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As the 2025 Grammy Awards come closer and debates surrounding the nominations continue, I developed a system to determine who should take home the gold.
I listened to the award nominations for Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist, and decided who should win. Before diving in, I must state my biases – I am a pop girl to my core. Despite this, I removed my biases from the ranking and judged each song based on how I felt. Each song was listened to and judged for its content, not where it fell on the charts.
I ranked each song on a zero to 10 scale. First, I considered the description of the nomination category. After that, I prioritized the vocals, lyrics, and how the track sounded. For Album of the Year, I found the average score of each track’s rating within the album.
Finally, with all that said, let’s discuss – who should win the Grammys?
Record of the Year
According to the Grammys themselves, Record of the Year “deals with a specific recording of a song and recognizes the artists, producers and engineers who contribute to that recording.”
I interpreted this as, “How does this song feel?”
With that in mind, the winner for this ranking should be “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan.
It can’t be denied – this song is just too good. The 80s synths, the poppy vibes, the vocals (oh my gosh, the vocals), all of it was just too good to deny it the deserving spot of Record of the Year. Roan truly created art with this song. The longing in her voice building throughout the song makes the listener feel how much she’s hurting. This is a song that brings deep emotions that tug on the heartstrings of any listener.
Record of the Year nominations ranking
- “Good Luck, Babe!” – Chappell Roan (9.4)
- “Not Like Us” – Kendrick Lamar (9.2)
- “Now and Then” – The Beatles (8.7)
- “Birds of a Feather” – Billie Eilish (8.2)
- “360” – Charli XCX (7.9)
- “Fortnight” – Taylor Swift feat. Post Malone (7.5)
- “Espresso” – Sabrina Carpenter (7.3)
- “Texas Hold ‘Em” – Beyoncé (6.9)
Album of the Year
My winning choice for Album of the Year is “Hit Me Hard and Soft” by Billie Eilish.
I’ve never been much of an Eilish fan. I never listened to this album before ranking it, but I was amazed by its beauty. There is such deep passion in every song, and even the “worst” songs on the album are still incredible.
My favorite from this album is “The Greatest.” This song is so deep and filled with such emotion that it brought me to tears upon my first listening.
I find myself listening to this album again and again. Perhaps I’ve turned into an Eilish fan now.
Album of the Year nominations ranking
- “Hit Me Hard and Soft” – Billie Eilish (8.3)
- “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” – Chappell Roan (8.2)
- “The Tortured Poets Department” – Taylor Swift (7.9)
- “Short n’ Sweet” – Sabrina Carpenter (7.8)
- “Brat” – Charli XCX (7.5)
- “Cowboy Carter” – Beyoncé (7.4)
- “Djesse Vol. 4” – Jacob Collier (7.3)
- “New Blue Sun” – André 3000 (6.4)
Song of the Year
According to the Grammys, Song of the Year “deals with the composition of a song and recognizes the songwriters who wrote the song.”
To me, this meant, “What is this song saying?”
With that in mind, “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar is my pick to win Song of the Year – earning a 9.7 ranking in this category.
When listening to this song again and taking the time to truly understand the lyrics, I couldn’t deny what artistry went into creating it. The rhymes and wordplay are amazing.
The iconic line, “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor” is so hard to beat.
Song of the Year nominations ranking
- “Not Like Us” – Kendrick Lamar (9.7)
- “Good Luck, Babe!” – Chappell Roan (9.5)
- “Die With A Smile” – Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars (9.1)
- “Birds of a Feather” – Billie Eilish (9.0)
- “Fortnight” – Taylor Swift feat. Post Malone (8.2)
- “Please Please Please” – Sabrina Carpenter (7.7)
- “Texas Hold ‘Em” – Beyoncé (7.1)
- “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” – Shaboozey (5.4)
Best New Artist
For this ranking, I found the average of the artists’ top three songs. The competition for this one was close – so close I didn’t round the rankings so there would be no ties.
However, Roan took home my pick for Best New Artist with a rating of 8.90.
Again, I can’t get over the absolute artistry that goes into her work. “Good Luck Babe!” is a beautiful standout, but her third highest-rated song “Pink Pony Club” is incredible as well.
Her music is a modern take on 80s sounds, taking me right back to my childhood, listening to my dad’s music. Putting a glittery coating over those classic sounds brings it to a new height -one I cannot get over.
Best New Artist nominations ranking
- Chappell Roan (8.90)
- Khruangbin (8.73)
- Sabrina Carpenter (8.66)
- Benson Boone (8.56)
- RAYE (8.46)
- Teddy Swims (8.33)
- Doechii (7.60)
- Shaboozey (6.80)
The 2025 Grammy Awards will be televised Sunday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. central on CBS and Paramount +.
Commentary Writer Emma Hardesty can be reached at emma.hardesty162@topper.wku.edu.
If you would like to submit a reaction to this story, a Letter to the Editor or other submission, please send it to herald.opinion@wku.edu or to wkuheraldeic@gmail.com.