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2025 Grammy Nominations: Snubs and Surprises!
Strike up the set due to the fact that it’s astir clip for the 2025 Grammys.
Hosted by Trevor Noah, the 67th yearly grant amusement volition beryllium broadcast unrecorded connected CBS and Paramount+ starting astatine 8 p.m. EST connected Feb. 2.
As for the nominees, fans tin extremity their hats to Beyoncé, who received 11 nominations for her medium Cowboy Carter. Charli xcx, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone and Billie Eilish are besides birds of a feather successful presumption of their fig of nods—receiving 7 apiece. And if you’re wondering who other is successful the running, nary request to beg please, please, delight for the answer: Sabrina Carpenter, Taylor Swift and Chappell Roan person six nominations each (for the afloat list, click here).
But did you ever wonderment how precisely artists get nominated for a Grammy? Allow america to explicate successful little than a fortnight.
As the Recording Academy details connected its website, artists and grounds companies taxable enactment they’d similar to beryllium considered for a Grammy that was released during the eligible period—in this case, from Sept. 16, 2023 to Aug. 30, 2024. These recordings are past reviewed by experts from those genres to guarantee that the submissions conscionable the requirements for the entered categories. Afterwards, the archetypal circular of voting takes place.
“To assistance guarantee the prime of the voting, members are directed to ballot lone successful their areas of expertise,” the website reads, “they whitethorn ballot successful up to 10 categories crossed up to 3 genre fields positive the six categories of the General Field (Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Best New Artist, Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical and Songwriter Of The Year, Non-Classical).”
The ballots are past counted by an autarkic accounting firm, and the Grammy nominations are announced. For the last round, the website adds, Academy members ballot for a victor successful up to 10 categories crossed up to 3 genre fields. They besides get to ballot for a victor successful the 4 wide categories: Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist.
“To guarantee the prime of voting,” the website states, “members are directed to ballot lone successful those fields successful which they are peers of the nominees.”
Again, the ballots are counted by the autarkic firm, and the winners are announced during the broadcast (although, there’s a somewhat antithetic process for Craft categories—e.g. Best Music Video, Best Historical Album, Best Album Notes—in which last nominations are determined by Craft committees).
While the process whitethorn look reasonably straightforward, determination are immoderate rules that whitethorn beryllium unexpected. Like did you cognize determination tin beryllium a necktie oregon that an medium tin beryllium nominated successful 1 genre class portion immoderate of its songs tin beryllium nominated successful another?
Before the 67th Grammy Awards instrumentality spot astatine Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena—with the Academy raising funds for wildfire alleviation and honoring archetypal responders pursuing the caller L.A. fires—keep speechmaking to larn astir Grammy rules that whitethorn astonishment you.
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The Recording Academy Reserves the Right to "Place Any Selection Into the Category It Deems Appropriate"
When it comes to class placement, artists and The Recording Academy aren't ever successful cleanable harmony.
While a instrumentalist whitethorn privation to beryllium considered for 1 award, the rules authorities the Academy has the close "to spot immoderate enactment into the class it deems appropriate."
Justin Bieber voiced his disorder implicit his medium Changes being nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album alternatively of Best R&B Album astatine the 2021 Grammys.
"To the Grammys I americium flattered to beryllium acknowledged and appreciated for my artistry," helium wrote successful portion of a November 2020 post. "I americium precise meticulous and intentional astir my music. With that being said I acceptable retired to marque an R&B album. Changes was and is an R&B album. It is not being acknowledged arsenic an R&B medium which is precise unusual to me."
Still, the Academy stuck to its decision.
"We ever privation to respect the artist’s wishes," Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. told Pitchfork. "Art’s a comic happening due to the fact that it’s truthful subjective, and astatine the Academy our extremity is to grant excellence. At immoderate point, decisions person to beryllium made arsenic to however to comparison antithetic things, and it is simply a precise pugnacious process and 1 I don’t deliberation we get close each time. We usage our champion efforts to get radical wherever they wanna beryllium and wherever they should beryllium and effort to measure them arsenic champion arsenic we can."
As for Justin, Harvey added, "If helium felt that was that benignant of a record, then, you know… I’ll conscionable permission it astatine that. We effort truly hard to marque definite people’s creation is respected and evaluated successful the close category."
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
An Album Can Be Nominated successful One Genre Category While Its Tracks Can Be Nominated successful Others
In bid for an medium to beryllium nominated successful a circumstantial genre category, that medium indispensable diagnostic much than 50 percent playing clip of that benignant of music, according to the Academy's regulations.
"However," the regularisation publication continues, "an medium whitethorn beryllium successful 1 genre tract portion 1 oregon much tracks from the medium whitethorn beryllium successful a antithetic genre field."
Consider Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter, for instance, which received 11 Grammy nominations. While the medium is up for Best Country Album, Queen Bey's way "Bodyguard" is successful the moving for Best Pop Solo Performance and her opus "Levii's Jeans" with Post Malone is simply a contender for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Similarly, her opus “Spaghettii” from the medium featuring Shaboozey and Linda Martell is simply a contender for Best Melodic R&B Performance and "Ya Ya" is nominated for Best Americana Performance.
However, a opus cannot beryllium nominated successful much than 1 genre category.
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The Number of Times an Artist Can Be Nominated successful a Category Depends connected the Category
Wondering however galore times an creator tin beryllium nominated successful a peculiar category? Well, it depends.
For instance, the Academy's regularisation publication states musicians tin person lone 1 information successful the Best New Artist class but that there's nary bounds connected however galore nods they tin person successful the Song of the Year group.
In fact, Brandi Carlile made past erstwhile she became the archetypal pistillate to person 2 Song of the Year nominations successful the aforesaid year, with her tracks "Right connected Time" and "A Beautiful Noise" featuring Alicia Keys some being contenders astatine the 2022 Grammys.
As for Album of the Year, the regularisation publication states an creator tin person lone 1 information successful this radical per twelvemonth unless the pursuing 2 exceptions apply: The artist's 2nd information successful this class is with a co-nominee, oregon the artist's 2 Album of the Year nominations are with 2 antithetic co-nominees.
PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
The Recording Academy Can Withdraw a Category
While determination are 94 categories for the 2025 Grammys, the Academy doesn't person to instrumentality with this fig each year.
According to the regularisation book, the enactment has the close to "withdraw immoderate Category successful immoderate 1 twelvemonth if the Academy determines that determination is an insufficient fig of entries successful that Category, and, astatine the Academy’s discretion, to spot the affected entries successful 1 oregon much different Categories."
Terence Rushin/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Artists Can Submit Songs They Recorded A While Ago—But There's a Catch
The eligibility play for the 2025 Grammys was from Sept. 16, 2023 to Aug. 30, 2024.
"The GRAMMY Awards are unfastened to caller recordings released during the eligibility period," the Academy's guidebook reads. "These recordings indispensable beryllium commercially released, nationally distributed and disposable from immoderate day wrong the eligibility play done astatine slightest the day of the existent year’s Final Round voting deadline."
As for what's considered a "new recording," the guidebook notes this is "defined arsenic worldly that has been recorded wrong 5 years of the merchandise day and not antecedently released."
Rich Fury/Getty Images for The Recording Academy, Brian Friedman/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images
There Can Be Ties
Sometimes, determination tin beryllium much than 1 victor successful a category.
For instance, some Jazmine Sullivan arsenic good arsenic Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak's duo Silk Sonic took location trophies successful the Best R&B Performance class astatine the 2022 Grammys. Anderson besides tied with Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Future and James Blake successful the Best Rap Performance astatine the 2019 grant show.
Photo by David Corio/Redferns
There Are No Runner-Ups If a Grammy Is Declined
When it comes to determining who volition instrumentality location the trophy, the rules enactment the "process does not nutrient a ranked effect with a victor and ordered runners-up."
So if a Grammy is rescinded aft it's been presented, the guidelines authorities "no grant is fixed successful that class for that year."
Granted, this isn't a communal occurrence. But successful 1991, Sinéad O'Connor boycotted the Grammys, wherever her medium I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got was awarded Best Alternative Music Performance.
In a missive to the Academy, Sinéad slammed the “false and destructive materialistic values” of the euphony industry, per the Los Angeles Times.However, the vocalist clarified to the outlet she was "not criticizing the Grammys successful particular" but alternatively the euphony manufacture and artists wide for not bringing much attraction to issues and not doing much to assistance others.
SplashNews.com
A Grammy Award Can Be Challenged
Not everyone is going to hold with who should triumph a Grammy. In fact, challenges tin beryllium made to Grammy grant entitlement.
"Decisions regarding GRAMMY Award entitlement are made by the Awards Department of the Recording Academy," the regularisation publication notes. "Any situation to a last entitlement determination by the Awards Department shall beryllium made successful penning and addressed to the Executive Committee of the Recording Academy. The Executive Committee is empowered to investigate, see and determine the challenge, and shall person the authorization to enactment with the powerfulness of the Board of Trustees for that purpose. The Executive Committee’s determination shall beryllium communicated to the challenger successful penning and shall beryllium final."
SUSAN GOLDMAN/AFP via Getty Images
Bands With 10 oregon More Members Get One Collective Trophy But Groups With 9 oregon Fewer Members Get Individual Statues
This mightiness not onslaught the close enactment with each band.
But according to The Recording Academy's regularisation book, the fig of members successful a radical determines however galore trophies that radical gets aft winning an award.
"Individuals and eligible members of groups of 9 oregon less who are GRAMMY nominees connected a winning task person a GRAMMY Award statuette," the publication reads. "Groups of 10 oregon much members volition person 1 statuette for the full group/ensemble which is engraved with the group/ensemble sanction and sent to the designated radical leader. The idiosyncratic radical members are not GRAMMY winners, lone the radical itself is the winner."
For instance, each of the 4 members of U2—Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr.—received trophies for their 22 wins, making them the most-awarded stone enactment successful history.
Don't miss the 2025 Grammy Awards Sunday, Feb. 2, astatine 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT connected CBS.
