Let's start with the essentials: house music is Black music. House music was born in the United States; Chicago to be exact. House music is one of the core foundational styles of electronic music; as important as Detroit-bred techno.

House is an upbeat genre characterized by a funky, repetitive 4/4 beat (also known as four-on-the-floor) and a danceable tempo ranging from 115 to 130 bpm. House is often made with synthesizers and drum machines — like Roland's classic TR-808 and TR-909 — along with samples. Vocals are common in house music, with the most classic iterations being female diva vocals that harken back to house's disco roots, or distorted, pitched vocals that give a sample new life.

The foundations for house music were bubbling in the '70s in the Midwest and East Coast, particularly at celebrated underground New York clubs like Paradise Garage and David Mancuso's Loft, and in Chicago's house party scene. Larry Levan, the star DJ of Paradise Garage, played an eclectic mix of tunes — particularly disco, R&B, new wave and proto-house records from the likes of Arthur Russell (as Dinosaur L and Loose Joints) and Gwen Guthrie. This New York underground sound would have a huge influence on house music, and was imported to and adapted for Chicago by the Bronx-born Godfather of House Frankie Knuckles.

While disco and funk thrived in the New York club scene, the short-lived post-Saturday Night Fever national disco craze led to its over-commercialization and oversaturation. That came to a head on July 12, 1979, when radio shock jock Steve Dahl led the Disco Demolition Night at the Chicago White Sox's Comiskey Park. The underlying racism was unmasked as mostly white attendees brought all sorts of non-disco records from Black artists for Dahl to blow up, culminating in on-field riot. 

The impact was swift and far-reaching. As the Guardian pointed out, 13 out of 16 of the No. 1 hits in the U.S. from the first half of 1979 were disco tunes, while just one disco tune topped the chart for one week during the second half of the year. Radio stations pivoted back to rock music, labels stopped investing in disco and even the Recording Academy canceled its Best Disco Recording category after one year.

While the commercial and pop culture appetite for disco had soured, people still needed music to dance to. The future of dance music would be created by innovative DIY producers. Aided by the exciting new technology of drum machines, Casio keyboards and other relatively affordable "bedroom producer" equipment, young people in Chicago — many of them Black and queer — made music that would soon be called house. Named after its first home, Chicago's Warehouse, which opened in 1977,  this music not only soundtracked sweaty dancefloors, but would influence electronic music the globe over to this day.

The history of house music — from its foundations in the Windy City to its global explosion, and evolution to the current day — is as rich and varied as the genre itself. This timeline, while not an exhaustive list, will take you through some of the biggest key moments, tracks and players that have shaped house over the last four decades.

House Music Is Born In Chicago

By 1980, The Warehouse was in full swing under the helm of its venerated resident DJ Frankie Knuckles, a.k.a. the Godfather of House. The Bronx-born DJ was a close friend of Larry Levan and also got his start in the queer NYC underground, bringing his disco-rich, classically omnivorous New York club sound to what would become his devoted Chicago fanbase. 

As disco singles dried up, Knuckles needed fresh tunes to mix into his sets and turned to reel-to-reel tape to craft his own extended remixes live in the club. Later, he'd produce his own original house tunes, like the kinetic "Baby Wants To Ride" featuring legendary house vocalist Jamie Principle in 1987. Knuckles famously called house music "disco's revenge." 

In late 1982, Warehouse admission price doubled and Knuckles left to start his own club, The Power Plant, where he introduced drum machines into his sets. Knuckles closed his venue in September 1987 and moved back to NYC. Meanwhile, The Warehouse was renamed the Music Box, and Knuckles' big shoes were filled by the frenzied, eclectic sets of new resident Ron Hardy. Another vital early house DJ, Hardy would play young local producer's tracks and make them hits — yet his untimely death to AIDS at age 33 in 1992 and limited production output have left his legacy oft under-sung. Smartbar, which has remained a purveyor of house music to this day, also opened in 1982, spreading the house club scene to Chicago's North Side.

The nascent genre was technically born in 1984 with the release of Vince Lawrence and Jesse Saunders' "On and On," one of the first original house tracks. With its jittery, repetitive loops, catchy, clapping hi-hats, simple, playful vocals, disco samples, and use of recently introduced drum machines, the track is a perfect representation of classic Chicago house. The pivotal track inspired a rash of other young house-heads to try their hands at production.

Other important '80s Chicago house tracks include Mr. Fingers' (a.k.a. Larry Heard) deep house classic "Can You Feel It," which was made with just the TR-909 and JUNO-60 drum machines, and Marshall Jefferson's "Move Your Body (the House Music Anthem)" — the first house track that used piano — both of which were released on Trax Records in 1986. Other crucial releases include Lil' Louis' frenetic, deeply influential 1989 track "French Kiss," Steve "Silk" Hurley's "Jack Your Body" in 1987, and Ron Hardy's "Sensation" in 1985. Phuture's "Acid Tracks" in 1987 marked the launch of acid house, characterized by DJ Pierre, Earl "Spanky" Smith Jr. and Herbet J's trippy, sputtering experiments with the Roland 909 drum machine. 

Chicago record stores such as Gramaphone and Imports Etc. played a vital role in promoting and distributing house music, and served as an educational and meeting space for DJs and ravers.

By the mid-'80s, house music was expanding beyond Chicago and its environs. Frankie Knuckles was in demand overseas, and even held a summer residency at a London gay club called Heaven in 1987. Led by techno forefather Kevin Saunderson and Chicago singer Paris Grey, Inner City showcased the joyful house music coming out of Detroit and the impact the two scenes were already having on each other. The group also showcased house’s global pop potential, with their classic 1988 debut single "Big Fun" scoring them a No. 1 hit in the UK and on the U.S. dance chart. 1988's "I'll House You" from New York rap group the Jungle Brothers and DJ/producer Todd Terry showed that New York was ready to bring their flavor to house.

Europe, UK & NYC Go House Crazy; Chicago's Second Wave Artists Emerge

House music continued to thrive in Chicago in the '90s as the next generation of pivotal Chicago artists cropped up , including Derrick Carter, Ron Trent, Paul Johnson and DJ Sneak, while the originators continued their quest to make house happen on a broad scale.

In 1992, house rebel Curtis Jones (performing as Cajmere) dropped the eternal dance floor heater "Percolator" and launched his influential Cajual Records. In 1993, he'd add Relief Records into the mix as an outlet for Green Velvet, his neon-green-mohawked acid house and tech house alter ego and, as Bandcamp put it, "early releases by future legends of the second wave." The popularity of Jones' music and labels helped put Chicago house on the map globally.

Read more: Dance Legend Curtis Jones On Cajmere, Green Velvet & 30 Years Of Cajual Records

In 1995, newcomer Derrick Carter teamed up with Brit Luke Solomon to launch London house imprint Classic Music Company, which is still running today under another iconic UK house label, Defected (established in 1999). 

In 1990, DJ collective The Chosen Few DJs, which includes Jesse Saunders, launched their annual house head reunion picnic. The Chosen Few Picnic and collective are still actively spreading the gospel of Chicago house today. In 1997, Chicagoans DJ Lady D, DJ Heather, DJ Collette and Dayhota made history with the U.S.’s first female DJ collective Superjane.

Dance remixes, many of which were undeniably house, proliferated in the '90s. New York remained the source of these in-demand producers, with Masters at Work (Louie Vega and Kenny Dope), C&C Music Factory (David Cole and Robert Clivillés), François K, David Morales, Todd Terry and Danny Tenaglia at the forefront. New York-based Strictly Rhythm and Nervous Records, both of which are still active, released countless house classics.

In 1991, Frankie Knuckles released his debut album Beyond The Mix, featuring the breezy classic "The Whistle Song." He brought his DJ sorcery to New York with residencies at clubs Roxy and Sound Factory, the latter which brought Harlem's liberatingly queer ballroom culture to the downtown club scene, via NYC house legend Junior Vasquez. In 1998, Frankie Knuckles fittingly won the inaugural Best Remixed Recording GRAMMY Award (then called Remixer Of The Year, Non-Classical), and was nominated again the next year, but David Morales took home the gold.

Masters at Work’s impact on ‘90s NYC house can’t be understated. Some of the dynamic duo’s big tunes from the era include Barbara Tucker's 1994 No. 1 Dance Club hits "Beautiful People" and "I Get Lifted," along with Harddrive’s (a.k.a. Vega) "Deep Inside" and "The Bomb! (These Sounds Fall into My Mind)" by the Bucketheads (a.k.a.  Dope). Other big '90s house tracks that came out of NYC include Robin S.' enduring "Show Me Love," which hit No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, Ultra Naté's ever-uplifting, Mood II Swing-produced "Free" from 1995, and Armand van Helden's 1999 classic "U Don't Know Me."

At New Jersey's influential Club Zanzibar, a deep and soulful rendition of house was being perfected by Brooklyn-born Tony Humphries and Jersey-bred Kerri Chandler (one of the progenitors of deep house, alongside Larry Heard). Demonstrating the porous borders of house, Jersey house singer Adeva teamed up with Knuckles for a joint album in 1995, going full gospel house with a backing choir. 

The '90s also saw more house coming out of Detroit, with a more minimal, often spacey touch, reflective of the city’s empty buildings and techno roots. Moodymann showcased his singular lo-fi funk-laden sound with his debut album Silentintroduction on Detroit techno legend Carl Craig's Planet E label, while Theo Parrish, Chez Damier (who got his start in Chicago), Stacey Hotwaxx Hale and DJ Minx all began making their mark on house. Of course, there is no rule that techno artists can't make house, and many Detroit legends did, including Kevin Saunderson, Carl Craig, DJ Minx, "Mad" Mike Banks and others.

Read more: Planet E's Carl Craig On Keeping Dance Music Black & Expansive New 'Planet E 30' Album

Mainstream European audiences have generally shown more openness to dance music than Americans, with dance tunes regularly topping the pop charts in the UK, Sweden, Germany, and beyond. Eurodance was at its euphoric peak in the '90s, with key tracks such as Technotronic's "Pump Up The Jam" (1990, UK), La Bouche's "Be My Lover" and "Sweet Dreams" (1995, Germany), Haddaway's "What Is Love" (1993, Germany), Snap's "Rhythm Is A Dancer" (1992, Germany), Real McCoy's "Another Night" (1994, Germany) and Corona's "Rhythm of The Night" (1993/4, Italy). Many of these singles also charted in the U.S.

The UK, and London specifically, have always had an affinity towards house music and putting their own spin on American sounds. In the '90s, soulful house from New Jersey inspired the bassline-focused UK garage (and, later, its faster cousin speed garage). Tech house was born in London in the mid-90s by acid house DJs; it soon became London's de facto club sound following Terry Francis' appointment as club fabric's first resident DJ. London club Ministry of Sound opened in 1991 with an award-winning sound system, bringing New York house legends like Larry Levan and David Morales across the pond. The club also spurred the phenomenon of superstar DJs like Carl Cox and and promoted UK acid house explosion via the likes of DJ Harvey.

Global Dance Comes Stateside

The seeds for EDM's (electronic dance music) popularity in the U.S. were sprouting in the 2000s. The most mainstream offerings in a broad and previously underground scene, EDM is characterized by big drops and pop tendencies like shorter track lengths and catchy vocal hooks. The new millennium also saw the ever-expanding sound of house officially take root globally, with international artists exporting a glossy version of the sound back to the U.S. 

In the early aughts, tracks like Italian Benny Bennasi's "Satisfaction" in 2002, Swede Eric Prydz's "Call On Me" in 2004 and Frenchman Bob Sinclair's "World, Hold On (Children Of The Sky)" in 2006 cracked U.S. dance charts and solidified the artists as big-name mainstage DJs for years to come. The first two represented the electro house sound that would remain popular into the next decade. Prydz's 2008 hit "Pjanoo" marked another very Y2K sound: driving, trance-y progressive house.

The 2000 breezy "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" by Italian DJ Spiller and British dance-pop queen Sophie Ellis-Bextor was an Ibiza hit that made its way to American clubs and pointed to the popularity nu disco would have in the '00s (as seen by Ellis-Bextor's "Murder On The Dancefloor" and Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" in 2001). UK garage went mainstream as acts like So Solid Crew and Craig David incorporated the genre into chart-topping hits. Black Londoners like Supa D and Crazy Cousinz mixed house with elements from genres across the African diaspora into the captivatingly percussive sound of UK funky.

While French touch/filter house — the Parisian interpretation of house with funk and disco elements popularized by Daft Punk — was bubbling up in the '90s, it really took off around the year 2000. The genre is exemplified by 2000 singles such as Modjo’s "Lady (Hear Me Tonight)," Demon's "You Are My High," and Superfunk's "Lucky Star," featuring soulful vocals from Chicago's Ron Carroll.

In Berlin's underground dance scene, a melodic, intricate version of house was taking shape outside of minimal techno’s dominance. This was exemplified by M.A.N.D.Y. and Booka Shade 2006 smash "Body Language," alongside fellow Germans Henrik Schwarz, Âme and Dixon launching their hugely influential label Innervisionsin 2005, expressly indebted to Chicago and Detroit. Beatportal named Âme’s 2005 song "Rej" "the defining track of a whole era," one that led to the global dominance of what is known as melodic house and techno today. 

Underground scenes in San Francisco and Los Angeles blossomed, with the likes of Chicago transplant Mark Farina and the Sunset Sound System crew, and DJ Dan and Marques Wyatt fostering the respective local rave scenes. While Chicago had a bit of a slower creative period than the prior decades, Brooklyn-born DJ Heather was building her legacy as a Chicago house purveyor. Felix Da Housecat (who had released his first single back in 1987 at just 15 with mentorship from DJ Pierre) saw mainstream success in the '00s, getting tapped for remixes from the likes of Madonna, Britney Spears, and Rökysopp. 

Windy City native Honey Dijon was working her magic in New York's queer dance music underground andfashion scene. In 2008, queer DIY New York collective Hercules and Love Affair, led by Andrew Butler, dropped the sparkling nu disco gem "Blind," bolstered by a remix from the one and only Frankie Knuckles. On Aug. 25, 2004, the section of Chicago's Jefferson Street that was home to the original Warehouse was renamedFrankie Knuckles Way.

 House Goes EDM

In the 2010s, dance music finally took off in the U.S. mainstream in the form of EDM, and its influence on pop is undeniable. Big room house — essentially house-indebted EDM — gained popularity via songs such as Martin Garrix's "Animals," Kaskade's "Don't Stop Dancing" featuring EDX and Haley, Calvin Harris' "We Found Love" featuring Rihanna, Swedish House Mafia's "Save The World" and Avicii's "Levels."

In 2011, massive EDM festival Electric Daisy Carnival moved from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, signaling  how popular dance music had become stateside and the unofficial start of the rave industrial complex. Coachella added the clubby Yuma tent in 2013 with the goal of focusing on underground dance music while expanding its original DJ-centric Sahara Tent. The following year, Harris drew the second-largest Coachella crowd at his mainstage, non-headlining set.

Meanwhile, in Chicago, house’s queer roots were blossoming. In 2013, The Blessed Madonna became smartbar's first woman booker after serving as a resident DJ. Eris Drew and Octo Octa, both trans women, have been expanding the bounds of house and bringing classic, eclectic rave energy since they got behind the decks, while Shaun J. Wright and Alinka have been keeping Chicago house queer and Black with their Twirl parties and label.

Read more: The Rise Of Underground House: How Artists Like Fisher & Acraze Have Taken Tech House, Other Electronic Genres From Indie To EDC

Two UK acts, Disclosure and Jamie XX, would bring classic house, specifically UK garage with a modern touch, to the U.S. charts and GRAMMYs with their debut albums, Settle in 2013 and In Colour in 2015, respectively. Disclosure's success was swift and far-reaching, winning the GRAMMY for Best Dance/Electronic Album for Settle; lead single "Latch" remains their biggest hit and turned then-unknown Sam Smith into a pop star.

Midway through the decade, tech house — which blends elements of techno into a four-four house beat — would begin to take over as the dominant sound of EDM, making superstars of Chris Lake, Hot Since 82 and Patrick Topping and inspiring the next generation of global DJs. This trend was largely driven by Welsh house purveyor Jamie Jones, whose label Hot Creations, producer supergroup Hot Natured, and Paradise Garage-inspired, Ibiza-bred Paradise parties helped popularize a groovy version of tech house. 

Elsewhere in Europe, Norwegian DJ/producer Todd Terje kept the spirit of Ibiza's breezy Balearic house and nu disco alive on his instant-classic debut single "Inspector Norse" in 2012, made using only an ARP 2600 synth. Cinthie, "the Berlin Queen of House," was keeping the spirit of classic-yet-fresh Chicago house alive in the techno-loving city with her all-vinyl sets and label 803 Crystal Grooves.

South Africa'sBlack Coffee became a global flagbearer for Afro house, a vast umbrella term representing an innovative and disparate group producers and subgenres from the African continent and diaspora, further cemented by Drake sampling his 2009 tune "Superman" on 2017's "Get It Together," naming him as a featured artist alongside singer Jorja Smith.

Read more: Black Coffee On New Album, 'Subconsciously': "Music Is Life To Me And I Want You To Feel That With Every Beat And Melody"

House: The Bedrock Of Multiple Mainstream Smashes

In 2022, ill-informed headlines claimed Beyoncé saved house music with the release of the euphoric GRAMMY-winning single "BREAK MY SOUL" and album RENAISSANCE.

House music didn't need saving, but it did reach a wider audience and become the sound of the summer while sparking important conversations reminding people that house is a Black American genre. The 32-time GRAMMY winner did her homework and enlisted a bevy of producers, including Honey Dijon and Luke Solomon (who worked on "COZY" and "ALIEN SUPERSTAR"), and samples to pay tribute to dance music's Black queer roots on RENAISSANCE. Honey Dijon and T.S. Madison— whose "B**ch, I’m Black" speech was sampled on "COZY" — made history as the first Black trans women to earn a Billboard hit.

Learn more: Obsessed With Beyoncé's 'Renaissance'? Keep The Dance Party Going With Albums From Frankie Knuckles, Big Freedia & More

Drake also brought house (and its rapid-fire cousin Jersey club) tunes to the top of the charts on Honestly, Nevermind with help from Gordo (who previously made EDM as Carnage). Keinemusik heads Rampa and &ME brought their wildly popular driving, melodic, Afro-house-infused sound to "Falling Back" and "A Keeper," and Black Coffee and Gordo deliver the breezy, Jersey club meets deep house "Currents."

ARC Festival launched in 2021, as Chicago's answer to Detroit's long-running Movement electronic music festival, featuring local legends and big-name DJs from around the globe and reinvigorating the Windy City as a dance music destination. In 2023, the city finally protected the West Loop building that once housed The Warehouse as an official city landmark.

A younger generation of DJs, such as South Korean Peggy Gou, British TSHA and Aluna, Canadian Jayda G and Detroit-born-and-raised DJ Holographic continue to keep the spirit of house alive and fresh. The likes of Aussie Dom Dolla, Chicagoan John Summit and Brazilian Mochakk have become tech house biggest rising stars while coloring outside of the lines.

Believe it or not, it's already that time of year again: the 2025 GRAMMY nominations have been revealed.

After a year that saw a pop renaissance and continued dominance by women across genres, the 2025 GRAMMY nominees followed suit. Beyoncé is this year's most-nominated artist, adding 11 more to her GRAMMY resumé (more on that later). Pop's newest reigning queens, Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan, solidified their thrones; they each celebrate six nominations, and are the only two artists nominated for Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best New Artist. 

In fact, six of the eight leading nominees are women. Female artists dominate both the Record Of The Year and Album Of The Year Categories, as well as over a dozen other Categories Best Pop Vocal Album, Best R&B Performance and Best Latin Pop Album.

But that's just one exciting aspect of this year's nominations. As you dive into the full 2025 GRAMMYs nominee list, take a look at some of the most notable feats and firsts from the 2025 GRAMMY nominations — and be sure to tune into Music's Biggest Night on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025!

Beyoncé Adds To Her GRAMMY Legacy

With 11 nominations, Beyoncé isn't just the most-nominated artist at the 2025 GRAMMYs — she's now the most-nominated artist in GRAMMY history. The 11 new nods bring her total to a whopping 99 nominations!

Queen Bey is already the artist with the most GRAMMY wins of all time with 32, a record she achieved upon her album RENAISSANCE winning Best Dance/Electronic Music Album at the 2023 GRAMMYs. 

Artists Are Nominated In Fields/Categories For The First Time

Along with a new GRAMMY record, Beyoncé also adds a new GRAMMY Field to her repertoire. She received her first nominations in the Country & American Roots Music Field, and five at that: Best Country Solo Performance ("16 CARRIAGES"), Best Country Duo/Group Performance ("II MOST WANTED" Featuring Miley Cyrus), Best Country Song ("TEXAS HOLD 'EM"), Best Country Album (COWBOY CARTER), and Best Americana Performance ("YA YA").

Post Malone also tallied the first Country & American Roots Music Field nominations of his career, earning nods for Best Country Duo/Group Performance and Best Country Song for his Morgan Wallen duet, "I Had Some Help," and Best Country Album for F-1 Trillion.

One of Malone's many F-1 Trillion collaborators, Luke Combs, notched his first nomination in the Best Song Written For Visual Media Category for his chart-topping Twisters anthem "Ain't No Love In Oklahoma."

Meanwhile, R&B titans Alicia Keys and John Legend both celebrate nominations in new Categories as well. Keys is nominated in the Best Musical Theater Album Category for the first time (Hell's Kitchen), and Legend received his first nods for Best Children's Music Album (My Favorite Dream) and Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella ("Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Jacob Collier featuring Legend & Tori Kelly).

Charli xcx Continues Her Brat Summer

Pop's longtime cool girl Charli xcx also adds several new Categories to her GRAMMY nomination tally, but her reason to celebrate is a little bigger than that: they're her first nominations as a solo artist.

Charli xcx's previous two GRAMMY nominations came in 2015, and they were for her Iggy Azalea collaboration, "Fancy." Perhaps to fans' surprise, her own work had never received a nod — but brat changed that immensely.

One of the most-nominated artists with seven, Charli xcx earned her first nominations in the Album Of The Year (brat), Best Pop Solo Performance ("Apple"), Best Pop Dance Recording ("Von Dutch"), Best Dance/Electronic Album (brat), and Best Music Video ("360") Categories. She's also nominated in the same two Categories in which "Fancy" were 10 years ago: Record Of The Year ("360") and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance ("Guess" Featuring Billie Eilish).

Album Of The Year Marks Notable Firsts

Three of Charli xcx's fellow Album Of The Year nominees reach milestones with their respective nominations. Taylor Swift received her seventh Album Of The Year nomination thanks to THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT, becoming the first woman artist to receive seven nominations in the Category. 

Billie Eilish notches her third Album Of The Year nomination in a row with HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, making her the first artist to have their first three albums nominated in the Category.

Jack Antonoff also achieved a back-to-back AOTY feat, as it's the second year in a row that he has been nominated for his work with two separate artists in the Category. His latest Album Of The Year nods are for Swift's THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT and Sabrina Carpenter's Short n' Sweet. (Fittingly, Swift was one of the two artists last year too, as Antonoff was nominated for AOTY for his work on Midnights as well as Lana Del Rey's Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd.)

Veteran Acts Earn Nods For The First Time In A Long Time

Several artists and creators celebrate their first GRAMMY nominations this year, including big-name stars like Sabrina Carpenter, Doechii, Carin Léon, Chappell Roan, Shaboozey, and Morgan Wallen. What's more, 32 of those first-time nominees have two or more nominations.

But while the Recording Academy is always excited to honor new nominees — check back to GRAMMY.com in January for the annual Meet The First-Time GRAMMY Nominee series — one of the most interesting stories of the 2025 GRAMMYs centers on those who received nominations for the first time in over a decade.

Perhaps the most unexpected names to see on the list are the Beatles. The Fab Four are nominated for the first time in 28 years thanks to "Now And Then," what Paul McCartney has dubbed "the final Beatles record." The song earned nods for Record Of The Year and Best Rock Performance, which brings their career nominations count to 25; prior to the 2025 GRAMMYs, the Beatles have won seven GRAMMYs.

The longest time between nominations this year goes to the Black Crowes, who received their first nod in 34 years for Happiness Bastards, their first album in 14 years. They earned their first Best Rock Album nomination, as they'd only ever been nominated once previously, for Best New Artist in 1991.

Interestingly, the Rock, Metal & Alternative Music Field spawned a few long-awaited nominations for veteran acts. Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth fame scored the first nominations of her career with her second solo album, The Collective, which is up for Best Alternative Music Album, and its lead single, "BYE BYE" is up for Best Alternative Music Performance.

Pearl Jam celebrated their first nominations since 2011 with their 12th studio album, Dark Matter, which received a nod for Best Rock Album as well as Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance for its title track.

They're in company with their fellow '90s punk rock gods Green Day, who earned nods in all three Categories thanks to their latest album, Saviors. Marking Green Day's first nominations since 2014, Saviors is up for Best Rock Album, while singles "The American Dream Is Killing Me" and "Dilemma" are up for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song, respectively.

Elsewhere, Usher earned his first nomination for his own work in 10 years with a Best R&B Album nod for Coming Home, and Eminem earned his first nod for Best Rap Album (a Category he's won six times) in 10 years with The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce).

Collaborations helped Erykah Badu, Michael McDonald and Monica snag their first nominations in more than a decade, too. Badu's team-up with Rapsody, "3:AM," earned a nod for Best Melodic Rap Performance, the singer's first nomination in the Category and first overall since 2009. McDonald tallied his first nomination since 2004 thanks to his Lalah Hathaway duet, "No Lie," which is nominated for Best Traditional R&B Performance.

Monica received her first nomination since 2011, which also marked a full-circle moment. Her collab with Ariana Grande and Brandy, "The Boy Is Mine," earned a nod for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance — 26 years after her duet with Brandy of the same name won a GRAMMY for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal.

Will any legends go home with more golden gramophones? Will Beyoncé further her victory lap? Will there be several first-time winners? Tune into CBS on Feb. 5, 2025 to find out!

Sharing an album with the world is an artist’s way of immortalizing a fragment of their life. Though virality can propel music to the mainstream, releasing an album is a profound accomplishment that can have a deep and laying impact. Albums are more than an encapsulation of a musician’s lived and learned experiences: they’re a way to cherish them forever.

The Recording Academy is proud to present the 2025 GRAMMYs nominees for Album Of The Year, honoring both artistic and technical skill of the highest degree in music. The Category is notably dominated by women this season, while several entries see established artists tapping into new genres and sonic arenas. 

Check out the nominees below and read the full 2025 GRAMMYs nominations list ahead of Music's Biggest Night on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. 

André 3000 — 'New Blue Sun'

André 3000 might be best known for his role in Outkast, but recently, the Atlanta rapper has been busy carving out a new reputation as André the flutist.

In the years following Outkast’s split in 2007, André 3000 has been spotted wandering everywhere from LAX to Japan with his flute in tow. Now, the opening track of his first-ever solo album amusingly calls out his genre switch: "I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a ‘Rap’ Album but This Is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time."

To record improvisations that eventually birthed New Blue Sun, the flutist worked with producer Carlos Niño, keyboardist Surya Botofasina, and guitarist Nate Mercereau to craft a surreal, textured soundscape. Throughout, André 3000 plays the contrabass flute, Maya flute, wood and bamboo flutes, and more wind instruments — harmoniously uniting to create the artist’s first release in over 17 years.

Composed of eight tracks with bizarre, lengthy titles, the lyricless New Blue Sun is labeled as new-age and experimental jazz. It’s fairly shocking that André 3000 is not a trained musician, given the project’s brilliance; led primarily by rhythm, and using his instincts developed from rapping, the expert flutist embeds New Blue Sun with an organic authenticity. The album feels limitlessly atmospheric, dipping into an ambience that teeters between peaceful and precarious.

With Big Boi in the ‘90s, André 3000 undoubtedly helped shape hip-hop, pushing the genre forward with creative integrations of funk, jazz, rock, and gospel. In 2024, he continues to break rules as he champions alternative jazz — all with his flute by his side.

When Beyoncé’s first country song came out in 2016, people questioned if the icon belonged on the country radio — despite the indisputable impact of Black artists on the genre. Eight years later, the genre-bending diva is still drowning out the noise by switching on her very own radio station: COWBOY CARTER’s KNTRY Radio Texas, that is.

The fantasy station is one of the many visionary elements of COWBOY CARTER, an album that honors the cultural contributions of Black artists to American country music. The eighth studio project is Act II of her album trilogy; while the first installment RENAISSANCE (2022) focused on futuristic escapism, COWBOY CARTER looks to the past. It pays vibrant tribute to the Black community’s roots in country music, offering a glorious reimagination of Americana.

Not just championing but also reinventing Southern subgenres, COWBOY CARTER is yet another example of Beyoncé’s revolutionary versatility. From horseshoe steps to boot stomps to Beyoncé’s fingernails as percussion, the album unites bluegrass, zydeco, folk, R&B, and more to craft a majestic testament to Beyoncé’s boundless artistry.

Boasting 27 tracks and five years in the making, the Texas-born legend’s album includes features from Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Linda Martell, Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, Shaboozey, Tanner Adell, Tiera Kennedy, Reyna Roberts, and Brittney Spencer, embracing country legends as well as making space for up-and-coming Black artists on the scene.

While Beyoncé has yet to take home GRAMMY Gold for Album Of The Year, she remains the artist with the most GRAMMY wins of all time. After all, this isn’t her first rodeo.

"Oh, I leave quite an impression," Sabrina Carpenter croons on Short n’ Sweet, with a nonchalance that’s virtually intoxicating. While the 25-year-old indeed stands at just five feet tall, it’s evident the actress-turned-songstress has enough talent to fill a stadium.

Glowing with lighthearted, honest-to-goodness genius, Short n’ Sweet is the cherry on top of Carpenter’s already extensive discography. Her sixth studio album spawned a trinity of 2024 hits: "Espresso," "Please Please Please" and "Taste." With this remarkable trio, Carpenter became the first artist since the Beatles to chart their first three top five US hits in the same week. Short n’ Sweet's success was boosted by her Coachella debut earlier in the year, and furthered during her first arena tour.

On her delightful summer hit "Espresso," Carpenter explicitly mentions that her "twisted humor" is what makes her lovable, which might remind older fans of her 2022 single "Nonsense." The pop track went viral for its raunchy, often silly outros that Carpenter lovingly tailored to each city she toured in — and on Short n’ Sweet, she taps into her risqué wit much more fully, rocketing her album to another level of memorable.

Undoubtedly, it’s Carpenter’s bright confidence that makes space for her playful pen game on Short n’ Sweet. With her signature plucky yet composed soprano, she balances her soulful ardor with her deadpan humor expertly, allowing her to explore the nuances of romance in new and clever ways — all while maintaining her infectious charisma that earned her her first GRAMMY nominations this year.

Charli xcx knows how to throw a party, and on June 7, 2024, she turned the world into her own nightclub. BRAT, her sixth studio album, gloriously splattered the globe a garish green, with hits like "360," "Apple," and "Von Dutch" soundtracking the summer.

Ten years after scoring her first GRAMMY nominations for "Fancy" with Iggy Azalea, the British queen of "brat summer" continues to crank out bangers about chandelier swinging and driving in the fast lane. Working with producers A.G. Cook, EASYFUN, Cirkut, her fiancé George Daniel, and other longtime collaborators, Charli conjured her own genre: a chic, club-ready pop blend of electroclash and hyperpop.

Though the self-proclaimed 365 party girl sings about dancing until dawn and sipping one too many aperol spritzes, BRAT is also Charli’s most vulnerable album, her long nails gingerly peeling back the sticky layers of fame and womanhood. BRAT makes blunt confessions about jealousy, questioning motherhood, grief, and intergenerational trauma. Brilliantly, she’s dauntless and exposed all at once — and still bumpin’ that at the club.

Her popular co-headlining SWEAT Tour with GRAMMY-nominated collaborator Troye Sivan vroom-vroomed BRAT to arenas across the U.S. Charli xcx might have had her shades on while performing, but make no mistake: she has nothing to hide.

When people think of contemporary jazz, rollercoaster might not be the first word that comes to mind — but Jacob Collier is nothing if not ambitious. As the climax of his four-album project dating back to 2018, Djesse Vol. 4 triumphs as an odyssey through genre.

What makes Collier such a prolific musician is his refusal to distill abundance. He sees the beauty in anything and everything, and Djesse Vol. 4 brings his perspective to life. The project not only centers but celebrates the human voice; in fact, about 150,000 voices feature on Djesse Vol. 4 — many from his own concert audiences that he transformed into improvised choirs. 

Collier has won multiple GRAMMY Awards for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals, and Djesse Vol. 4 continues to showcase his mastery of sound via genre diversity. The nominated album is modern and sprawling, from the serenity of his audience-choirs to howling of heavy metal. Djesse Vol. 4 is thought-provoking, engrossing, and oftentimes surprising; who else would have aespa and Chris Martin on the same track?

Collier is the first British artist to win a GRAMMY for each of his first four albums, and Djesse Vol. 4 already boasts a GRAMMY-nominated track on it (2022’s "Never Gonna Be Alone," featuring Lizzy McAlpine and John Mayer, which was later announced as the album’s first single). Collier was previously nominated for Album Of The Year for Djesse Vol. 3 and also received a nod at the 2023 GRAMMYs in the same Category for Coldplay’s nominated Music of the Spheres.

Djesse Vol. 4 has redefined Collier’s perspective on life, and in a way, Collier’s album is more than a reflection: it’s an open invitation.

Billie Eilish had a fear of water as a child, yet to capture the album cover for HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, she spent six brutal hours on-and-off submerged underwater with a weight on her shoulders. "A lot of my artwork is painful physically in a lot of ways, and I love it," the 22-year-old told Rolling Stone. "Oh, my God, I live for it."

Eilish delves beneath the surface in more ways than one on HIT ME HARD AND SOFT. As rippling, immersive alt-pop, the album swims through similar topics covered in her first two studio albums, including coping with fame, body image, and post-breakup grief. Yet Eilish is no longer the proudly self-proclaimed "bad guy"; instead she doesn’t tether herself to a persona.

In this way, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT holds dear a newfound, striking level of maturity. Eilish is incontestably true to herself, and lyrically, the album feels especially unbridled and attentive. With its title a paradoxical demand, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT powerfully represents the impossible struggle between intensity and tenderness — both in love and in life.

Though the album cascades as an emotional torrent, it’s as cohesive as it is potent. It’s (unsurprisingly) produced by her brother and day-one collaborator, FINNEAS, whose minimalistic but nevertheless hard-hitting soundscape gives bedroom pop a makeover. Eilish’s third Album Of The Year nomination shows that, once again, she isn’t treading water; she’s plunging straight into the deep end.

In the prismatic world of pop, Chappell Roan knows how to rotate through every color in the rainbow. A kaleidoscope of wistful yet intense romance, Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess churns with the unabashed authenticity that only true superstars can craft — and on a debut album, nonetheless.

Although Roan’s career began 10 years ago on YouTube, the Missouri-born singer skyrocketed to fame in the last year following spectacular festival performances and an opening slot on Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour. Her 2020 single "Pink Pony Club" pushed the singer toward a massive 2024 breakthrough, the song an open proclamation of queer joy (amid understanding her evolving relationship with religion).

Inspired by drag queens, Roan’s aesthetic is breathtakingly campy and sparkly — much like her striking debut album. Championing female and queer freedom, The Rise And Fall gushes with yearning in a way that’s both carefree and confessional. From the hungry, heart-shattering "Casual" to the kinky pleasure of "Red Wine Supernova," each track showcases Roan’s sharp dynamism.

The Rise And Fall bursts with radiant '80s-inspired and 2000s synthpop from GRAMMY-winning producer Dan Nigro, all of which only highlights her dynamism. Beyond her vocal flips and cutting lyricism meant for laughing and/or crying, what’s special about Roan’s album is its defiance. Chappell Roan is the definition of unapologetic, and The Rise And Fall is all the evidence anyone needs.

Before it was even released, The Tortured Poets Department had already made GRAMMY history: during her acceptance speech for the 2024 GRAMMY Award for Best Pop Vocal Album, Taylor Swift surprised audiences by announcing the album’s upcoming release. And just one year later, Swift is making history yet again with her seventh Album Of The Year nomination.

Serving as a creative "lifeline" for Swift during the Eras Tour, working on The Tortured Poets Department reminded the star of how integral songwriting is to her wellbeing. Consequently, the 16-track album (plus an additional 15 tracks in an expanded version of the labrum) unveiled some of her most diaristic songwriting yet. Swift's meandering lyrics stand out as particularly candid, dramatic, and whimsical — though it’s far from the first time the prolific songwriter has used or referenced poetry in her work.

For a return to her folksy synthpop sound, Swift turned to her close friends Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, who most recently helped produce her GRAMMY-winning album Midnights among other projects. Showcasing Swift’s collaborative brilliance, The Tortured Poets Department also features Post Malone on the hauntingly atmospheric opener "Fortnight" and a stirring "Florida!!!" verse from Florence + the Machine.

As the Eras Tour comes to a close (unless, of course, she has another surprise up her sleeve) on Dec. 8 in Vancouver, The Tortured Poets Department’s nomination is one of the many recent reminders of Swift’s staggering legacy. Swift is the first and only person to have won Album Of The Year four times, and The Tortured Poets Department could score her a legendary fifth win — further solidifying her as a breaker of records and rules.

The Record Of The Year Category honors some of the year's biggest recordings — and at the 2025 GRAMMYs, the nominees are hits by a mix of newcomers and superstars.

Throughout the past year, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter, Charli xcx, and Chappell Roan proved why they're at the top of pop's current class. The Beatles and Kendrick Lamar both cemented their respective legacies, while Beyoncé and Taylor Swift continue to challenge their own musical boundaries.

With a range of unforgettable music moments, there's no telling who will take home the golden gramophone for Record Of The Year — which is awarded to the artist and the producer(s), recording engineer(s) and/or mixer(s) and mastering engineer(s) — at the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards. But one thing is for sure: the eight nominees make for quite an exciting contest.

Check out the nominees below and read the full 2025 GRAMMYs nominations list ahead of Music's Biggest Night on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025.

It can take years for an artist to work on their masterpiece. In the Beatles' case, the journey of "Now And Then" took 45 years. John Lennon originally wrote the demo in the late '70s. It's a mournful, piano-backed confession: "I know it's true/ It's all because of you/ And if I make it through/ It's all because of you."

The song remained unfinished long after Lennon's tragic 1980 passing, but — in a powerful act of love — his bandmates completed it for him. Paul McCartney enlisted Giles Martin (the son of Beatles' former producer and longtime collaborator George Martin) as the song's co-producer, using Lennon's original 1977 demo, George Harrison's guitar melodies from the 1995 Anthology sessions, and Ringo Starr's drumming and backing vocals from 2022. "Now And Then," which marked the Beatles' 35th top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100, is a tearful close to the band's legacy. 

"Obviously, it hasn't been, but it sounds like John's written it for Paul now, in a very emotional way," Martin told Rolling Stone. "It's a bittersweet song, which is very John. But with a combination of happiness and regret." 

McCartney never gave up on the song, which is a testament that true friendship never dies.

Beyoncé — "TEXAS HOLD 'EM"

After shimmying underneath a disco ball for 2022's GRAMMY-winning RENAISSANCE, Beyoncé wanted to keep the dance party going on 2024's COWBOY CARTER — except this time around, she traded Studio 54 for a honky-tonk. But "TEXAS HOLD 'EM," the album's joint lead single alongside "16 CARRIAGES," is much more than an instructional hoedown.

The 32-time GRAMMY winning icon has long incorporated African American history in her music, and "TEXAS HOLD 'EM" is no different. The single, like many tunes on COWBOY CARTER, is rooted in liberation. Country music is the backbone of America, but its roots in Black culture are often hidden. With "TEXAS HOLD 'EM," Beyoncé lifts the veil off the genre's true history by celebrating both her Houston heritage and the Black country artists that paved the way for her.

The song's message is clear, but it's balanced by playful melodies, Beyoncé's signature stacked harmonies and a plucking banjo (played by Rhiannon Giddens, an advocate for the reclamation of country music instruments by Black musicians). While Beyoncé is no stranger to chart-topping hits ("TEXAS HOLD 'EM" is her ninth solo No. 1 single on the Hot 100), she made history as the first Black woman to score a No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.

Sabrina Carpenter does whimsy so well. Chalk it up to her Disney Channel roots, but the singer's innate ability to craft an earworm is why she's skyrocketed as one of the biggest pop stars of the new generation. "Espresso," the lead single from 2024's Short n' Sweet album and unofficial song of the summer, encapsulates Carpenter's irresistible charm.

"The song is kind of about seeing femininity as your superpower, and embracing the confidence of being that b—," she told Vogue in April. 

That confidence is found all throughout "Espresso," from her cooing vocals to her cheeky songwriting ("I can't relate to desperation/ My give-a-f—s are on vacation"). Topped off by an irresistibly catchy, undulating chorus, "Espresso" helped Carpenter reach several career milestones that kickstarted a year full of them — including her first GRAMMY nominations.

Charli xcx has long been one of the coolest girls in pop, and her sixth album brat cemented that fact. On "360," the album's second single, the British star not only acknowledges her own cool factor, but of those around her. Produced by longtime collaborator A. G. Cook, the song trades in the producer's signature exaggerated hyperpop sonics for more minimalistic synths that complement Charli's auto-tuned vocals.

"I went my own way and I made it/ I'm your favorite reference, baby," Charli xcx exclaims on the cocky opening line before comparing herself to friends like model/musician Gabbriette and actress Julia Fox. "360" is a cheeky reflection of the ever-growing digital era, giving fellow internet "It" girls an anthem for the ages.

Billie Eilish — "BIRDS OF A FEATHER"

The beauty of Billie Eilish's artistry is in her vulnerability. For the nine-time GRAMMY winner's third album HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, she pushed herself into her deeper territories with the assistance of her brother and go-to collaborator FINNEAS.

Second single "BIRDS OF A FEATHER" best exemplifies the album title's meaning in both its tenderness and desperation. It was initially intended to be a traditional love song, but given the siblings' unorthodox track record, they couldn't resist making it slightly untraditional: "I want you to stay/ 'Til I'm in the grave/ 'Til I rot away, dead and buried/ 'Til I'm in the casket you carry," Eilish sings on the opening verse in her signature whisper. 

Even with the juxtaposing lyrics, the song's airy production and wistfully gauzy synths still make for a beautiful, adoring statement piece. And the heartfelt sentiment paired with Eilish's breathy vocals quickly made "BIRDS OF A FEATHER" the biggest hit from HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, already garnering nearly 1.5 billion Spotify streams as of press time.

Branding Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" as merely a diss track would be doing it a disservice. The 17-time GRAMMY winner's tune is not just a rap song, but a cultural phenomenon. A seething finale to his (very public) feud with Drake, "Not Like Us" is a triumphant win for both Lamar and rap music as a whole.

Atop a buzzing sample of Monk Higgins' 1968 "I Believe to My Soul" cover, Lamar delivers slick wordplay and calls out Drake's presumed cultural appropriation of Southern rap: "You run to Atlanta when you need a few dollars/ No, you not a colleague, you a f—in' colonizer."

Following its release, the song took on a life on its own: tennis icon Serena Williams (Drake's alleged former lover) crip walked to the track at the 2024 ESPY Awards, Megan Thee Stallion and Janet Jackson incorporated it into their concerts, and many national sports leagues used it in their game broadcasts.

Drama aside, "Not Like Us" — which also scored a Song Of The Year nomination — is a celebration of West Coast hip-hop. Lamar, a proud Compton native, enlisted Los Angeles-born DJ Mustard to produce the track. The chopped-up sample is inspired by Oakland's "hyphy" rap subgenre, while Lamar exaggerates his already-animated cadence, paying homage to late Los Angeles rapper Drakeo the Ruler. While "Not Like Us" is a targeted diss, it's also a reminder of California's historical impact on rap — and Lamar's place within that legacy.

Chappell Roan grabbed the world's attention with her bombastic interpretation of baroque pop and her knack for highlighting queer romance. "Good Luck, Babe!," April's breakout hit following her 2023 debut LP, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, ushered in a new chapter.

The song discusses compulsory heterosexuality, as Roan sings about a woman she's dating who tries to deny her feelings for Roan: "You can kiss a hundred boys in bars/ Shoot another shot, try to stop the feeling." 

"I knew exactly what I wanted. I wrote it in three minutes," Chappell Roan told Rolling Stone of the song's creation, which she co-wrote alongside Daniel Nigro and Justin Tranter. "I felt so much anger. I was so upset. It all came out and I didn't add anything when I wrote it all done. It was a perfect storm."

The anger definitely explodes on "Good Luck, Babe!," with Roan channeling '80s divas like Kate Bush and George Michael. The singer's goal was to make a "big anthemic pop song," and "Good Luck, Babe!" soared beyond all expectations.

Taylor Swift Feat. Post Malone — "Fortnight"

Despite nailing a formula that has made her one of the biggest pop stars of all time, Taylor Swift is still willing to take risks.

"Fortnight," from the 14-time GRAMMY winner's The Tortured Poets Department, serves as both the LP's first single and opening track. The chart-topping smash introduces the album's moodier tones, telling the story of a woman in an unhappy marriage who is now the neighbor to her ex-lover and his new wife. 

Atop '80s-inspired electropop synths courtesy of longtime collaborator and co-producer Jack Antonoff, the lyrics are unexpectedly dismal for Swift: "I took the miracle move-on drug, the effects were temporary/ And I love you, it's ruining my life." Featured artist Post Malone then sweeps in with his melancholic harmonies, giving more emotional weight to Swift's brilliant storytelling.

Lyrics have a unique way of validating and soundtracking our real-world experiences. Perhaps this year, a celebratory drink called for Shaboozey's "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" on repeat. Or maybe you professed your love with a playlist containing Billie Eilish's "BIRDS OF A FEATHER," and Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars' "Die with a Smile."

It's those small but significant moments that showcase the power of songwriting — and what makes GRAMMY's Song Of The Year award so necessary. In the 2025 SOTY nominee list, you'll find the above hits, plus Taylor Swift's "Fortnight" (feat. Post Malone), Chappell Roan's "Good Luck, Babe," Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us," Sabrina Carpenter's "Please Please Please" and Beyoncé's "TEXAS HOLD ‘EM."

Ahead of the 2025 GRAMMYs, take a deeper look into all the tracks that made the nominee list for Song Of The Year. Be sure to check out the full 2025 GRAMMYs nominations list ahead of Music's Biggest Night on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025.

Shaboozey — "A Bar Song (Tipsy)"

Songwriters: Sean Cook, Jerrel Jones, Joe Kent, Nevin Sastry, Chibueze Collins Obinna & Mark Williams

Before this year, Shaboozey was just another rising artist ready to make a name for himself. With the April release of "A Bar Song (Tipsy)," he blossomed into the most prolific country musician of 2024, coinciding with his 10th anniversary in the music industry.

By July, the J-Kwon interpolation simultaneously hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 and the Hot Country Songs charts, making him the first Black man to conquer a feat. On Oct. 29, it broke the record for the longest-running No. 1 hit, previously set by "Old Town Road (feat. Billy Ray Cyrus)" by Lil Nas X.

Billie Eilish — "BIRDS OF A FEATHER"

Songwriters: Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell

Most know Billie Eilish for her "sad girl" anthems, scaling topics of body dysmorphia, cruel exes and the relentless dissection of her life under the public eye. But on "BIRDS OF A FEATHER," a single from 2024's HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, the 22-year-old songbird unveils a softer, sweeter side of herself over a twinkling synth. The track details an unwavering connection.

"I don't know what I'm cryin' for/ I don't think I could love you more," she muses in the song's pre-chorus. "Might not be long, but baby, I/ Don't wanna say goodbye."

As Finneas O'Connell, Eilish's brother and longtime collaborator, explained on their American Express "Story of My Song" segment, "There's a lot of songs about dying for somebody and loving them until they die, and I thought it was really fun to lean in."

Songwriters: Dernst Emile II, James Fauntleroy, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars & Andrew Watt

Put two musical legends together, and you get a masterpiece. For Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, that piece of artwork is "Die with a Smile," a grandiose ballad about not taking your relationships for granted. It's reminiscent of the sultry duets of the 1960s, such as Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe" or Frank & Nancy Sinatra's "Somethin' Stupid."

The unexpected collaboration unfolded while Gaga finished her upcoming album in Malibu. "After a long day, he asked me to come to his studio to hear something he was working on [...] We stayed up all night and finished writing and recording the song," Gaga said in a press release.

As Gaga mentions in her announcement post, the song is a treat for Little Monsters "while you wait for LG7." But if the rest of the project is anything like "Die with a Smile," it's already looking like a hit.

Taylor Swift — "Fortnight" Feat. Post Malone

Songwriters: Jack Antonoff, Austin Post & Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift has become increasingly transparent in her artistry through whimsical lyrical metaphors and cinematic music videos. "Fortnight," the opening track of The Tortured Poets Department, is no exception as Swift likens a crumbling relationship to the failure of the American dream. In its sepia-toned visual, she's an asylum escapee taking the "Forget Him" pill, washing away their million-paged saga.

"'Fortnight' is a song that exhibits a lot of the common themes that run throughout this album. One of which being fatalism — longing, pining away, lost dreams," Swift told Amazon Music. "And 'I love you, it's ruining my life,' these are very hyperbolic, dramatic things to say. But it's that kind of album."

Swift first announced Tortured Poets during her acceptance speech for Best Pop Vocal Album (Midnights) at the 2024 GRAMMYs. At the 67th GRAMMY Awards, Swift will again vie for a chance to win Song Of The Year — her eighth nomination in the Category.

Songwriters: Daniel Nigro, Kayleigh Rose Amstutz & Justin Tranter

Chappell Roan might have written "Good Luck, Babe!" in three minutes, but this breakthrough single has left the impact of a lifetime as the singer's debut on the Billboard Hot 100.

The cathartic indie rock track wishes a hopeless flame well after denying their queer identity: "When you wake up next to him in the middle of the night/ With your head in your hands, you're nothing more than this wife/ And when you think about me, all of those years ago/ You're standing face to face with, 'I told you so.'"

"I think throughout the year, I'm like, "What can I get away with?" Because right now it's pretty tame for what it is like to be a gay artist," Roan told GRAMMY.com in March. "But I just want to push it to see how far can I go — with the most controversial outfits or things to rile people up. I'm not really afraid to do that."

Songwriters: Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar and Drake have been throwing shots at each other for the past decade, but it wasn't until Drake's claims of being the best of the "Big Three" rappers (including him, Lamar and J. Cole) in 2023 that the battle climaxed. 

The next six months saw back-and-forth diss tracks, such as Lamar's "Euphoria" and "Meet the Grahams." In a sweeping moment in May, Lamar reigned superior with "Not Like Us," poking fun at Drake's OVO brand alongside accusations of pedophilia and disingenuous relationship with other artists.

Upon its release, "Not Like Us" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and might be Lamar's first gramophone in the Song Of The Year category. 

Sabrina Carpenter — "Please Please Please"

Songwriters: Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff & Sabrina Carpenter

If "Espresso" hadn't already catapulted Sabrina Carpenter as one of the biggest stars of 2024, "Please Please Please" solidifies her status as one of the music industry's key players.

In typical Sabrina fashion, this '70s-inspired tune features witty and playful lyricism, with the Short n' Sweet singer begging her new lover to stay faithful and true: "And please, please, please/ Don't bring me to tears when I just did my makeup so nice/ Heartbreak is one thing, my ego's another/ I beg you, don't embarrass me, motherf—."

The single, co-written with Jack Antonoff, also marks Sabrina's first No. 1 track on the Billboard Hot 100, sitting comfortably above "Espresso's" No. 2 placement.

Beyoncé — "TEXAS HOLD ‘EM"

Songwriters: Brian Bates, Beyoncé, Elizabeth Lowell Boland, Megan Bülow, Nate Ferraro & Raphael Saadiq

After more than two decades as a solo artist, Beyoncé's latest era has been defined by risk-taking experimentation. The first installment of her trilogy project, RENAISSANCE, revived house. Her latest addition, COWBOY CARTER, invites listeners to throw on their Western boots in her first full-length venture into country music, led by "TEXAS HOLD 'EM."

Aside from its addictive twangy instrumentation and chant-worthy lyrics ("This ain't Texas, ain't no hold 'em"), the COWBOY CARTER lead confirms Beyoncé's artistic range while simultaneously encouraging much-needed conversations about the diversity of the country genre. An ambitious venture, indeed, but one that paid off, making Queen Bey the first Black woman to top Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart and earning her a spot on this year's Song Of The Year nominee list.