6 biggest Grammy surprises on the ballot: No dance for Dua Lipa, nothing for Zach Bryan at all

Grammy voting is underway, so we’ve been poring over submissions throughout the past few days. While Grammy pundits do our best to anticipate what artists and labels will submit, each year we get a few surprises, and the 2025 Grammys are no different.

Sabrina Carpenter’s “Please Please Please” in Song of the Year

Carpenter’s team had the difficult task of figuring out how and where to submit her multiple big hits. It seemed likely that the starlet would go all in on “Espresso,” arguably the most prominent of her hits, and submit it across the board. However, Carpenter’s “Please Please Please,” her first number-one hit, was her selection for Song of the Year. It’s likely that she is locked in for a nomination there regardless of her submission, so it’s nice to see the more storytelling-focused “Please” be the one to possibly nab Sabrina her first Song of the Year nom. It also helps to have four-time Song of the Year nominee Jack Antonoff along for the ride as a co-writer.

No Zach Bryan

Country superstar Zach Bryan opted not to submit to this year’s Grammys. The reason? It was reported by Variety that the star “does not feel comfortable with awards shows making music competitive.” Bryan’s bad luck with awards in general probably didn’t help. He has been regularly snubbed in top categories at shows like the CMAs and ACMs, and has not received nominations in the big four Grammys races despite Bryan’s success critically and commercially. He was also expected to win more Grammys than he did at the last event, losing Best Country Album in an upset to singer songwriter Lainey Wilson (though he did win Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “I Remember Everything” with Kacey Musgraves). Bryan has also been pretty standoffish as a whole, not promoting his songs on country or pop radio, so this move shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise.

Beyoncé is multifaceted

It seemed like a strong possibility that Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” would be eligible in a few different genres, but we knew she was likely gunning for country first and foremost. It was a pleasant surprise, then, to see “Cowboy Carter” considered for how multifaceted it is. While “Texas Hold ‘Em” is the entry in Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Country Song, fan favorite “16 Carriages” was slotted for Best Country Solo Performance, and the single “II Most Wanted” featuring Miley Cyrus is up for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. Beyoncé is also in the Americana categories, with “YA YA” being a contender for Best Americana Performance. Elsewhere, she is up for Best R&B Song (“Tyrant”) and Best Melodic Rap Performance (“Spaghettii”). Oddly, she isn’t also up for Best R&B Performance for “Tyrant,” so perhaps “Levii’s Jeans” featuring Post Malone was originally submitted there but moved to Best Pop Duo/Group Performance by the genre screening committee. Last but not least, the viral “Bodyguard” is up for Best Pop Solo Performance.

Dua Lipa absent from Best Dance Pop Recording

When you think of dance and electropop artists today, Brit star Dua Lipa is one of the first artists to come to mind. So it’s a shock that she’s not up for Best Dance Pop Recording. If she were, she could have been nominated, and possibly won, for “Illusion,” or perhaps “Houdini,” which has been the biggest hit off her new album. Instead, “Houdini” was slotted in Best Pop Solo Performance. Perhaps Lipa tried submitting “Houdini” to Best Dance Pop Recording, but it was bounced to Pop Solo by the genre committee.

Raye in Best Jazz Performance

British singer-songwriter Raye has performed at esteemed festivals like the Montreux Jazz Festival to rave reviews. But I would’ve guessed that her epic “Genesis” would compete in Best Pop Solo Performance or Best R&B Performance, where her past work has been submitted. Instead, Raye was accepted in Best Jazz Performance. That’s not only a great placement for the song strategically, but also shows a commitment by the Recording Academy to honor genre-bending or genre-expanding songs like “Genesis,” which push the boundaries of what jazz can be. Nomination or not, the submission is a great look for the genre.

“Von Dutch” is Charli XCX’s Dance Pop submission

Charli XCX’s “Brat” has been one of the most significant eras in music this year, especially in the dance world. So it seemed likely that “360,” the biggest hit from the album, would be her golden ticket to Record and Song of the Year nominations, as well as to a Dance Pop Recording win. While “360” was indeed submitted to the general field, it is not entered in any genre category. Instead, the lead single “Von Dutch” is her submission for Dance Pop. The track is definitely a fan favorite, but its relatively limited commercial success compared to “360,” “Apple,” and “Guess” does make it a surprising submission. “360” would’ve likely been a lock to win the category, but “Von Dutch” may have a tougher time fending off Charli’s tour-mate Troye Sivan’s “Got Me Started,” Billie Eilish’s remix of “L’Amour de Ma Vie,” and Ariana Grande’s number-one hit “Yes, And?”