What to know:
- The 67th Annual Grammy Awards will air on CBS on Feb. 2, 2025
- There are over 15 Grammy markets on the prediction market platform Kalshi and more than $2 million in bets.
- Experts are backing Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter for Best New Artist, but are less confident in Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us for Record of the Year
Grammy season brings more than just golden gramophones this year. There are millions being bet on the Grammys (thanks to the rise of prediction markets like Kalshi), and Beyoncé’s historic Album of the Year win hangs in the balance.
The Queen B leads the pack this year with 11 nominations, while Charli XCX, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone, and Billie Eilish all received seven nominations, and Sabrina Carpenter, Taylor Swift, and Chappell Roan have six each.
Carpenter and Roan are nominated in all of the Big Four categories – Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best New Artist.
To make sense of it all, we turn to three experts for their Grammy insights: Ashley Ippolito (@ReactsByAsh), Omar Nova (@OmarNovaVideos), and Jordan & Jullian Bascome (@thebascometwins).
Here are their 2025 Grammy predictions.
2025 Grammy Expert Predictions
Album of the Year
Ippolito: I honestly had such a hard time trying to figure out what makes the most sense, but I ended up going with Hit Me Hard and Soft. I feel like the difference between Billie’s Album of the Year nomination [this year], as opposed to the last one – I think this one is her returning more to her roots and what really makes Billie Billie.
I do think it’s a really stacked category. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see another situation where the votes are so divided. [As a result,] I wouldn’t be surprised if just someone unexpected pops up and wins the category.
- PICK: Hit Me Hard and Soft
Nova: Hit Me Hard and Soft by Billie Eilish will win Album of the Year. I think sonically, it sounded amazing. The production was on another level and critically acclaimed. And the Grammys loves to award Billie, and I feel like it was such a solid project that they’ll hand this one to her.
- PICK: Hit Me Hard and Soft
Bascome Twins: Cowboy Carter. We are fans, but if you really look at it, Beyoncé is long overdue for an album of the year. She should have gotten it with self-titled. Just long overdue for that award. But also with Cowboy Carter, the amount of research that she did for that album, it was extremely innovative. It was a genre-bending project, and there wasn’t a moment where you really got bored. It kind of took you through all these emotions and the storytelling and the vocal performance, the lyrical composition, like everything.
It was just such a well-thought-out project that you see the amount of time and effort. So I think Cowboy Carter definitely should. But Hit Me Hard and Soft was our next choice because it’s just a cohesive, beautiful body of work that’s consistent. But Brat, which I think would actually be really interesting because that has had such a long lifespan. I think if Brat took home the award, I wouldn’t be mad. It would definitely be like, “Look how far Charlie’s come.” It was a Brat Summer everywhere.
- PICK: Cowboy Carter
Record of the Year
Ippolito: I think this is an interesting category. It’s just everything about the song. It’s not just the songwriting, it’s all parts that go in it. I do think personally the two front runners are Espresso and Not Like Us, but I have to give it to Espresso just because I’ve noticed with Kendrick, they never give him awards outside of rap categories. So I personally think Not Like Us should win, but I’m going to give it to Espresso. [Lamar] had such a big year like people who don’t even know rap were going around screaming his lyrics.
- PICK: Espresso
Nova: I think, Birds of a Feather has the strongest chance of winning that. And if it’s not Birds of a Feather, I think they’ll give that to Not Like Us by Kendrick Lamar because culturally it was revolutionary for everyone. And so I would say Birds of a Feather because the Grammys love to award Billie, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it went to Kendrick.
- PICK: Birds of a Feather
Bascome Twins: I think Espresso is going to take it 100%. I would say it was probably the biggest Song of the Year. You couldn’t go anywhere without hearing the song or at least hearing it referenced. And I think it picked up momentum the quickest. It was an immediate smash. Lyrically it is very clever – it’s an earworm.
- PICK: Espresso
Song of the Year
Ippolito: Song of the Year is going to be Die With a Smile because it has the critical acclaim. Everyone who’s listened to it absolutely loves it. And also Bruno Mars, in my opinion, is kind of a Grammy darling. Any time he tends to be in the big categories, he’s going to win and Lady Gaga is kind of the same. It was the same with Ariana [Grande] for Rain on Me. I just think it’s just a really strong contender to win.
- PICK: Die With a Smile
Nova: I think they would give this one to Fortnight by Taylor Swift. I think just because there’s a lot of heavy competition and I feel like this is one of the only ones they would give to her. I don’t see her winning Album of the Year or Record of the Year or, anything like that at the Grammys, but I feel like this one, she has a fair shot at.
- PICK: Fortnight
Bascome Twins: This is a tough one. We had a couple of options – [in this category] we’re talking lyrically as a songwriter. We’re definitely thinking that Good Luck, Babe! is going to take that one. With that song, I think the impact that it’s had, being that it’s an openly queer song like there is no covering it. And I think that’s pretty monumental. And I know that the emotion that was conveyed really just resonated well with listeners and it became that sleeper hit. And then once it became that hit, you couldn’t escape it. It really made an impact, both production-wise and lyrically. And also lyrically, I do feel like it’s very minimal, but if you listen, there’s a lot of visualization happening.
We have three others that we would be happy with. I loved A Bar Song (Tipsy) by Shaboozey. I like that lyrically – it’s very simple and relatable. But sometimes that’s all you need. I don’t need you to have three different types of poetry for it to be a great song.
Loved Birds of a Feather by Billie. I think that’s such a unique concept. And then Die With a Smile was great. Yeah. I think any one of those could take it. But my heart is with Good Luck, Babe!
- PICK: Good Luck, Babe!
Best New Artist
Ippolito: I do want my two top runners to win, which would be Chappell and Sabrina. And honestly, every day I go back and forth between the two because they both had such an amazing year. They both achieved so many things, not only for their career but just in general, breaking records. And it’s just so hard to think what do you base it on? Critical acclaim? They both have it. General audience? They both have it. So I do have to say, I do think Sabrina has a little bit more of the general audience appeal, especially with the three singles that came out for the album. Her tour was a big success. Everyone went to it. So I am going to say Sabrina, but kind of what I was saying before, I wouldn’t be surprised that the category is so split that I ended up going to someone else. Personally, if it goes to someone else, I wouldn’t be mad at Raye winning.
- PICK: Sabrina Carpenter
Nova: I’d say Chappell Roan. It would ultimately be between Chappell and Sabrina Carpenter, but because of how different Chappell’s music style, personality is, and just her story, her come up – she had a job, she was kicked off her label, she was writing, she had to go back home, then she came back to LA and wrote this album. It just went crazy for her and changed her life. So I feel like story-wise, music-wise, personality-wise, they would award this to Chappell Roan.
- PICK: Chappell Roan
Bascome Twins: Who had the biggest year essentially? But we were also looking at who’s been most consistent. Whose name did you hear the most? Who’s even managed to reinvent themselves? So I think for this one, our first prediction is Chappell Roan, for sure, which I would be happy with. I think that not only has she managed to stay in your ear with a ten out of ten album and great singles but as an entity, as a face, as a character, she’s just been everywhere. Whether it’s for good reasons or not, you’re just constantly hearing her name. She’s a consistent performer. Her interviews are hilarious. I just think she’s been a fresh addition to the industry. But, Sabrina, I could see too. You could argue she’s not super new but when you break down the category it’s the idea of breaking through. This would be her breakthrough year. It would make sense. And personally, again, our main one is Chappell but I would love to see Raye. I think since the breakthrough with Escapism., there just hasn’t been a slowdown. Maybe not as many hits as the other ones, but I think what I appreciate about Raye, much like Chappell, is they have a lot of sleeper hits. Eventually, the rest of the general public catches up to the greatness and then you can’t stop seeing it. Benson is great too, but I think he needs more time.
- PICK: Chappell Roan
When you take a look at this year’s nominations, it’s clear that the competition is fiercer than ever. Grammy favorites like Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, and Billie Eilish dominate the categories while rising stars Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan are poised to make their mark, with many experts predicting breakout wins for both.
Prediction News Pro Tip: Before placing your bets on the Grammys, remember this: don't stop at just one source. This article provides valuable insights, but expand your research by exploring diverse expert opinions across articles, podcasts, and social media. The more informed you are, the sharper your predictions will be.
Smart money knows that Grammy night operates on its own wavelength, where industry favorites and dark horses, more often than not, stand on equal ground.