We’re officially heading into award season, and there’s arguably no bigger show than the Grammys. After a year that featured Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers and Chris Stapleton leading the way throughout multiple categories, expectations were high to see the new batch of nominees heading into 2025. With country music experiencing an all-time high in terms of popularity off the backs of Bryan, Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs and many others, there was a huge selection to choose from this year.
It seems as if the Grammys simply couldn’t resist honoring Beyoncé’s venture into the genre, COWBOY CARTER. Despite her publicly saying that it wasn’t a country album an instead a “Beyoncé album,” she received a staggering five nominations across the country and Americana categories and 11 nominations overall, which is good for second most of all time behind Michael Jackson.
Chris Stapleton and Jelly Roll also received multiple nominations with Stapleton receiving a Best Country Solo Performance and Album nod for “It Takes A Woman” and Higher while Jelly Roll’s “I Am Not Okay” received both Best Country Solo Performance and Song nominations.
Notably missing from any of the four major country categories are the likes of Zach Bryan, Sturgill Simpson and The Red Clay Strays, all of whom have had incredibly successful albums released this year. Coming off of three nominations and one win for Best Country Duo/Group Performance (“I Remember Everything”) last year, Bryan was surprisingly shut out despite releasing The Great American Bar Scene back in July.
In the Americana category, darlings Sierra Ferrell and Charley Crockett both received nominations for Best Americana Album for their new releases, Trail of Flowers and $10 Cowboy. Ferrell also received two separate nominations for “Lighthouse” and “American Dreaming,” both of which appear on Trail of Flowers.
As for non-genre nominees, Luke Combs was nominated for Best Song Written for Visual Media with “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” from theTwisters soundtrack, which also received a nod for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media.
Shaboozey also rode the wave of the success of his breakout hit, “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” which garnered him a nomination for the all-genre Song of the Year and Best New Artist category.
Looking back at the amount of hate the ACMs and CMAs receive each and every year (deservingly so, I might add), they somehow put together a better list of nominees in the genre overall, something that I would never have seen myself saying in the past. At least the Americana categories are solid, I guess.
The entire list of nominations include the following:
Best Country Solo Performance
- “16 CARRIAGES” – Beyoncé
- “I Am Not Okay” – Jelly Roll
- “The Architect” – Kacey Musgraves
- “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” – Shaboozey
- “It Takes A Woman” – Chris Stapleton
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
- “Cowboys Cry Too” – Kelsea Ballerini with Noah Kahan
- “II MOST WANTED” – Beyoncé feat. Miley Cyrus
- “Break Mine” – Brothers Osborne
- “Bigger Houses” – Dan + Shay
- “I Had Some Help” – Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen
Best Country Song
- “The Architect” – Kacey Musgraves
- “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” – Shaboozey
- “I Am Not Okay” – Jelly Roll
- “I Had Some Help” – Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen
- “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” – Beyoncé
Best Country Album
- Cowboy Carter – Beyoncé
- F-1 Trillion – Post Malone
- Deeper Well – Kacey Musgraves
- Higher – Chris Stapleton
- Whirlwind – Lainey Wilson
Best American Roots Performance
- “Blame It On Eve” – Shemekia Copeland
- “Nothing in Rambling” – The Fabulous Thunderbirds feat. Bonnie Raitt, Keb’ Mo’, Taj Mahal & Mick Fleetwood
- “Lighthouse” – Sierra Ferrell
- “The Ballad of Sally Anne” – Rhiannon Giddens
Best Americana Performance
- “YA YA” – Beyoncé
- “Subtitles” – Madison Cunningham
- “Don’t Do Me Good” – Madi Diaz feat. Kacey Musgraves
- “Runaway Train” – Sara Jaroz
- “Empty Trainload of Sky” – Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
Best American Roots Song
- “Ahead of the Game” – Mark Knopfler
- “All in Good Time” – Sam Beam
- “All My Friends” – Aoife O’Donovan
- “American Dreaming” – Sierra Ferrell & Melody Walker
- “Blame It on Eve” – John Hahn & Will Kimbrough
Best Americana Album
- The Other Side – T Bone Burnett
- $10 Cowboy – Charley Crockett
- Trail of Flowers – Sierra Ferrell
- Polaroid Lovers – Sarah Jarosz
- No One Gets Out Alive – Maggie Rose
- Tigers Blood – Waxahatchee
Best Bluegrass Album
- I Built a World – Bronwyn Keith-Hynes
- Songs of Love and Life – The Del McCoury Band
- No Fear – Sister Sadie
- Live Vol. 1 – Billy Strings
- Earl Jam – Tony Trischka
- Dan Tyminski: Live From The Ryman – Dan Tyminsk