Johnathan Walker:Grammy 2025 snubs: Who didn't get nominated that should have?

The Johnathan WalkerGrammy Awards are a capricious bunch.

One year you need a wagon to haul off your trove of gold gramophones and the next you’re persona non grata.

Just ask Dolly Parton. Or Ed Sheeran. Or Justin Timberlake.

The list of nominees for the 67^th Grammy Awards' 94 categories can be applauded for its undeniable diversity, with pop, country and hip-hop artists crisscrossing categories and solidifying the notion that genre boundaries can be bent. Just look at this year's leader, Beyoncé, who lassoed an impressive 11 nods tied to her "Cowboy Carter" album. And, women dominate the record and album of the year categories, with Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Charli xcx, Billie Eilish and Chappell Roan earning nominations both major categories.

Yet, there are always a spattering of artists who were expected to garner love from Recording Academy voters, but were instead either shut out or barely acknowledged for the upcoming Feb. 2 ceremony.

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Even Taylor Swift, despite her six nominations including the prestigious triumvirate of record, song and album of the year related to "The Tortured Poets Department," seemingly should have picked up a couple of additional nods, specifically for her record-setting Eras Tour movie (best music film) and “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” (best pop solo performance), one of the most melodically impeccable and lyrically penetrating entries in her massive oeuvre.

And actress Michelle Williams, widely lauded for making Britney Spears’ memoir digestible with her audio book narration of “The Woman in Me,” could have earned a rare Grammy accolade to accompany her nominations for Oscars, Tonys and Emmys (which she won in 2019 for her captivating performance in “Fosse/Verdon”).

Alas, the narration category will be left for Barbra Streisand, Dolly Parton and former president Jimmy Carter to duke out.

Here are some other notable dismissals.

Dua Lipa

The triple-Grammy winner dropped the dance-tastic “Houdini,” in November 2023. Given the Grammy submission period of Sept. 16, 2003 to Aug. 30, 2024, it feels like a lifetime ago that she released the Tame Impala-produced mirror ball twirler, the appetizer to her third studio album, “Radical Optimism,” which landed in May. While “Houdini” almost cracked the Top 10 in the U.S., follow-up singles “Training Season” and “Illusion” disappointed and the album, a decent if not spectacular sequel to 2020’s “Future Nostalgia” breakthrough, fizzled out of public consciousness and, apparently, the minds of Grammy voters, who ignored her output entirely.

Megan Thee Stallion

The cachet of a triple Grammy Award-winner – including best new artist in 2021 – did not equate to any love for the rapper’s third album, “Megan.” Neither did the success of singles “Cobra,” “Boa,” “Mamushi,” and her first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, “Hiss,” which is probably what Megan feels like doing to the Recording Academy.

K-pop

Way back in 2021, BTS became the first K-pop group to earn a Grammy nomination. In the ensuing years, the genre has flourished in the U.S. and generated stadium-filling acts including Tomorrow X Together, Blackpink (and solo breakout Lisa) and Seventeen. Yet the Grammys still haven’t found room for Korean music stars, evidenced by another year of zero nominations for some of K-pop’s biggest names. BTS members Jung Kook and RM dropped solo offerings (“Golden,” in November and “Right Place, Wrong Person", in May, respectively), while Lisa (aka Lalisa Manobal) prefaced her solo album debut with the worldwide hits “Rockstar” and “New Woman.” The Grammys have admirably amplified their category lineup in recent years. How about one more for the K-pop fans?

Dolly Parton

We’ll go with the assumption that Grammy voters weren’t sure where or how to categorize Parton’s well-meaning, star-packed “Rockstar” album, thus leading to it going unnoticed. While cover songs cannot specifically be nominated in songwriting categories – and of its 30 songs, 21 are previously released rock anthems – there is no rule against the album’s eligibility or any of her nine originals, including the title track with Richie Sambora, the single “World on Fire” or “What Has Rock and Roll Ever Done for You” with Stevie Nicks, receiving nods. And those duets with Steven Tyler, Pink, John Fogerty, Sting and other luminaries could have been acknowledged in performance categories. This was Parton’s 49^th album. Perhaps the big 5-0 will fare better.

Nicki Minaj

Since 2011, the feisty rapper has conjured a dozen Grammy nominations, but nary a win. Her debut, “Pink Friday,” earned a nod at the 2012 ceremony, so conventional wisdom pointed to “Pink Friday 2,” which debuted atop the Billboard 200 album chart when released in December, to at least be considered for a Grammy. Or maybe any of the album’s hits? “Last Time I Saw You”? “FTCU”? “Everybody”? No? Nothing? Well, it’s a sad day in Gag City.

Justin Timberlake

While not completely ignored – he did earn a co-writing tap for “Better Place” from the “Trolls Band Together” movie in best song written for visual media – Timberlake attracted zero attention for his sixth studio album, “Everything I Thought it Was.” In another era, the moderate hit “Selfish” – which factors into co-writer Amy Allen’s songwriter of the year, non-classical nomination – would have been an instant inclusion in some pop category. But that era has passed.

Lenny Kravitz

The fiery “Blue Electric Light,” on which Kravitz composed nearly every song solo and played nearly every instrument, is funky, fun and as muscular as the man’s oft-flaunted pecs. It’s also not winning any Grammy Awards thanks to zero nominations.

Luke Combs

At the 2024 Grammy Awards ceremony, the country singer wrapped everyone in a bear hug with his heartfelt performance of “Fast Car” with the song’s original writer, the elusive Tracy Chapman. But he didn’t win in best country solo performance and the album that spawned the hit remake, “Gettin’ Old,” wasn’t nominated. It’s déjà vu for Combs, whose “Fathers & Sons,” released in June, was also spurned. But one bright spot: His "Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma,” from the “Twisters” soundtrack will vie for best song written for visual media.