Nominations Are In!

The 2025 Grammys is drawing closer, and the nominations made people excited for what’s to come. Artists such as Charli XCX and Kendrick Lamar received nominations in the coveted Album of the Year and Song of the Year categories, while Doechii and Chappell Roan were nominated for Best New Artist. However, there were some artists whose positive critical reception this year went unnoticed by The Academy. So, who was snubbed at the 2025 Grammy Awards?

Dua Lipa

British pop star Dua Lipa was already quite popular after the release of her debut album, which included singles “New Rules” and “IDGAF”. However, she cemented her place in the pop scene when she released “Future Nostalgia” in 2020. With songs such as “Don’t Start Now” and “Break My Heart,” it was regarded highly by critics as one of the best albums of the year. Lipa received two Grammy Nominations for the album and won Best Pop Vocal Album in 2021. After performing singles “Houdini” and “Training Season” at the 2024 Grammys, she released her third album, “Radical Optimism” on May 3, 2024. Although it received average reviews, magazines such as Dork stated that “it’s refreshing to hear [a big pop album] from a superstar that isn’t suffocating under the weight of its own lore.”

Tyla

South African singer Tyla had only four singles under her belt when she released “Water” in July 2023 and skyrocketed in popularity, reaching the Billboard Top 10 in the U.S. She announced her self-titled debut album in November of the same year and released “Truth or Dare”, “On and On”, and “Butterflies” as a promotion. “Water” received the Grammy for Best African Music Performance in 2024 and Tyla became the youngest African artist to win a Grammy. She released her debut album on March 22, 2024, along with a music video for the song “Art”. The deluxe version, released in October 2024, included three new songs, one of them being the single “Push 2 Start”. The album was on many year-end lists, with NME writing, “Through sheer faith and tenacity, Tyla anoints herself as South Africa’s brightest new star,”

Twenty-One Pilots

American band Twenty-One Pilots, consisting of Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, reached national acclaim with the release of their fourth album “Blurryface” in 2015, featuring hits “Stressed Out” and “Ride”, the former winning for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 2017 Grammys. After going on hiatus that year, the duo returned with “Trench” in 2018, a concept album blended with an ARG, alternative reality game, that created a fictional narrative diehard fans could enjoy without scaring off casual listeners. This lore progressed in their 2021 album “Scaled and Icy,” which included the hit single “Shy Away.” On May 17, 2024, the story began drawing to a close with the release of their seventh album, “Clancy.” It received favorable praise from columns such as The Arts Desk, which stated, “Joseph and Dun play with the genre at ease, melding sounds and textures together in creative and impactful ways.” 

Maggie Rogers

American singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers, after two independent albums and a viral video of her playing her song for Pharrell Williams, was signed by Capitol Records in 2016, kickstarting her official music career. She released her first studio album, “Heard It In A Past Life,” under her imprint in 2019 and was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2020 Grammys. Her next album, “Surrender,” was released in 2022 and featured additions from Florence Welch, Clairo, and Claud. In January 2024, she announced that the title track of her third studio album, “Don’t Forget Me,” would be released next month as its first single. On April 12. 2024, the album was released, reaching high acclaim and receiving a review from Pitchfork that states, “By acknowledging that she doesn’t have all the answers, Rogers ends up sounding wise beyond her years.”

While the 2025 Grammy nominations have left many satisfied, there is still an absence of artists whose work was highly commended, showing that musicians do not need awards or accolades to determine their worth.

The 2025 Grammys will take place February 2 on CBS and Paramount+.