When upcoming artists like Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan dropped hits like “Espresso” and “Good Luck, Babe!”, redefining the new wave of pop music, and diss-tracks like “Von Dutch” and “Not Like Us” by Charli XCX and Kendrick Lamar, respectively, took the internet by storm, it was clear that the 2025 Grammys would be a highly anticipated event. Sunday night’s event marked the 67th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony, and the results were — interesting.

The most popular categories included: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Best New Artist.

With all the amazing songs that came out this year, winning “Record of the Year” seems almost impossible considering all the nominees who were competing against one another. The nominees included but were not limited to the winner, Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us”, Taylor Swift’s “Fortnight”, Chappell Roan for “Good Luck, Babe!”, and Sabrina Carpenter for “Espresso”.

This list felt cut-throat as it displayed various iconic songs that dominated the Hot 100 charts and influenced various social trends like “360” by Charli XCX, a beacon of the neon-green, “BRAT” revolution. Kendrick Lamar’s win was a surprising choice, to say the least. The rap song was huge due to the controversy around Drake, but this year was the year of Pop, and the winner deserved to be in that genre of music. However, every time I turned on the radio it would either be “Good luck, Babe!” or “Espresso”, and for good reason. I feel like “Not Like Us” was a one-time listen – something to be shocked about the cause of lyrics directed towards the Drake controversy, but it never reached the status of a song like “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter, which defined all pop music for this year. From its top spot in the Top 100 to the never-ending press it got like on the SNL parody episode “Domingo”, “Espresso” is the song that deserved to be the record of the year.

Moreover, although Album of the Year was a pick that I do not fully agree with, it feels justified. The winner for “Album of the Year” was Beyoncé for “Cowboy Carter”, which competed against the likes of Chappell Roan’s “The Rise and Fall of the Midwest Princess”, Billie Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard and Soft”, Andre 3000’s “New Blue Sun” and more.

Beyoncé’s win caught me off guard because of competitors like Billie Eillish’s “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” and Sabrina Carpenter’s “Short n’ Sweet”. Billie Eilish and Finneas’s’ album had multiple international hit songs like “Birds of a Feather” and “Wildflower with sentimental messages behind the songs that highly resonated with fans. Sabrina Carpenter’s “Short n’ Sweet” was huge, with so many popular songs like “Taste” and “Bed Chem”, paired with the sold-out tour, this album was one of the top and the best. Beyonce’s “COWBOY CARTER” was one that deeply resonated with Beyonce’s Texas roots. Most of her songs featured covers and featured songs with iconic country singers like Dolly Parton. With songs like “Texas Hold ‘Em” and the cover “Jolene”, this album was big because of the shocking collaboration with Bey’s countryside, but not as big as “Short ‘n Sweet” which is surprising being that it’s someone as big as Beyoncé. Either way, this winner was deserved, but still surprising.

In an unsurprising victory, Chappell Roan was named the “Best New Artist” winner. Roan started in 2017 as a small artist but only made her big break last February when she opened for Olivia Rodrigo on her Guts Tour. Her 2023 album, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” quickly solidified her niche as a pop artist.

Roan’s candid, diva persona combined with her appreciation for retro aesthetics and unapologetically queer lyrics in her music makes her highly relatable to fans. Roan’s authenticity stands out compared to other up-and-coming artists. For a new artist to compete for Billboard’s Top 100 number one spot- is extremely impressive, so Roan winning “Best New Artist” made complete sense for the name and brand she made for herself in less than a year.

The 2025 Grammy Awards highlighted how competitive the music industry can be, especially given the amount of talent and recognition that every nominee from each category deserved. Overall, the dedication of every artist’s songs and albums this year is inspiring. From what I saw during this year’s Grammys, we can expect even more competition from artists in the coming year.