Grammy Awards 2025: Predicting who wins the Pop categories

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At the 2025 Grammy Awards, there will be 94 unique award categories. Over time, these categories are frequently adjusted, combined, or reorganized by the Recording Academy into a complex mixture of musical genres. These changes can sometimes seem outdated by about a decade and may appear irrational. Yet, despite their questionable choices, they continue to captivate us, with me being among those who tune in.

As a dedicated fan, I tune in to the Grammys primarily for two compelling reasons. Despite their shortcomings, these awards continue to serve as significant milestones in our cultural history. Admittedly, like most mainstream award shows, they don’t provide much enlightenment about what truly deserves recognition. However, they brilliantly reflect our collective perception of what mattered culturally during that specific period. Therefore, they offer a unique perspective for historians to analyze and understand the context of their times.

If it’s not your preference to focus on long-term events, there’s another compelling reason I tune in – the Grammys are unrivaled as the premier major arts awards show. In fact, they stand head and shoulders above the rest. The broadcast will include over a dozen performances of today’s most popular tunes, spanning various genres within contemporary music.

Who will win in the Pop categories at the 2025 Grammy Awards

Live performances on television tend to be more captivating and enjoyable compared to movie or TV clips, as well as songs extracted from Broadway productions. It’s often the live performances at award shows, particularly the Grammy Awards, that create the most memorable moments in the history of such events.

Let me rephrase that for a more casual style: Looking back, I can’t say I’ll remember much about 2024, but one thing I won’t forget is Dua Lipa’s opening medley from last year – it was amazing! And the Tracy Chapman/Luke Combs duet that came after it? That’s still fresh in my mind.

In simpler terms, there are approximately 30 categories in popular music genres, which is too much for a single article. To make it more manageable, I’ll divide the topics and today, let’s start with four main categories of popular music.

At present, the Grammy Awards encompass seven genres within the realm of Pop and Dance/Electronic Music. Here are my predictions for four of those categories, feel free to handle the remaining three as you see fit.

Pop Solo Performance

This list features strong contenders, each one capable of making a significant impact. Interestingly, all nominees are up for the Record of the Year award. However, following an unpredictable pattern, only three out of these nominees share the same song in both categories. Therefore, I’m inclined to exclude Beyoncé’s (“Bodyguard”) and Charli XCX’s (“Apple”) entries from further consideration, as they were not the songs nominated for Record of the Year by their respective artists.

In this music award showdown, it’s down to Chappell Roan (“Good Luck, Babe”), Billie Eilish (“Birds of a Feather”), and Sabrina Carpenter (“Espresso”). If I were to place my bets, I’d lean toward the Grammy-adored Eilish. However, I believe this category might be the one where they decide to acknowledge Sabrina Carpenter and her song “Espresso”. She may not be taking home any of the Big Four awards, but this seems like a well-deserved honorable mention.

Pop Duo/Group Performance

This category boasts a greater number of heavy artillery than the Solo category, as four out of five nominees are renowned duos. These include Taylor Swift with 2024 Best New Artist nominee Gracie Abrams, Beyonce and Post Malone, the powerhouse duo of Charli and Billie, and the veteran team-up of Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, which feels a bit nostalgic by comparison.

This year, as the Beatles are up for a significant accolade, the term “old school” takes on a new perspective. However, Ariana Grande’s nominated song harkens back 26 years to its source, a remodeled version of Brandy and Monica’s chart-topping hit from 1998, “The Boy is Mine.

I believe there’s a possibility for both Charli and Billie to win, but based on my intuition, it seems like Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande will likely dominate the award for “Die With a Smile.

Pop Vocal Album

Ariana Grande’s album isn’t nominated for Album of the Year, so I won’t include it here. Taylor Swift is a strong contender in any album category, but this year might be when her dominance ends. That leaves Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Road, and 23-year-old Billie Eilish – a relative newcomer who has been around for a while at the Grammys – as potential winners in that category.

In my opinion, Chappell Roan’s music resonates more with me compared to others, and this preference might influence future selections. However, in the Pop category, it seems like a competition between Carpenters and Eilish. The intriguing aspect is whether the Academy will distinguish between Solo Performance and Album, or if one artist will dominate both. This is just a feeling – I’m predicting that Billie Eilish’s “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” will take home the Pop Album award.

Dance/Electronic Album

Today, I’m bypassing Dance/Electronic categories for singles since I’m honestly clueless about them. However, I’m taking a slight risk here, as it’s more like a small step than a big leap out on a limb. The reason is that I believe the selection I’ve made today has the highest chances of winning among the four choices I have.

Generally, opting for an artist who hasn’t won a Grammy over those who have, especially when artists like Zedd (a Grammy winner) and Justice (with two Grammys, one in this category in 2019) are in contention, seems unwise. However, Charli XCX, despite having never won a Grammy, has been quite prolific, with a total of ten nominations in 2025 from her album Brat and its expanded edition. Given this context, I feel quite confident predicting that Charli XCX and her album Brat will be the winners this year.

Next time, let’s try something new, like exploring another musical genre. To be honest, I find it hard to understand the distinction they make at the Grammys.

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2025-01-30 17:01