If you followed L.A. pop wunderkind Billie Eilish's exploding career over the last few years, you no doubt are also familiar with her super-producer brother, Finneas O'Connell, who goes by the stage name FINNEAS.

The 22-year-old, who produced all of Eilish's haunting bedroom-pop debut WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? from the comfort of his own tiny childhood room in Highland Park, is also on a collision course with the upper echelons of fame. Since the enormous success of WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP..., not to mention its preceding singles and Eilish's 2017 EP, Don't Smile At Me, FINNEAS has become an industry household name, with five 2020 GRAMMY nominations (including Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical), high-profile collaborations with established pop royalty (he produced Selena Gomez's "Lose You To Love Me" and two tracks on Camila Cabello's latest album, Romance) and a burgeoning solo career all of his own, having released his first EP, Blood Harmony, in October. And that's all on top of being the youngest person to be nominated for Producer Of The Year since Lauryn Hill, who was 23 when she was nominated for The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill in 1998.

If the swarm of attention has affected FINNEAS, you wouldn't know it. When we hop on the phone to talk about his and Billie's first-ever GRAMMY nominations, he's casually out walking his dog, Peaches. When asked about his hyper-minimalist production style, where most of Eilish's songs sound near-whispered against a series of spare, tip-toeing beats, FINNEAS just says that he's not afraid of a little empty space. His main goal, ultimately, is to place the artist's vocal front and center. "It's like a room with furniture," he says. "To me, my favorite bedrooms just have a bed in them, you know what I mean? Like, you don't need lights, 16 pillows and, you know, armchairs and sh*t. You could just have a bed."

In the lead up to his and Eilish's first time at the 2020 GRAMMY Awards, happening on Sunday, Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, FINNEAS told the Recording Academy a bit about his reaction to earning five GRAMMY nods, his favorite past GRAMMY moments and why he doesn't necessarily want to work with his favorite artists.

Congrats on all of your nominations! Where were you when you heard you were nominated?

I was asleep the second they came out, but I did wake up quite early. I woke up at like 6:45 a.m. and was like, 'Oh God, Oh my God, they're out." I've described it to people as like, the same feeling as like falling asleep on Christmas Eve except for like you might wake up and have no prep. That's kind of the line.

At what point did you connect with Billie to tell her?

I called my mom like, "You guys get Billie" and mom was like, "Billie's still asleep." I called Billie back later.

To what extent do your nominations feel validating? You recorded WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? in your bedroom. I expect the industry Powers That Be were eager to get Billie in a giant studio with a bunch of big-name producers.

Well, you know, we were doing okay before the album. We had an EP [2017's Don't Smile At Me] that did pretty well and we were going on tours, and so we were feeling really good about ourselves. There were really great producers that were interested in working with us. And that was appealing to us because we love so much music and sometimes the producer would reach out and they would have made music that we loved in our childhood. And it's like, "Oh my God, we should meet with them." Truth be told we were open to it but every time we would work with other producers and other songwriters on our stuff, it just was never very good. It just didn't work very well. And whenever we worked alone, we made all the stuff that we were proud of, that we're excited about.

And I think the GRAMMYs, I couldn't feel more honored and it couldn't be more meaningful to me because it's such a celebration of the actual creative process. And I think the other cool thing that I feel very proud of, it's like, you know, very rarely now are producers doing entire records or even entire songs. Like, [there will be] two or three different producers for a song, 20 producers on the album, and Billie had only one. And I'm very proud of that. I'm really proud that it's just me and her figuring it all out, making sure it was exactly how we wanted it to be. That made me feel really good.

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I think that's really true. In the past, you could directly attribute popular albums to one producer. And today, popular albums feature a mixed bag of sounds and personalities.

All the albums that I grew up listening to were produced by one person. One producer and now it's like dozens of producers on each record, you know?

Totally. But then on the other hand, we’re living in a time where albums don’t necessarily need to sound cohesive to be marketable. The end goal, from an industry perspective, is to get individual tracks on whatever Spotify or YouTube playlist is trending.

Well, Billie and I like eclectic music. Like, our records have a lot of mix. I think it's more like, if you do an album with 12 different producers, you're going to sound like someone else's album because those 12 different producers are going to do other people's records too. That always puts me out, you know?

That makes a lot of sense. Well, speaking of other peoples' records, now you've worked on "Lose You To Love Me" with Selena Gomez and "Used To This" and "First Man" with Camila Cabello. What do you look for when considering working with different artists?

I usually let it just be really natural. Like if an artist makes something that I love, I'll just reach out to them, and say like "I love your music." And then if they like what I do, they write back and say they're fans. Then we'll make something together. But I'm not very, like, thirsty. Like I don't try to work with artists because I think it would be a good career opportunity. I only want to work with people that make music that I love, like Camila, I truly love her first record. I just thought it was so cool and I thought, I just wanted to make an album with that artist. I saw her play live and I was blown away. I just thought she was a true pop star.

What makes a true pop star, in your opinion?

I think people who feel like they have something to say to me and people who have a really unique thing about them, whether it's a unique voice or a unique opinion, or unique life story, you know? Just something that really pulled me into them and makes me feel like they're telling a story that I want to listen to. 

One thing that stands out about WHEN WE ALL GO TO SLEEP is that, unlike so many of its peers, it’s the sort of record that sounds best in headphones. Is your production minimalism influenced by anyone?

Well, I mean there are so many producers that inspire me. I used to try to imitate production by certain people. And now I'm only interested in doing the opposite of that. I'm only interested in doing production that like no one's ever done before.

But yes, [I love] Kanye West, Timbaland, Rob Cavallo. So many producers are so good but I’m only interested in carving out my own thing, which seems to be the minimalist approach of making room for every element. You know, it's funny like talking a lot about me being a minimalist producer and really like there's a lot of layers but they're all out of the way of the vocal. I'm mostly just trying to make so much room for the vocal.

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Yeah, I get the sense that many producers get nervous about unfilled space, if you will. Kind of like when you’re having a conversation with a quiet person and you automatically feel like you need to talk a little too much.

Totally. People are just trying to fill up the whole thing. Like it's a room with furniture. To me, my favorite bedrooms just have a bed in them, you know what I mean? Like, you don't need lights, 16 pillows and, you know, armchairs and sh*t. Like you could just have a bed.

So, I imagine all of this GRAMMY recognition has put you on a lot of artists' collab wish lists. Is there anyone you haven’t worked with yet that you’d like to? Who's on your wish list?

I don't actually have one anymore. I used to but I don't have one anymore. I feel like the thing that I've learned a lot is when you're involved in something, you don't always get to appreciate it for what it is as much. You're focused on the details and how you can make it better. It's kind of torture. I felt really lucky in that I've gotten to know some of my favorite artists; I get to tell them how important they are to me. But that doesn't always make me want to work with people. I feel like if I'm going to work with somebody, it's because I feel like I actually have something to add to them. Like, I don't have anything to add to Paul McCartney. You know what I mean? It's Paul McCartney, he's doing fine. I'm happy to just be a fan and go to the concert.

How do you envision splitting your time between working with artists and developing your solo work?

Well, I work with other artists sort of seldom, I'll do like a couple days a month with other artists. I try to be really careful about them. And then I work on Billie's stuff whenever she wants to. Whenever she's inspired, whenever she has something to say, whenever we're trying to finish something, I work on her stuff. And then whenever she doesn't have time or she's done a photoshoot or she's burnt out, feeling uninspired, I'll go work on my own stuff. 

You and Billie have talked a lot about watching the GRAMMYs from your living room at home in previous years. What was one of your favorite GRAMMY moments?

Man, every time Bruno Mars has ever performed, I've been so into it. There was that one performance several years ago that was Lil Wayne and Drake and Eminem and I remember just watching that and my head exploding.

Keep up to date on all the latest 2020 GRAMMY performers, presenters and host news here, and be sure to tune in to the 62nd GRAMMY Awards on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, and broadcasting live on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Few individuals get the opportunity to truly define the sound of a moment the way that producers do. The recent passing of Quincy Jones acts as a reminder: Even though they may not always be onstage or have their name in flashing lights on the marquee, producers’ ability to imprint their unique vision and style across genres, styles, and voices and build a map of what the year sounds like. 

This year's nominees for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical have undoubtedly reached that achievement, delivering beauty and joy across the musical spectrum. There are some names that should be very familiar to GRAMMY viewers. Dernst "D’Mile" Emile II returns to the category for the third year in a row, hoping to build from his Best R&B Album win at the 66th GRAMMY Awards for his work on Victoria Monet's JAGUAR II. Nominated for the second year in a row, Daniel Nigro hopes to take home the golden gramophone for shaping glorious pop indulgence. 

Fans of rap have long known the work of Mustard, but now it would seem that so would anyone who’s walked past a radio. Ian Fitchuk’s resume stretches from country gold to woozy pop delight, and Alissia put a stamp on a lush, disco-tinged brand of R&B. 

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

Alissia

After obsessing over Motown, Parliament Funkadelic, Prince and James Brown as a young person, Alissia took up the bass and started to commit herself fully to a life in music. "I was a big funk-head, ‘70s funk," she told Sweetwater. "I was kind of like a sponge…I was a big nerd and wanted to learn how to arrange for a big band and orchestra." 

Translating that love into actual work with none other than Bootsy Collins, then, must have elevated Alissia into some level of funk heaven. Since then, Alissia has continued to evolve her grooves and style, working with artists ranging from Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars, to Nile Rodgers and Mary J. Blige. In 2024, that interstellar journey culminated in an impressive swathe of releases in soul, R&B, and funk.

Take, for example, the sublime "Is It Worth It", a slippery groove that elevates Rae Khalil’s smoke-laced voice to obscene extremes. Or "Love Takeover" from R&B duo Lion Babe, a track that could single-handedly transport an entire dancefloor back to the heights of the disco era while retaining a modernist bass flow. 

The Swiss-born, New York-based producer’s soulful niche has also found a match in a pair of Chicago artists. Alissia produced the opening track to Jamila Woods’ Water Made Us, and "Bugs" gives a nostalgic and sensuous tone to the poet/vocalist’s lilting voice. Alissia’s hard-thumping rhythms also lift up BJ the Chicago Kid, giving a new energy to his regal voice. 

Whether DJing, playing bass, or working behind the board, Alissia finds a lithe, effortless cool that’s downright infectious. "To me, what makes a great record is when you did it from your heart. You really felt it, it wasn't forced or anything, it was genuine, you made it with love," she told GRAMMY.com. "Music is feelings. There's no competition. eVerybody has something different to bring to the table."

Watch: Behind The Board: Alissia On Working With Bootsy Collins, Learning From Anderson .Paak & What Makes A Great Record

Dernst "D’Mile" Emile II

With Jack Antonoff out of the running after three wins in a row in this category, Dernst Emile II, a.k.a. R&B/hip-hop producer D’Mile, hopes that he can take his turn at the top. And thanks to some incredible work with a coterie of smooth eccentrics, this could well be his time.

Over the past few years, D’mile has helped usher a lux, live brand of vintage R&B to the fore, resulting in his becoming the first person to net back-to-back Song Of The Year awards for H.E.R.'s "I Can't Breathe" and Silk Sonic's "Leave the Door Open," not to mention recognition for his work with the likes of Victoria Monet and Mary J. Blige.

D’mile’s soulful penchant for fusion brought the best out of a wide variety of artists. From bringing a reeling jig to Koe Wetzel’s "Bar Song" to putting a sepia glow on Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ duet "Die With a Smile," this year found D’mile pushing his already expansive boundaries. At the same time, he knew exactly how to pull the best out of styles that hit closer to home, like the Prince-adjacent funk of Usher’s "I Love U" and the swanky throwback "That’s You" from Lucky Daye (an artist with whom D’mile has already had success, gaining gold for his work on 2022’s Best Progressive R&B Album, Table for Two. 

There’s something so natural about a D’mile track — and that seems to be by design. "It’s like when you cook, you got to make the right concoction and make sure the love is in it," he told Vibe. "Can you explain what you just did? No. You just threw stuff in the pot."

The Brooklynite has already notched six GRAMMY wins and an Academy Award, and that’s nothing to sneeze at. But on his third run at Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical, D'Mile is surely ready to finally take the award home. And if this pace continues, there’s no reason to doubt that he could go on his own three-year streak. 

Read more: 5 Essential D'Mile Productions: Silk Sonic, Victoria Monét, & Others

Ian Fitchuk

When Kacey Musgraves took home the GRAMMY Award for Best Country Album in 2019 for Golden Hour, she made sure to bring Ian Fitchuk onto the stage and to give him a shoutout. The Chicago-born, Nashville-based musician co-produced the record and played a variety of instruments across its 13 tracks — helping Musgraves unlock the truest expression of her version of country music to date. 

This year, Fitchuk nabbed a nomination for Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical in part for his work on Musgraves’ latest, the dazzling Deeper Well. Speaking of helping shape unique perspectives on country, Fitchuk’s year also featured a spot on the writing and production team for "Amen" on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter. "I had the crazy idea of, ‘What if we got Beyoncé on a song [with Kacey Musgraves]?" he recalled in an interview with Vulture. While that track may never be finished, the process led to Fitchuk getting a call when Queen B was prepping her country record.

Another high-profile hit in Fitchuk's catalog comes via co-write on the ecstatic "Silk Chiffon," the queer anthem from MUNA featuring Phoebe Bridgers, as well as producing the multimillion-streamed "Until I Found You" by Stephen Sanchez. This year’s Pr nomination is powered in part by Fitchuk’s role as producer for the album that spawned that latter hit, a debut that radiates vintage AM glow. Fitchuk's big year also featured work with the likes of Maggie Rogers, Still Woozy, and Role Model, not to mention working with Musgraves and Leon Bridges on their contributions to an album of music inspired by the film Bob Marley: One Love.

That diverse list of artists belies Fitchuk’s greatest strength: a willingness to experiment with country tropes while respecting the genre’s history. "I think ‘What is country music?’ is an exhausting question," he told Vulture. "I’m down to be making all different kinds of versions of whatever anybody thinks country music is. Because I didn’t grow up with it, by me fucking with it in any way, it’s going to be its own thing."

Watch: Kacey Musgraves Wins Best Country Album For 'Golden Hour' | 2019 GRAMMYs

Mustard

When an artist decides to play one of the tracks that you produced not once, not twice, not three times, heck not even four times, but five times in a row at a prominent concert, you know you’ve done something right. R&B hitmaker Mustard has plenty of absolute smash hits in his catalog, but perhaps nothing in that long line matches Kendrick Lamar’s "Not Like Us" in terms of inescapability and being in the absolute epicenter of not just the rap world but the entire pop culture conversation.

A relatively mellow character when it comes to long-tenured hitmakers, Mustard seems to be reveling in the moment. "I never look for validation from anybody in the music industry. But do I feel accomplished? Yeah," he told XXL. "I feel really good about what this did. And I do feel like it should make people respect who I am."

Mustard’s been at the top of the game for more than a decade, as far back as "Rack City" in 2011, the "Mustard on the beat" tag one of those constants on rap radio and favorites of deep cut fans alike. As a producer, he’s hit the charts with everyone from Big Sean, Rihanna and 2 Chainz, to Fergie, Young Jeezy and Tinashe. But Mustard’s got hits of his own as well, like the Roddy Rich-featuring "High Fashion" and "Ballin'", as well as "Pure Water" with Migos.

This year, his nomination of course comes in part thanks to "Not Like Us," but also to his razor-sharp solo record, Faith of a Mustard Seed. The album features Mustard's trademark beats, but stretches out in its click-snap percussion, well-deep bass, twitchy samples, and lux synths. Album highlight "Parking Lot" deserves extra attention, Travis Scott’s rippling AutoTune floating over the top of a glittering hi-hat and particularly rubbery bass line. 

"I've been behind the boards and the beats so long that nobody's ever heard my side of things," Mustard recently told REAL 92.3 radio in Los Angeles. "I owe it to my fans to let you guys know where I've been the last five years, what's been going on in my life." And as bigger and bigger things keep happening, one has to assume that the production will just keep getting bigger as well.

Watch: Where Do You Keep Your GRAMMY? | Mustard

Daniel Nigro

Some of the fans in their native Long Island, New York may have looked at Tall As Lions and seen GRAMMYs in their future. And while their work never reached that height, those fans wouldn’t be wrong, as frontman Daniel Nigro has racked up eight nominations, including a win for Best Pop Vocal Album for his work on Olivia Rodrigo's Sour.

In 2023, Guts proved a worthy successor to that record — and tracks from the deluxe Spilled edition helped power Nigro to his second straight nomination for Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical. The teen pop star is a powerhouse in her own right, but Nigro’s production has helped Rodrigo evolve and find new ways to share her emotionally salient, raw lyrics. 

"To me, there's so much nuance in between what makes a song good — like if it's one little part that makes it special and nurturing that to make it bigger," Nigro told GRAMMY.com earlier this year. "I think that's what I bring to the table; helping these artists see their vision and seeing if we as a group find something special in a song."

Though of course one of the biggest stories of the year is Chappell Roan, the esoteric dark pop genius behind The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess — and that record on its own could position Nigro in good standing for a big GRAMMY win. Much akin to Rodrigo’s gold-gathering albums, that record thrives on open-hearted lyrics and massive hooks, with Nigro aiding the live energy.

While for some, the "Pink Pony Club" auteur came out of nowhere, Nigro has been a long-time Roan supporter and collaborator, the two having worked together for more than half a decade. In fact, when Roan was dropped from Atlantic Records, Nigro decided he'd sign her to his own label so that her creative vision could come fully to fruition. "[I feel a] deep sense of fulfillment," he told Fast Company. "I wanted nothing more than for people to listen to Chappell. I’ve been shouting it from a mountain for years — ‘Please listen to this, I promise!’"

Read more: The Genius Of Dan Nigro: The Producer Of The Year Nominee On Olivia Rodrigo's 'GUTS' & Why His Success "Doesn't Feel Real"

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.