6 Artists Could Dominate the 2025 Grammys Narrative: Here’s What It Would Mean If Each of Them Did

If you haven’t noticed, this year’s lineup of major Grammy contenders is unspeakably loaded: The biggest names in music, from the long-dominant superstars to the quick-rising new faces to the most compelling comeback artists in recent memory, will have a presence at the 67th annual Grammy Awards, which will be held on Sunday night (Feb. 2) at Crypto Arena in Los Angeles. Sure, there are a few left-of-center nominees in the Big Four general categories (album of the year, record of the year, song of the year and best new artist), but the large majority of the bolded names will sound familiar — and they’ll all be competing for the same hardware.

A handful of artists not only stand to collect the top prizes come Grammy night, but to dominate the narrative around the ceremony, owning the chatter that follows in the hours and days once all the stars shuffle out of the arena. And while some artists could win multiple Big Four awards but not the album of the year trophy — like Kendrick Lamar, who could win both record of the year and song of the year with “Not Like Us” — only six artists (all women!) have a chance to win the top prize, album of the year, as well as at least one other Big Four award. In doing so, they would take hold of the headlines post-ceremony, and claim Grammy night as their own.

With that in mind, here are the 6 artists who could dominate the narrative of the 2025 Grammys, the awards they would need to win in order to do so, and what those dominant performances would mean, big-picture.

Billie Eilish

What She’d Need To Win: Album of the year for Hit Me Hard and Soft, plus record of the year and/or song of the year for “Birds of a Feather”

What It Would Signify: An awards-show force continuing her unstoppable pace. Five years after becoming the second artist in Grammys history to sweep the Big Four categories, Eilish is back as a contender in album of the year, record of the year and song of the year; if anyone doubted her staying power following her dominance of the 2020 ceremony, Eilish has put those concerns to bed by earning multiple Big Four nods in four of the last five years, as well as follow-up wins in record of the year (for “Everything I Wanted” in 2021) and song of the year (for “What Was I Made For?” last year). Of course, it’s not just the Recording Academy that has lavished praise upon the pop superstar — Eilish owns multiple Academy Awards for Best Original Song, a 23-year-old with more Oscars to her name than Leonardo DiCaprio or Al Pacino.

Eilish could keep up her astonishing success rate on Sunday night thanks to “Birds of a Feather” — one of the biggest mainstream hits of her career, still squarely in the top 10 of the current Hot 100 more than eight months into its chart run — and Hit Me Hard and Soft, another acclaimed full-length that made her three-for-three with album of the year nominations. We witnessed a scorching-hot run like this in the 2010s from Adele, who took home a pair of album of the year trophies in 2012 and 2017, respectively. If Eilish takes home the top prize on Sunday night, she will have basically replicated that run for a new decade.

Taylor Swift

What She’d Need To Win: Album of the year for The Tortured Poets Department, plus record of the year and/or song of the year for “Fortnight” (featuring Post Malone)

What It Would Signify: History books being quickly rewritten. Thanks to her 2024 album of the year for Midnights, Swift already owns the all-time record for most wins in the category, with four (she previously won for Fearless, 1989 and Folklore). That total could stand for exactly one year if Swift once again emerges victorious in the category, this time for The Tortured Poets Department — which she happened to announce on the Grammys stage last year, and proceeded to give Swift the biggest first-week debut of her career last April.

However, album of the year might not be the most meaningful category at this year’s ceremony for Swift, who is up for six awards. The superstar also owns the record for career nominations in song of the year, with eight — but has yet to take home the award. “Fortnight,” her TTPD chart-topper with Post Malone, could change that on Sunday night, achieving what songs like “You Belong With Me,” “Lover” and “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” could not. So regardless of what happens in album of the year, Swifties could be very pleased with the outcome of Grammy night, then turn their attentions toward rooting like hell for Kansas City in the Super Bowl next Sunday.

Charli XCX

What She’d Need to Win: Album of the year for Brat, plus record of the year for “360”

What It Would Signify: A dramatic Grammys comeback narrative that somehow allows us to compare Charli XCX to… Santana! Prior to 1999’s Supernatural album, Carlos Santana had existed outside of the mainstream and top 40 radio for several years, but mega-smashes like “Smooth” and “Maria Maria” returned him to the Billboard charts and eventually resulted in an album of the year win in 2000. A quarter-century later, Charli — who was nominated for record of the year as the guest on Iggy Azalea’s No. 1 smash “Fancy” in 2015, then didn’t show up in the Big Four for years, in spite of consistent output — has a chance to similarly dominate Grammy night with Brat, an album that transformed the British pop star from cult hero to arena headliner.

Brat earned Charli both the best reviews of her career and the most success of any of her albums, a triumphant (and expertly marketed) project that served as the new highlight of for longtime fans and an introduction to a new generation of listeners. This campaign has already been a whirlwind success for Charli, and any wins across her seven nominations would be gravy. But the moment could be the exclamation point on an unexpected mainstream return if Charli emerges from Grammy night as the biggest winner and paints the ceremony Brat-green.

Chappell Roan

What She’d Need to Win: Album of the year for The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, plus record of the year and/or song of the year for “Good Luck, Babe!,” or best new artist

What It Would Signify: The rare first-album co-sign by the Recording Academy. In the 21st century, only two debuts have walked away with the album of the year trophy: Come Away With Me by Norah Jones in 2003, and When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, by current album of the year competitor Billie Eilish, in 2020. That list could grow this weekend if The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, Chappell Roan’s spectacular pop debut, takes home the top prize — an unthinkable outcome 16 months ago, when the album was released to little fanfare in September 2023. With Roan gaining steam while opening for Olivia Rodrigo’s 2024 tour, then scoring the first top 10 hit of her career with the non-album single “Good Luck, Babe!” however, the album became a late-blooming chart smash, and the singer-songwriter earned nominations in all of the Big Four categories.

Midwest Princess winning album of the year would certainly be a cool outcome, akin to the Recording Academy giving Eilish the Big Four clean sweep five years ago; both Eilish and Roan crafted debut albums that challenged pop norms, and promoted them with outspoken, singular identities that were embraced by younger listeners. Even if Roan wins album of the year but misses the Big Four sweep, any general category victory would be a clear sign that the Academy views her as pop’s future, and deserves to be acknowledged immediately.

Sabrina Carpenter

What She’d Need to Win: Album of the year for Short n’ Sweet, plus record of the year for “Espresso,” song of the year for “Please Please Please,” or best new artist

What It Would Signify: The completion of a breathtaking rise to the A-list. A year ago, Sabrina Carpenter was a veteran recording artist beloved by pop diehards but still searching for a true crossover hit. Now, she’s had three top 10 smashes on the Hot 100 — “Espresso,” her spring breakthrough up for record of the year; “Please Please Please,” the summer chart-topper up for song of the year; and “Taste,” the fall radio mainstay — as well as a No. 1 album with Short n’ Sweet, an arena headlining tour, a Hollywood romance, and enough brand deals to keep her in regular rotation on most commercial breaks.

A major night at the Grammys would be the cherry on top of a whirlwind year for Carpenter, who released five full-lengths prior to Short n’ Sweet but never came close to this level of awards recognition. Like Roan, she is a presence in all of the Big Four categories; unlike Roan, she has different singles nominated in record of the year and song of the year, a testament to her power as a hit-maker in 2024. Carpenter is going to be a mainstream presence for a very long time whatever happens on Grammy night, but multiple general category wins would nudge a remarkable upward trajectory even higher.

Beyoncé

What She’d Need to Win: Album of the year for Cowboy Carter, plus record of the year and/or song of the year for “Texas Hold ’Em”

What It Would Signify: Queen Bey checking off the one remaining box. Beyoncé currently owns the records for most Grammy nominations and most Grammy wins, but famously has not been able to take home the album of the year prize, despite four previous nods for her solo albums. Cowboy Carter, her chart-topping foray into country and Americana, was not the most critically lavished or commercially successful project of Bey’s career, but its conceptual boldness and sky-high execution helped Beyoncé earn the most nominations of any artist at the 2025 Grammys, with 11.

Some could view Cowboy Carter becoming the project to finally give Beyoncé an album of the year trophy as a lifetime-achievement win for a relatively lesser work; others could claim that Cowboy Carter is the most audacious album that Bey has ever released, and that she pulled off the genre-hop masterfully. Regardless, a win would allow the BeyHive to finally exhale, after years and multiple ceremonies of their favorite superstar going home without the top award. And while No. 1 hit “Texas Hold ’Em” winning record of the year or song of the year would signify a nice victory, all eyes will be on the album prize.

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