by Sophia Aguilar
‘Tis the season for the Grammys– the three-hour ceremony where artists from all over the world, representing different genres, come together to celebrate each other’s talents and creativity. The award ceremony consists of a variety of categories to recognize artists of all sounds. One category, however, has everyone talking: Album of the Year. The prestigious award recognizes the lyricism, sound, production, and overall influence of an album on pop culture. The winner of this reward takes home the highest honor in music. This year, André 3000, Beyoncé, Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX, Jacob Collier, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, and Taylor Swift are all nominees for “The Big Award”. Here is some discussion about my favorite artists nominated this year!
Beyoncé
32-time Grammy Winner Beyoncé, best known for her work in R&B, soul, and funk-pop released Cowboy Carter in early 2024. The album consists of a variety of sounds, including Americana, Bluegrass, and folk. These sounds mark a new experiment for Beyoncé as she has only released one country song in her 30-year musical career. The album, Cowboy Carter, is act two of the album trilogy created by Beyoncé, following the release of the first act, Renaissance.
Cowboy Carter is a 27-track album that pays homage to the history of black roots in country music. From Texas herself, Beyoncé incorporates traditional musical sounds of the south: bluegrass, zydeco, folk, and rhythm blues. The album highlights southern country music while incorporating Beyoncé’s sound of R&B musical roots challenging the lines of traditional country music. The album includes collaborations with iconic country artists such as Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Post Malone (fellow Texan), Miley Cyrus, Shaboozey, and Linda Martell, the first commercially successful black female country artist. Cowboy Carter is the only country-nominated album in this category and its sound stands different from all other nominees.
Sabrina Carpenter
She’s working late, cause she’s a Grammy-nominated singer! 2025 is the biggest year of nominations for Sabrina Carpenter. Beginning her musical career in 2014, five albums later, Carpenter received her first six nominations with her record-breaking album, Short n’ Sweet. The 12-track album with record breaking singles, “Espresso” and “Please, Please, Please,” features sounds of traditional pop, country, and R&B.
As a first-time Grammy nominee, Sabrina Carpenter ruled the summer and fall with her hit singles “Espresso” and track one of the album “Taste”. The album’s raunchy pop princess sound had all listeners creating fun trends using tracks from the album. Short n’ Sweet features sounds from a variety of genres: pop, country, and R&B. The bubbly and racy album and its sounds are what secured Sabrina Carpenter a well-deserved nomination!
Charli XCX (Sophia’s AOTY Winner)
BRAT is not only an album but a mindset many have carried on since the release of the album. Charli XCX’s sixth studio album, ruled the summer – BRAT Summer to be exact – paving the way for self-expression. Others, like myself, found themselves bumpin’ that to singles like “360” or “Von Dutch”. The album and music videos included icons that radiate ‘brat’ like Gabriette, Rachel Sennot, and of course Julia Fox.
The album included two variations of a deluxe, Brat and it’s the same but there’s three more songs so it’s not and Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat, including artists like Troye Sivan, Billie Eilish, and Ariana Grande. BRAT revolutionized club music for the popular majority with its unique sounds of club-pop, hyper-pop, and electropop. For many, BRAT isn’t just a summer– it truly is a culture.
Chappell Roan
C-H-A-P-P-E-L! Chappell Roan is a first-time Grammy-nominated artist after the release of her debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. Since then, Chappell Roan has completely skyrocketed in popularity. Chappell quickly rose to fame after releasing “HOT TO GO!” and “Red Wine Supernova,” but what sets her apart is her absolutely amazing stage presence and performance.
The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess completely encapsulates Chappell Roan’s emotions as a young queer adult from the Midwest navigating her path in Los Angeles. The album, described as “thoughtful and unhinged,” contains blends of dance-pop and synth creating an absolute pop masterpiece. Roan’s mix of lyricism and vocals sets her debut album on a completely different level than her other nominees.
Billie Eilish
HIT ME HARD AND SOFT is Billie Eilish’s third studio album. The album beautifully covers Eilish’s issues of self-insecurity, relationships, and coping with fame and friendships. The dark indie album features 10 tracks ranging from alternative pop tracks like “Lunch” and “Blue” to the soft, almost folk sound of “Wildflower”. The range throughout the album highlights Eilish’s talent as an artist as she experiments with different sounds that listeners had yet to hear from her.
Uniquely, the album didn’t feature singles before the release, but “Birds of a Feather” and “Lunch” took some of the top spots internationally. The album marks a maturity in Eilish’s music as she moves away from bedroom pop and experiments with different songs and concepts.
This year’s nominees for Album of The Year are truly an impressive mix of talent. With such a diverse medley of sounds and lyrical styles, music lovers are on the edge of their seats! I can’t wait to tune in on February 2nd to see who will take home the Grammy! Who are you rooting for?
Here is a playlist of all the new and exciting Grammy nominated artists biggest hits!!!