From Beyoncé‘s “Texas Hold ‘Em” to Sabrina Carpenter‘s “Espresso,” several 2024 Billboard Hot 100 hits are strong contenders for top honors at the 2025 Grammys — but there are also a handful of older songs that could pop up when nominations are announced on Nov. 8.
According to the rules and guidelines handbook for the 67th annual Grammy Awards, recordings must be commercially released, nationally distributed, and available from any date within the eligibility period (Sept. 16, 2023, to Aug. 30, 2024) through at least Jan. 3, 2025 – the date of this Grammy year’s final-ballot voting deadline. Furthermore, unless otherwise instructed upon submission, the academy will use the original album version of a song for screening and verification purposes. This means that a hit like Tate McRae‘s “Greedy” — which was released on Sept. 15, 2023 — is ineligible for the 2025 Grammys in its original form, but can still be considered for a nomination in a different iteration, such as an acoustic or live version.
It’s not uncommon for an alternate version of a song to earn a Grammy nod — especially if the track in question gained prominence after the eligibility period for its original version closed. Live albums and single recordings have been nominated (and won) in the past, especially in the decades before the Academy enacted major overhauls of the ceremony’s categories.
In 2011, the last year the Grammy for best female pop vocal performance was presented, a live version of Beyoncé’s “Halo” earned a nod. The year prior, the original studio version of the song won in that category, becoming Beyoncé’s first and only victory in the pop field. The following year, Adele swept the ceremony with her 21 album — including a best pop solo performance win for “Someone Like You” — making the album and the original version of its tracks ineligible for future ceremonies. In 2013, she triumphed with a second consecutive win in the category thanks to a live version of “Set Fire to the Rain” recorded at the Royal Albert Hall. The British powerhouse would go on to win this particular award twice more — “Hello” (2017) and “Easy On Me” (2023) — making her the all-time biggest winner in this category.
In 2015, a whopping three of the five nominated tracks in best pop solo performance were alternate versions: Pharrell Williams‘ “Happy (Live),” John Legend‘s “All of Me (Live),” and Sam Smith‘s “Stay With Me (Darkchild Version).” The Williams and Legend tracks were both released during the eligibility period for the 2014 Grammys but reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 during the eligibility period for the following year’s ceremony. The original version of Smith’s smash was eligible, but his label (Capitol Records) opted to submit the Darkchild version instead. Ultimately, Williams beat out the competition and took home his first and only solo win in the pop field.
In 2019, a solo live version of Camila Cabello‘s “Havana,” which originally featured a rap verse from Young Thug, reaped a bid in this category, but it lost to Lady Gaga‘s “Joanne (Where Do You Think You’re Going?)” — a piano version of the title track from her Joanne LP, which earned a pair of nods the year prior.
Before best pop duo/group performance was introduced in 2012, live versions helped two bands win best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals. Maroon 5 won with “This Love (Live)” in 2006, and Train won with “Hey, Soul Sister (Live)” in 2011.
Outside of the pop categories, live versions often do well in the rock field. Since it was established in 1990, four of the winners for best metal performance have been live renditions, with the most recent being Judas Priest‘s 2010 victory for “Dissident Aggressor (Live).” Back in 2001, before the best female rock vocal performance category was discontinued, Sheryl Crow won with a live version of “There Goes the Neighborhood,” the original version of which lost in the same category at the 1999 ceremony.
The R&B categories are a bit frostier toward alternate versions. Just one live rendition has ever won in any R&B performance category; Stevie Wonder and Take 6‘s “Love’s in Need of Love Today (Live)” — a cover of the opening track from 1976’s Songs in the Key of Life — took home best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocals in 2003. Beyoncé earned a nod for best female R&B vocal performance in 2009 for her live rendition of her 2003 hit “Me, Myself and I.” (She lost to Alicia Keys‘ “Superwoman.”)
In 2023, Latto‘s “Big Energy (Live)” became the first live rendition to earn a nomination for best melodic rap performance, ultimately losing to Future, Drake and Tems‘ “Wait for U.”
Live and alternate versions face the toughest battle in the general field categories of record and song of the year. Sam Smith’s aforementioned “Stay With Me (Darkchild Version)” won both record and song of the year, but no live version has ever been nominated (or won) in either category.
Here’s a round-up of 2024 Hot 100 hits that were submitted under alternate versions to skirt eligibility rules for the 2025 Grammys.
Tate McRae, “Greedy”
Release Date: Sept. 15, 2023
Hot 100 Peak: No. 3 (chart dated Jan. 13, 2024)
Version Submitted: “Greedy (Acoustic)”
After several years of medium-level pop hits, Tate McRae scored her breakthrough smash with “Greedy,” a ’00s pop-favoring number produced by three-time Grammy winner Ryan Tedder. In a classic case of a song being released in one eligibility year and becoming a hit during another, McRae’s label submitted an acoustic version of “Greedy” to record of the year and best pop solo performance. “Exes,” which peaked at No. 34 on the Hot 100, is her submission for song of the year and best music video.
The acoustic version of “Greedy” was released alongside a six-track Greedy (Remixes) EP on Oct. 27, 2023.
Teddy Swims, “Lose Control”
Release Date: June 23, 2023
Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 (chart dated March 30, 2024)
Version Submitted: “Lose Control (The Village Sessions)”
Teddy Swims broke through in a major way this year with his slow-burning ballad “Lose Control,” which took 32 weeks to finally reach the top of the Hot 100. Since the original version was released during the eligibility period for last year’s Grammys, Team Teddy submitted a live rendition of the track, subtitled “The Village Sessions.” That version was released as a standalone single on Aug. 23, 2024, and submitted for consideration in record of the year and best pop solo performance. Some of Teddy’s other submissions include best new artist and “The Door (CYRIL Remix)” for best remixed recording.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor, “Murder on the Dancefloor”
Release Date: Dec. 3, 2001
Hot 100 Peak: No. 51 (chart dated Feb. 3, 2024)
Version Submitted: “Murder on the Dancefloor (Live From New York)”
Leave it to Saltburn — specifically that NSFW Barry Keoghan scene — to revive a two-decade-old song. Thanks to that viral scene from Academy Award winner Emerald Fennell’s latest film, Sophie Ellis-Bextor‘s shimmering “Murder on the Dancefloor” finally entered the Hot 100, 23 years after its initial release. Obviously, the original version of the song is ineligible for the 2025 Grammys, so a live version was submitted instead.
“Murder on the Dancefloor (Live from New York)” — released on Aug. 23, 2024 — was submitted for consideration in record of the year and best pop solo performance.
Muni Long, “Made for Me”
Release Date: Oct. 12, 2022
Hot 100 Peak: No. 20 (chart dated Mar. 9, 2024)
Version Submitted: “Made for Me (Live on BET)”
At the 2023 Grammys, Muni Long took home her first-ever award for best R&B performance (“Hrs & Hrs”). She followed up that hit with another top 20-peaking R&B ballad, “Made for Me,” which she submitted for consideration in all eligible categories for the 2024 Grammys. Like “Hrs & Hrs,” “Made for Me” took a bit of time to become a formidable chart presence, so its rise to prominence occurred almost entirely within the eligibility period for the 2025 Grammys. As such, Long’s label submitted her live rendition of “Made for Me” from the 2023 Soul Train Awards — a performance that helped light a fire under the song’s commercial prospects — for consideration in best R&B performance and record of the year for next year’s ceremony. The live version of “Made for Me” was officially released as a standalone single on Feb. 2, 2024.
“Made for Me” appears on Revenge, Long’s fourth studio album, which is up for consideration in album of the year, best R&B album, and best engineered album, non-classical.
Noah Kahan, “Stick Season”
Release Date: Jul. 8, 2022
Hot 100 Peak: No. 9 (chart dated Apr. 27, 2024)
Version Submitted: “Stick Season (Live from Fenway Park)”
Earlier this year, Noah Kahan earned his first Grammy nod (best new artist), and although he came up short, he’s in contention this year with a slew of live renditions of tracks from his ever-expanding Stick Season album. Back in April, Kahan earned his first top 10 hit on the Hot 100 when “Stick Season” peaked at No. 9. A live version of the track taken from his Live From Fenway Park album (released Aug. 30, 2024) has been submitted for consideration in best Americana performance. The Live From Fenway Park record also appears on the ballot for album of the year, best Americana album, and best engineered album, non-classical.
Bonus: RAYE, “Escapism”
Release Date: Oct. 12, 2022
Hot 100 Peak: No. 22 (chart dated Jan. 28, 2023)
Version Submitted: “Escapism (Live at Royal Albert Hall)” (billed as RAYE & The Heritage Orchestra)
They say good things come to those who wait, and few artists in recent memory have felt that sentiment as intimately as RAYE. A decade after she released her debut EP, she completed a historic sweep at the Brits (Mar. 2), taking home six awards, including artist, album, song, and songwriter of the year. My 21st Century Blues — RAYE’s debut studio album — and its tracks were eligible and submitted for last year’s Grammys, but none of those entries reaped any nominations. Now that her profile has risen substantially on both sides of the pond, RAYE has submitted a live version of her breakthrough single “Escapism” for consideration in best pop duo/group performance.
Titled “Escapism (Live at Royal Albert Hall),” this new version replaces 070 Shake (who was the co-lead artist on the original studio version of the song) with The Heritage Orchestra. It’s a track from My 21st Century Symphony, a live album recorded at the Royal Albert Hall and comprised of orchestral renditions of each track from her debut LP. The live album — which was released on Oct. 16, 2023 — was also submitted for consideration in best traditional pop vocal album and best engineered album, non-classical.
Version Submitted: “Everywhere, Everything” (with Gracie Abrams)
Stick Season has undergone many iterations since its Oct. 14, 2022 release, and those newer permutations have gifted Kahan with some smart Grammy plays. “Everywhere, Everything” — a Gracie Abrams-assisted duet version of the original — appears on Stick Season (Forever), and Kahan’s label submitted that track for consideration in best pop duo/group performance. Notably, “Everywhere, Everything” became Abrams’ first Hot 100 entry, to which she has added four more, including the fast-rising “I Love You, I’m Sorry.”
