The Nominees: Song Of The Year
Billie Eilish is a two-time winner of this award already, including winning just last year. Can she make it a three-peat with the soaring "BIRDS OF A FEATHER"?
We're now just 10 days away from the 2025 Grammys, which means it's high time to preview another general category at the ceremony. In case you missed it, here is my breakdown of the Best New Artist field. Next award up in our pre-Grammys bonanza: Song of the Year!
Song of the Year is one of two awards to serve as a prize for a song in a general capacity, rather than a genre field (like Best Pop Performance, or Best Rap Song, etc.). The other, of course, is Record Of The Year. Annually, the inevitable question from reasonable people-- myself included --is, what is the difference between the two? To be honest, I've never really known a good answer, so, from the horse's mouth: "The Record Of The Year category recognizes the artist’s performance as well as the overall contributions of the producer(s), recording engineer(s) and/or mixer(s) if other than the artist. The Song Of The Year category recognizes the songwriter(s)." Essentially, I think what this is saying is that Record Of The Year is more a trophy for the general production of a song, while Song Of The Year is more about the bare-bones music and lyrics.
Of course, it isn't necessarily that simple, because 7 times in the last decade, including just a couple years ago with Silk Sonic's "Leave The Door Open," the same single won both awards. There's a good chance that phenomenon could happen again, as this year, half of the field are also nominees for Record of the Year.
All that being said, here are the nominees for SOTY, in order from least to most likely to win, according to odds from GoldDerby.com.
"A Bar Song (Tipsy)" - Shaboozey
Odds: 18-1
Peak Chart Position (General): 1st
Daniel's Music Rating: 7/10
Daniel's Lyrics Rating: 5/10
It's pretty shocking that a record-setting # 1 track is not only not nominated for Record of the Year, but has the worst odds of any nominee for Song of the Year. Perhaps the oddsmakers are correctly factoring in the Academy's longstanding issues with giving out awards to both Country artists and Black artists, let alone black country artists. Now, should it win 'the songwriter's award'? Eh, not unless Shaboozey plans on splitting the honors with rapper J-Kwon, whose 2004 hit "Tipsy" he interpolates for the popular chorus. The lyricism is nothing special, truth to be told, but here's the secret: it's catered to be a perfect bar singalong song, especially when coupled with Shaboozey's husky voice and a kickin' guitar. If the Grammys are interested in havin' a good ol' time and making some history, this could have the horses to pull the stunner.
"Fortnight" - Taylor Swift (feat. Post Malone)
Odds: 15-1
Peak Chart Position (General): 1st
Daniel's Music Rating: 5/10
Daniel's Lyrics Rating: 5/10
Yawn. Next! Kidding, but not really. We haven't gotten to my full Album of the Year previews yet, so this might be a mild spoiler since I don't believe I've published my thoughts on The Tortured Poets Department anywhere, but let's just say, this song feels very on par for the whole album. Fairly pleasant, completely forgettable. The production adds a nice bounce, but otherwise there is nothing impressive about the musicality. And the lyricism is fine, and exemplifies the lovelorn vulnerability for which Taylor Swift's songwriting is known . It is the Queen of the Grammys, in conjunction with another big pop star, and it is a # 1 record, so you can't count it out. But this song made little to no cultural impact, and is so far from the best example of Swift's famed songwriting; it'd be a shock and a disappointment if it won any awards.
"Please Please Please" - Sabrina Carpenter
Odds: 15-1
Peak Chart Position (General): 1st
Daniel's Music Rating: 8/10
Daniel's Lyrics Rating: 7/10
One of two songs that helped Sabrina Carpenter take over the world, "Please Please Please" was absolutely the right one of the two to submit for this award. Where its twin "Espresso" was a ready-made pop smash (and unsurprisingly, is a nominee for Record of the Year) this track was the much more impressive songwriting feat. Sabrina's lyricism is often funny, but also often... let's just call it what it is, pretty dumb. "Please Please Please," a plea to her then-boyfriend to just not humiliate her or make a fool of himself, is different; it's genuinely very cleverly written, and an original take on this genre of pop song. It's also extremely musically pleasant, with a slow funky groove that helps Carpenter showcase her vocal range. It may be a longshot with these odds, but given its addictive nature, easy palatability, and radio success, don't be surprised to see it sneak up and shock some folks.
"TEXAS HOLD 'EM" - Beyoncé
Odds: 13-1
Peak Chart Position (General): 1st
Daniel's Music Rating: 6/10
Daniel's Lyrics Rating: 5/10
One of two nominees in this category to be a history-making country song by a black artist! Shortly before Shaboozey exploded onto the scene, Beyoncé put Country at the forefront with the release of this very single, in anticipation of her album COWBOY CARTER. It became the first country song to reach # 1 in multiple European countries and in the Billboard Global 200, and made Beyoncé the first black woman with a # 1 country song in America. Given all it boasts, and the name it's attached to, no wonder it's a solid contender for the Song of the Year! Now, those achievements aside, my own personal love for Beyoncé aside...truthfully, as a song, it's just okay. Much like "A Bar Song (Tipsy)," the lyrics are pretty simple stuff, and likely catered to be easily sung out out while you're two-steppin' on the dance floor. Unlike Shaboozey's hit, though, the music doesn't offer anything too enticing for me; the beat is nice and catchy, but the snaps, whistles, and twangs all feel a little bit hokey. Bey's voice is strong as ever, but the most interesting musical aspects of this track are the opening banjo lick played by Rhiannon Giddens and the unexpected synth breakdown in the closing stanza.
"Not Like Us" - Kendrick Lamar
Odds: 21-2
Peak Chart Position (General): 1st
Daniel's Music Rating: 5/10
Daniel's Lyrics Rating: 10/10
While we're on the topic of making history: I haven't verified this, but this has to be the first song from a rap feud to land major Grammy nominations, right?
If you somehow missed the entirety of the Drake-Kendrick Lamar beef in 2024, I won't recap it all for you here; all the context you need is that if Lamar's previous song "meet the grahams," which had dropped less than 24 hours prior, was his killshot? "Not Like Us" was him dancing on Drake's grave. The whole thesis of Kendrick's grievances throughout the feud was the fact that Drake has no substance, attempting to cop Black culture while only actually being good at making silly club 'turn-up' bangers... and then with this song K-Dot went "look, I can do that too" and dropped an ALL-TIME club banger, that rocketed up to # 1 on the charts. I'm not exaggerating when I say there was a time last summer where if you went outside at all, you could not escape this song. It was everywhere. So, look, if the Academy is on a petty streak, and wants to give Song of the Year to a club-friendly diss track, I get it. As far as the songwriting element? Musically, it's pretty much just about the beat that Mustard produced; and in fairness, it's an addicting beat, but Kendrick doesn't add much in the way of musical variety. But the lyricism? Good gawd. There's a reason he's widely considered both the best rapper today and one of the all-time lyricists; there's not a single bar in here that goes to waste. Cutting, funny, referential....as far as both diss tracks AND rap anthems go, it can't get much better.
"Die With A Smile" - Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars
Odds: 19-2
Peak Chart Position (General): 1st
Daniel's Music Rating: 9/10
Daniel's Lyrics Rating: 5/10
This song sort of just came and went, so much so that I was genuinely surprised to learn it had in fact topped the charts. It wasn't attached to any album and didn't linger in the cultural discourse at all. So the fact that it has such good odds might simply be down to hedging bets that the combined star power will be enough to sway a good number of voters. And fair play- the Grammys do have their favorites, these two (Bruno Mars especially) among them. I'll confess that I would feel a little salty about it winning a songwriter's award, mostly because the lyrics are basically a cheap reworking of that insipid "If The World Was Ending" song that was nominated for this award 4 years ago. That said, it is a gorgeous little song. Gaga and Bruno are two of the best vocalists we have today, and their powerhouse voices dance with each other so well in this track, and the soft rock/soul touch by famous producers Dernst Emile and James Fauntleroy will have even a tin man feeling something. Whether you think it deserves the award or not, there have been far more unpleasant winners, let's put it that way.
"Good Luck, Babe!" - Chappell Roan
Odds: 9-1
Peak Chart Position (General): 4th
Daniel's Music Rating: 10/10
Daniel's Lyrics Rating: 8/10
This song was, for me as with so many others, my introduction to Chappell Roan, and for that reason I am forever grateful to it. Chappell took over the pop music world for much of last year, and while there are myriad reasons for that, the main one being that she's just really fucking good, the release of this single was certainly one of the factors that fueled it. I'm actually amazed this never peaked at # 1 in the US, because it was one of just a few songs last year that often felt inescapable (not that I ever wanted to escape it). Given its omnipresence, but perhaps even more significantly what it meant as the lodestar for Chappell's rise, no wonder it's second to only one other in odds. My own opinion? This is pretty much pop perfection. Musically, it's the best instincts of Cyndi Lauper meet the best instincts of Kate Bush, and Chappell's gorgeous, rich soprano conveys the emotions behind the tune so expertly. That bridge is one of the best pop bridges I have heard in a very long time. Lyrically, is it profound? Arguably no. But a loving kiss-off anthem addressed to a girl in a compulsory heterosexual relationship is not a lyrical theme we ever see in pop music. What's more, I'm not used to this level of figurative language and visually evocative lyrics in mainstream radio play. This is a stunning track. I can't think of a more deserving Pop winner for Song of the Year in recent memory.
"BIRDS OF A FEATHER" - Billie Eilish
Odds: 13-2
Peak Chart Position (General): 2nd
Daniel's Music Rating: 9/10
Daniel's Lyrics Rating: 7/10
How ironic is it that the only two nominees in this field to not top the charts are the two biggest favorites to take home the award? Just goes to show commercial performance isn't always everything at the Grammys. Still, this was a hugely successful song, from one of the biggest names in music today. It's no surprise it's the betting favorite, especially given Billie Eilish's own Grammy lore. At the ripe old age of 2022, she already has 9 Grammys, 6 of them in the 'major categories,' including a win for this very award just last year, for "What Was I Made For?" from Barbie. So is "BIRDS OF A FEATHER" really about to make it Song of the Year win # 3 for Billie? (She won for the first time in 2020 with "bad guy.") It's quite possible, and it has the profile of a deserving winner, too. Most of the lyrics in this track are simple enough, but don't mistake simple for silly- this is a very earnest and thoughtful plea from Billie to the object of her affection. Begging a loved one to understand the depths of her own love may not be quite the subversive lyrical theme that was in "Good Luck. Babe!", for example, but is still a trope we don't see all too often from female pop artist in particular. Interestingly enough, I think the most impactful lyrics are the three last of all, almost drowned out at the very end by the soaring music: "I knew you in another life/You had that same look in your eyes/I love you, don't act so surprised." And speaking of soaring: Billie's vocals! People often lump her in with their dismissal of "whisper pop," but those people ignore that Billie can flat out sing, and most of her softer singing is a deliberate choice to properly convey the emotion of her songs, which she does again in this track with aplomb. This is a gorgeous little tune, one of the best off her terrific latest album, and one that not-insignificantly shows off a new side of the popular artist, both musically and thematically.
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