The Grammys: A night of both hits and misses
Winner: “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar
My predicted winner: “Fortnight” by Taylor Swift feat. Post Malone
Who I wanted to win: “Good Luck, Babe” by Chappell Roan
I feel like I was surprised at Kendrick Lamar’s success throughout the whole night of the Grammys, but I was not upset about it; he had a great year. Overall, however, I don’t think that “Not Like Us” was the Record of the Year. I definitely agree that it is up there with some of the best, but I feel like there were a lot of songs that stood out more to me.
I think that, especially due to her great success last year, I had expected Taylor Swift to walk away with a lot more this year, and I’m still stunned that she left empty handed. Additionally, I don’t necessarily think that Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe” was the Record of the Year, but, of the songs nominated, it was my favorite.
Winner: “COWBOY CARTER” by Beyonce
My predicted winner: “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” by Billie Eillish
Who I wanted to win: “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” by Billie Eillish
I agree with the vast majority of people that Beyonce has deserved to win Album of the Year at some point throughout her career, and I honestly don’t understand why she hasn’t yet. She has been nominated in the category five times, her 2025 win being her first. However, where I disagree with some of her past losses, I also disagree with this win.
In all honesty, I didn’t enjoy “COWBOY CARTER.” To me, the album is 27 tracks of forgettable, preformative country-ish music made to please the masses–“COWBOY CARTER” is country music for people who “hate country music.”
On the contrary, there wasn’t a track on Billie Eillish’s “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” that I didn’t enjoy. The album has music that isn’t boring and has a very original sound. Of all of her albums, I feel that “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” outdoes the rest–but that the same cannot be said about “COWBOY CARTER” when reflecting on Beyonce’s discography.
Winner: “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar
My predicted winner: “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” by Billie Eillish
Who I wanted to win: “Fortnight” by Taylor Swift feat. Post Malone
I had to look up the difference between Record of the Year and Song of the Year before making my own opinions on who should win, and, from what I have found, the difference is that Record of the Year is awarded to the artist and composers of the track–the people who engineered it and made it sound nice–whereas Song of the Year is awarded to the songwriters–the people who are the reason that the song exists in the first place.
With this in mind, I don’t honestly think that “Not Like Us” was the Song of the Year. I think the song had a lot of area for improvement–not surprising considering the 30 minutes that the song was made in.
In my opinion, Taylor Swift’s “Fortnight” is better written and better composed, undoubtedly in part due to the greater amount of thought that was put into it. I expected Billie Eillish’s “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” to win not only because of how positively it was received, but also because of how perfectly all of the elements of the song work together.
Winner: Chappell Roan
My predicted winner: Sabrina Carpenter
Who I wanted to win: Chappell Roan
About three times a year, I find myself getting really into an artist that comes on randomly in my autoplay who I have never heard of before. Then, a few months later, I start hearing their music on my For You Page, and eventually on the radio. Around December of 2023, a new artist who I had never heard of before named Chappell Roan came on after I had finished listening to a playlist and had nothing else in my queue. Watching her become more and more popular over the summer of 2024 was something really cool for me, and then seeing her name as one of the Grammy nominees was just the cherry on top.
Over the summer, however, I felt that Sabrina Carpenter was more popular, and people tended to know more of her songs than Chappell’s. Additionally, I feel that her August release “Short n’’ Sweet” was met with much more enthusiasm than Chappell’s Release of “Good Luck, Babe” a few months before. When going into making my prediction I considered a lot of things, but I came to the conclusion that Sabrina having a Netflix Christmas special, and Chappell only being a surprise guest on the special was a tell-tale sign that Sabrina was going to win the category.
When 2024’s Best New Artist winner, Victoria Monet, announced Chappell as the winner, I was surprised, but I honestly think that she deserved the win.
Winner: “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter
My predicted winner: “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” by Billie Eillish
Who I wanted to win: “Apple” by Charli xcx
I feel like my predictions tended to gravitate towards Billie Eillish all night, but I honestly think that she had a good chance at all of the awards I saw her taking.
Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” was one of the top “songs of the summer” for me this year, and it was definitely deserving of the win. The song’s catchy chorus hasn’t left my head since its release, and for good reason. Seeing Sabrina perform it on her “Short n’ Sweet” world tour, and at festivals across the globe really cemented her as a talented performer in my mind, and the SNL parody featuring Ariana Grande really reinforced the song’s icon status for me.
Winner: “Die with a Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars
My predicted winner: “Die with a Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars
Who I wanted to win: “Guess” by Charli xcx and Billie EIllish
“Die with a Smile” is a song that, to me, cannot live up to “Guess.” However, in making my predictions, I took into account the more radio-friendly nature of the Lady Gaga/Bruno Mars collab over the less radio-friendly nature of “Guess.”
I think “Die with a Smile” is a great song, but I think it feels very done before, whereas “Guess” brought something entirely new to the table. However, I suspected that this might not be a very winning year for Charli xcx’s “BRAT,” and let that dictate my prediction making.
Winner: “Short n’ Sweet” by Sabrina Carpenter
My predicted winner: “The Tortured Poets Department” by Taylor Swift
Who I wanted to win: “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” by Chappell Roan
From my first listen, I loved Sabrina Carpenter’s “Short n’ Sweet.” The same can be said, however, for Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department.” The difference, to me, however, was that everytime listened to “The Tortured Poets Department,” it got better and better, whereas “Short n’ Sweet” was the same on each listen.
I think both Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift are fantastic vocalists, but I think that “The Tortured Poets Department” was a lot more difficult vocally.
As far as wanting “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” to win, I think it showed a lot of the same qualities as “The Tortured Poets Department,” but I don’t think that Chappell winning the category was realistic.
Winner: “Von Dutch” by Charli xcx
My predicted winner: “Von Dutch” by Charli xcx
Who I wanted to win: “Got me Started” by Troye Sivan
Troye Sivan’s “Something to Give Each Other” was my “BRAT.” Unfortunately, it was released in mid-October and not in the spring, like “BRAT,” so it didn’t acquire the same popularity that Charli xcx’s album–my idea of the perfect summer album–did.
That being said, I love “BRAT,” and “Von Dutch” is one of my favorite tracks from the album, so I’m overall happy that it won–actually, if it hadn’t won, I probably would have been upset.
Winner: “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar”
My predicted winner: “Fortnight” by Taylor Swift
Who I wanted to win: “Fortnight” by Taylor Swift
I adored the music video for Taylor Swift’s “Fortnight,” and it not winning took me aback a little. I thought the video had a great deal of visual appeal, the use of motifs left nothing to be desired, it was all around unique and it fit the song perfectly. I also liked the music video for Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” but it wasn’t too unique.
I will say that, taking into consideration the circumstances of the single’s release, the video was really good, but the “Fortnight” video is timeless, whereas the “Not Like Us” music video might be confusing for those who don’t know what some of the elements of the video are in reference to.
Winner: “Saturn” by SZA
My predicted winner: “Saturn” by SZA
Who I wanted to win: “Here we go” by Coco Jones
Since its release, I have loved SZA’s “Saturn,” and I am unsurprised that it won. The song is excellent in more ways than one. The vocals, backing music, lyrics and more all come together in the perfect way.
While “Saturn” is a favorite song of mine, and has found its way into many of my playlists, Coco Jones’ “Here We Go” is a song that I would say I enjoy more, and that is more to my taste. Regardless, I think SZA is undoubtedly deserving of her win in the category.
Winner: “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar
My predicted winner: “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar
Who I wanted to win: “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar
While, in most categories that it won, I think that there was a more deserving song than “Not Like Us,” I do wholeheartedly think that it was the best rap performance of the year. All of my criticisms aside, “Not Like Us” is a great song, and every aspect of it comes together, over all, perfectly. Everytime that I hear “Not Like Us,” no matter the circumstances, it becomes indefinitely stuck in my head, and I think that the fact that I don’t mind too much is a real testament to how good of a song it is.
Winner: “Alligator Bites Never Heal” by Doechii
My predicted winner: “We Don’t Trust You” by Future and Metro Boomin’
Who I wanted to win: “Alligator Bites Never Heal” by Doechii
I wasn’t surprised that Doechii’s “Alligator Bites Never Heal” won best rap album, but, at the same time, I was.
As much as I wanted the album to win, as it was truly a great album, I didn’t think that it was possible. As Doechii mentioned in her acceptance speech, she is only the third woman to ever win the category. With how male-dominated the category is, I had expected one of the other nominees to take home the gramophone-shaped trophy, and decided that Future and Metro Boomin’’s “We Don’t Trust You” was more on par with the past winners of the category.
Winner: “COWBOY CARTER” by Beyonce
My predicted winner: “COWBOY CARTER” by Beyonce
I didn’t really care who won best country album, but I had this gut feeling that Beyonce was going to win it. I’m not familiar with any of the other nominated albums in their entirety, but I have heard at least one song from each at some point. I think that both Beyonce and Post Malone were not fit to win the categories, but Beyonce moreso. Her album felt very corporate country–like something that a Target Fourth of July commercial would be set to.
Winner: “Maestro: Music by Leonard Bernstein”
My predicted winner: “Saltburn”
Who I wanted to win: “Saltburn”
Throughout looking at the Grammy nominations this year, two things really made me realize how long the last year really was: SZA’s “Saturn” being up for a Grammy, and “Saltburn” being up for a Grammy–as well as a few others that I left out.
When looking back at this category, I still agree with my predictions, and feel that “Saltburn” would have much better fit the category. Overall, “Saltburn” was one of the best movies that I saw throughout 2024–even though it was released in 2023. Moreover, Maestro was one of the worst.
Had it not been a biopic, the soundtrack of Maestro could have easily been replaced with other selections and still had the same overall effect, but the soundtrack of “Saltburn” is largely what made the movie so great.
