting closed, but despite the power pairing of Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, it might have been too late in the game. And Carpenter probably would’ve had a better chance with “Espresso” than “Please Please Me.”
Although Swift has strangely never won Song of the Year either, “Fortnight” doesn’t feel like the song that will finally break that streak. And assuming Beyoncé and Lamar win AOTY and ROTY, respectively, they probably wouldn’t repeat here. Which means it comes down to Eilish and Roan. While “Birds of a Feather” is worthy of nabbing Eilish’s third SOTY gramophone, I have a sneaking suspicion they won’t want to reward her here for the second year in a row after “What Was I Made For?” triumphed in 2024. So I’m giving a slight edge to “Good Luck, Babe!” because voters will feel cool voting for the queer anthem.
SHOULD WIN: Billie Eilish
WILL WIN: Chappell Roan
BEST NEW ARTIST
Benson Boone
Sabrina Carpenter
Doechii
Khruangbin
Raye
Chappell Roan
Shaboozey
This is a strong, eclectic bunch with everything from soulful troubadours (Boone, Swims) to female rappers (Doechii) to country-hip-hoppers (Shaboozey). British breakout Raye — who ruled the UK equivalent of the Grammys at the 2024 Brit Awards — clearly has broad support by also picking up a nomination for Songwriter of the Year.
But this really boils down to a two-way race between Carpenter and Roan. If the “Espresso” songbird truly was a new artist, she’d have a better shot. But “Short n’ Sweet” was the sixth studio album by the Disney Channel alum, who released her debut LP way back in 2015. In what universe does that qualify her as a new artist?
Carpenter and Roan both have six nominations, so it’s a close call between the two rising pop stars. But my hunch is there will be just enough voters who, like me, don’t think Carpenter really belongs in this category to make the difference for Roan. Although the “Good Luck, Babe!” singer isn’t as “new” as you might think either — she dropped her debut EP, “School Nights,” in 2017 — she still feels far fresher than Carpenter.
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Chappell Roan
