Related Articles
One of many 12 months’s most stacked classes is file of the 12 months – higher understood as “greatest single”.
Except for a rogue nomination for The Beatles (see under), the shortlist displays a stellar 12 months for pop music, with Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso and Charli XCX’s 360 up in opposition to Beyoncé’s Texas Maintain ‘Em and Billie Eilish’s Birds Of A Feather.
However the front-runner is Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us. A livid take-down of his rap nemesis, Drake, it is as catchy as it’s legally contentious. If it wins, it will be solely the second hip-hop single to win the class, following Infantile Gambino’s This Is America in 2019.
Within the parallel music of the 12 months prize – which recognises achievement in songwriting – the sensible cash is on Bruno Mars and Woman Gaga’s Die With A Smile.
Each artists are perennial Grammy favourites, and their virtuoso ballad will probably be catnip to voters.
Their competitors contains Shaboozey’s A Bar Music (Tipsy), which was America’s longest-running primary single of 2024. Nevertheless, the truth that it is based mostly on a earlier hit (J-Kwon’s Tipsy) is more likely to rely in opposition to it.
Chappell Roan’s breakout single Good Luck Babe is another sturdy contender, notable for its hovering excessive notes and a piercing lyric that skewers internalised homophobia. Billie Eilish’s gossamer ballad Birds of a Feather is an analogous masterclass in songcraft – making this class one of many hardest to foretell.
In contrast, the coveted greatest new artist prize is just about a two-way cut up between Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter, each of whom established a dominant chart presence in 2024 after years on the pop sidelines.
That is dangerous information for the only British nominee, six-time Brit Award winner Raye. However at the least she’s in good firm, alongside breakout rap star Doechii and big-hearted pop singer Teddy Swims.
