On Feb. 2, golden gramophones will be handed out to a select group of prominent artists who have demonstrated success this past year – as the Grammys typically constitute. However, the 2025 Grammy nominations are pleasantly untraditional as they consist of more female nominations than ever before. 

Released on Nov. 8, the nominations put a crack in the glass ceiling of discrimination women face in the music industry — especially at the Grammys, where only 13.9% of nominees between 2013 and 2023 were women, compared to 86% male nominees.

Women have conquered the nominations for two entire categories: Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album. In addition, female artists claim six out of the eight slots for both Album of the Year and Record of the Year. 

With 94 Grammy nomination categories and so many talented nominees, we have picked our top eight categories to share our reactions and predictions while also highlighting the dominating female nominees. 

Best New Artist

The Best New Artist category is filled with influential and deserving nominees. Among the nominees is Doechii, who is also the most nominated female rapper for the awards; Sabrina Carpenter, who has dominated the media with her recent album, “Short n’ Sweet” and its global arena tour; Shaboozey, whose hit single “A Bar Song” blurs the line between country and hip-hop; and of course, Chappell Roan, who has taken over the media with her hit music and spunky personality. With these talented nominees and so many more, deciding a winner seems almost impossible. However, with her explosive success this past year, “your favorite artist’s favorite artist” is likely to take home the Best New Artist win. Roan’s decade-long pursuit of making it in the music world has finally paid off and her hard work is Grammy-worthy, maybe even in multiple categories. 

Record of the Year

This category is predominantly owned by women, with a sprinkling of male artists including The Beatles for “Now and Then” and Kendrick Lamar for “Not Like Us.” Promising nominees include “Good Luck Babe!” by Roan, “Espresso” by Carpenter, and “Fortnight” by Taylor Swift, featuring Post Malone. All three artists are excellent performers and have curated their own aesthetic in correlation to their music. Roan and Carpenter each exude great confidence and flair when performing onstage, with Roan’s passion and signature dance moves and Carpenter’s doll-like persona and amazing vocals. However, Swift is a top contender for this category due to her reputation as ‘the music industry itself,’ especially noting the legacy of The Eras Tour, as well as her immense success with the “Fortnight” music video that transported viewers into her perceived life as a tortured poet. Due to these reasons, we believe Swift will win in this category.

Album of the Year

In the Album of the Year category, we see a lot of familiar faces from the other categories. Roan is nominated for her 2023 album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.” This album has brought the world iconic songs like “Femininomenon,” “Casual,” “Pink Pony Club,” and America’s beloved “HOT TO GO!” with over 430 million streams on Spotify. Carpenter also sees another nomination for her 2024 album “Short n’ Sweet,” the album that permanently imprinted the lyrics of “Espresso” into the back of everyone’s mind for the rest of our lives. In this female-dominated category, we also see nominees Charli XCX with “brat,” Billie Eilish with “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” Swift with “The Tortured Poets Department” and Beyoncé with “Cowboy Carter.” As the most decorated artist in Grammy Awards history, Beyoncé has yet to bring home an Album of the Year win. While Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ is a strong album, it may not match the widespread impact of Swift’s 11th studio album. Its continued streams and the impact of her ongoing worldwide tour gives her the likely chance of Swift taking home her fifth Album of the Year Grammy. We know, not surprising. But how can we be surprised if we are too busy in awe of her continued and unparalleled success?

Song of the Year

We continue to see familiar female faces in the Song of the Year nomination category, with Swift, Eilish, Roan, Carpenter and Beyoncé taking up the majority of the nomination spots. In each category, we continue to see what seems like an impossible decision between the nominees. Carpenter’s single “Please, Please, Please” was a pivotal song for Carpenter’s unique branding and personality. It allowed her to establish herself as one of the most quintessential artists of her generation. The single’s success is no secret, with over 1 billion streams on Spotify. This puts Carpenter in a deserving spot for Song of the Year. However, another major contender is Shaboozey, with “A Bar Song,” a track that has spent 17 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song’s success broke ground for Shaboozey in establishing himself in the music industry. While we won’t be surprised by a win from any one of the nominees in this category, our top two contenders are Shaboozey and Carpenter. 

Best Pop Solo Performance 

Now we have come to the first of two all-female nomination categories. Our nominees have no new faces as we see again Beyoncé, Carpenter, Charli XCX, Eilish and Roan dominating yet another Grammys category, and well-deserved. To us, while all of these powerful female nominees shine and are deserving of awards across all categories, one particular artist stands out for Best Pop Solo Performance: Roan, with “Good Luck Babe!” Roan’s festival performances have become a staple in her identity as an artist, with her performance at Lollapalooza 2024 drawing in a crowd of 110,000, the largest in the festival’s history. Roan brings a fresh and unique energy to each one of her performances as she shows up and shows out in elaborate hair, makeup and attire. Watching Roan perform live is to be transported into her world of camp. We have high hopes and beliefs that the eccentric magic Roan brings to the stage will translate into a golden gramophone win. 

Best Pop Duo Performance 

For this category, it’s hard to determine which pair of artists will be the true dynamic duo. Favorable prospects for the win are  “us.” by Gracie Abrams featuring Taylor Swift, “Guess featuring billie eilish” by Charli XCX and Billie Eilish, and “the Boy is mine (with Brandy, Monica)” by Ariana Grande and Brandy & Monica. Abrams and Swift are two artists that have mastered the craft of beautifully heart-wrenching ballads, and their voices combine stunningly in “us.” While Charli and Eilish are both extremely talented artists, “Guess featuring billie eilish” has a club-based beat that might not appeal to all listeners. The same concept applies to “the boy is mine,” in that Grande has had a large following for over a decade, however, it’s difficult to discern the reach that her song has on fans. However, “the boy is mine” was a popular soundbite on TikTok and Instagram reels for a while, which could increase listenership. Overall, we think that Abrams and Swift have a good chance of capturing the win for this category due to their immense relevance as artists and subsequently, their talent. 

Best Pop Vocal Album

All of the nominees for this category are substantial contenders, as it consists of some of the most well-known and loved pop artists of this decade. Between Carpenter with “Short n’ Sweet,” Eilish with “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” Roan with “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” Ariana Grande with “eternal sunshine” and Swift with “The Tortured Poets Department,” the Grammy could go any of five ways. A confident pick for the win, however, resides with either “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” or “Short n’ Sweet” as both albums are the epitome of upbeat yet punchy pop music. Nevertheless, each artist has their own unique music and performance style that could sway the victory equally to either side. 

Special Mentions

To bring closer attention to deserving female artists, Beyonce is currently the most-nominated artist in Grammy history. She has acquired 99 nominations throughout her entire career, spanning nearly three decades. Her nomination for Best Country Album places her as the first African American woman to be nominated for a country album and breaks a monumental racial barrier in the music industry. On the topic of shattering barriers, Doechii is the first female rapper to be nominated for Best Rap Album in this decade. 

There is no doubt that the 2025 Grammy Awards will make history – the nominations have already proved to be record-breaking. We have high anticipation for the results of not only the seven categories we gave our thoughts on but every other category filled with talented artists. 

Edited by Alyssa Royston | aroyston@themaneater.com 

Copyedited by Stella Thrift and Natalie Kientzy | nkientzy@themaneater.com

Edited by Emily Skidmore | eskidmore@themaneater.com