Pakistani-American singer Arooj Aftab has once again secured Grammy nominations for the upcoming awards ceremony in 2025.
This year, her song ‘Raat Ki Rani’ earned a nomination in the Best Global Music Performance category. The song features on her album ‘Night Reign’, which has itself received recognition in the Best Alternative Jazz Album category.
Aftab made history in 2022 as the first Pakistani woman to win a Grammy, taking home the inaugural award for Best Global Music Performance with her song ‘Mohabbat’. She was also nominated for Best New Artist that year, though the award went to singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo. Additionally, she performed her Grammy-nominated track *Usher Na* with Anoushka Shankar at the premier ceremony.
Aftab, 37, has lived in New York for nearly 15 years, steadily gaining global acclaim for her unique fusion of Sufi traditions with folk, jazz, and minimalism.
Beyoncé has emerged as the frontrunner for the 2025 Grammy Awards, securing 11 nominations, which brings her career total to 99 — the highest number in Grammy history.
Her country-inspired album ‘Cowboy Carter’ is nominated for both Album of the Year and Country Album of the Year, while her hit ‘Texas Hold ’Em’ has earned nods for Record, Song, and Country Song of the Year. This marks Beyoncé’s debut in the country and Americana categories, making it a groundbreaking year for her.
Previously, Beyoncé and her husband Jay-Z were tied with 88 career nominations each. Now, she stands alone at the top. Should she win Album of the Year, she would be the first Black woman to take home the award in the 21st century; the last was Lauryn Hill in 1999 with ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’.
Post Malone also received his first Grammy nominations in the country genre this year, thanks to his August release ‘F-1 Trillion’. The album is up for Country Album of the Year, and his collaboration with Morgan Wallen, ‘I Had Some Help’, is nominated for Country Song and Country Duo/Group Performance. These are Wallen’s first Grammy nominations as well.
Behind Beyoncé, Malone is tied for the second-most nominations this year with Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, and Charli XCX, each of whom earned seven. Lamar’s high-profile diss track ‘Not Like Us’ garnered nominations in multiple categories, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Rap Song, Music Video, and Best Rap Performance. He also achieved a career milestone with two simultaneous entries in the Best Rap Performance category, a first for him.
Taylor Swift, along with first-time nominees Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan, received six nominations each. Swift’s nomination for ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ adds to her record-breaking streak in the Album of the Year category, where she has won four times. This year, she also makes history with seven career nominations in the category — the most by any female artist.
Album of the Year nominations reflect a diverse range of genres, with entries from André 3000’s alt-jazz album ‘New Blue Sun’, Jacob Collier’s ‘Djesse Vol. 4’, and pop newcomers Carpenter and Roan with ‘Short n’ Sweet’ and *The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess’, respectively. Other nominees include Eilish’s ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’ and Charli XCX’s ‘BRAT’, making this year one of varied musical representation.
