The Biggest Snub at the 2025 Grammys Wasn’t Taylor Swift or Billie Eilish

The 67th Annual Grammy Awards were a celebratory night for many, but one woman deserved more.

Grammy Awards / Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

One of the biggest nights of the year for the music industry is now behind us, with the 67th Grammy Awards taking place on Sunday, Feb. 2. Between the countless gorgeous red carpet looks to the exciting surprise wins and reunions, it was one of the best in recent memory, with many viewers left feeling excited and inspired. Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar were two of the biggest winners on Sunday, along with Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Charli XCX. The performances were absolutely stellar, with a special focus on the city of Los Angeles as residents recover from the devasting January wildfires.

And while it was amazing getting to see some of the most talented artists of the moment get their flowers, it’s not surprising that many are pointing out the most blatant snubs that shocked audiences worldwide. Taylor Swift, 14-time Grammy Award winner who was up for six awards at this year’s ceremony for her album The Tortured Poets Department, left the event empty-handed. And nine-time Grammy Award winner Billie Eilish, who was nominated for seven awards on Sunday for Hit Me Hard and Soft, was also shut out completely.

As People reports, this is the first time in three years that both artists received zero Grammy wins. After a triumphant 2024 ceremony for both singers, which saw Swift win Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for Midnights and Eilish win Song of the Year and Best Song Written for Visual Media for “What Was I Made For?” from the Barbie soundtrack, their snubs this year were particularly shocking.

Ariana Grande deserved more Grammy love for Eternal Sunshine

But the most egregious snub at this year’s Grammys was for an artist who wrongfully only received three nominations—the one and only Ariana Grande. The 31-year-old singer-songwriter, who released her seventh studio album Eternal Sunshine last March, was up for Best Pop Vocal Album—which she lost to Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet—Best Dance Pop Recording for “yes, and?”—which she lost to Charli XCX’s “Von Dutch”—and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “the boy is mine” featuring Brandy and Monica—which she lost to Lady Gaga and Mars’s “Die With A Smile.”

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Now, we’re not saying these winners didn’t deserve the coveted trophies. But for Grande to only have three chances at a win this year was seriously baffling. She was being set up for failure, and for what reason? As one of the best-selling musical artists in the world, Grande is also one of the most influential singers working in pop music today with an incomparable voice. After a four-year hiatus, her album Eternal Sunshine debuted in the no. 1 spot on the Billboard 200, and it helped her officially become the female artist with the most songs to debut at no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100—an achievement Swift matched the same year.

Grande received rave reviews for Eternal Sunshine from the likes of Rolling Stone, The New York Times and NME and it completely owned in the numbers, too, becoming Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day of 2024 before Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department was released.

Grande’s rumored beef with the Grammys

Of course, we can’t know for sure the reasons the Recording Academy snubbed Grande, but many have speculated it has to do with her years-long rumored beef with the award show. In 2019, the Florida native pulled out of performing at the Grammys after an alleged dispute over which songs she would sing. According to Variety, producers of the show allegedly pushed back on Grande performing “7 Rings,” and when they finally agreed to the song, it was reported that they insisted they would choose the second song. This, allegedly, angered the songstress enough that she not only ditched the performance—she didn’t attend the show at all that year.

In the years since the 2019 Grammys, Grande has been nominated for seven awards—winning one in 2021 for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for the song “Rain On Me” with Lady Gaga—but she has not attended a show since 2020. In total, she has 18 Grammy Award nominations and only two wins.

Ariana Grande during the ‘Sweetener World Tour’ / Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for AG

Considering what a powerhouse Grande is, delivering some of the most addictive, inspiring and powerful chart-topping hits of modern pop music, her Grammys shut-out is a shame. But at this point, it’s not entirely surprising.

Putting a bigger focus on acting following the release of box office smash Wicked in 2024, Grande is up for an Academy Award at this year’s ceremony for her supporting role as Glinda. “I think I love acting; I love musical theater. Reconnecting with this part of myself…I love comedy, and it heals me to do that — finding roles to use these parts of myself,” she explained on the Las Culturistas podcast when sharing that she doesn’t think she’ll keep making music as rapidly as she once did.

“I’m always going to make music. I’m always going to go on stage. I’m always going to do pop stuff, I pinky promise, but I don’t think doing it at the rate that I’ve been doing for the past 10 years is where I see the next 10 years,” she said.