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Here are the 2025 Grammy winners for the rock categories that they never show on TV. Prepare to be disappointed.

The Grammys have been useless and devoid of any serious credibility, but I still feel an obligation to cover the rock-related categories. They never, ever make the mainstream primetime TV variety show because rock doesn’t fit the audience profile. Sad, really.

Winners are in bold followed by my potshots.

Best rock performance
The Beatles – Now and Then – WINNER
The Black Keys – Beautiful People (Stay High)
Green Day – The American Dream Is Killing Me
Idles – Gift Horse
Pearl Jam – Dark Matter
St Vincent – Broken Man

REALLY? SERIOUSLY? This song was an exercise in technology and nothing more. It was merely an okay song. To have it win shows exactly how out of touch they are.

Best alternative music album
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Wild God
Clairo – Charm
Kim Gordon – The Collective
Brittany Howard – What Now
St Vincent – All Born Screaming – WINNER

I can live with this, although the Kim Gordon record was one of my favourites of 2024.

Best metal performance
Gojira, Marina Viotti and Victor Le Masne – Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça ira!) – WINNER

Judas Priest – Crown of Horns
Knocked Loose featuring Poppy – Suffocate
Metallica – Screaming Suicide
Spiritbox – Cellar Door

Not an indefensible choice, but you have to think that Grammy voters saw the name, remembered the Olympics, and cast their ballot because they didn’t know any of the other acts.

Best rock song
The Black Keys – Beautiful People (Stay High)
St Vincent – Broken Man – WINNER
Pearl Jam – Dark Matter
Green Day – Dilemma
Idles – Gift Horse

I would have preferred Idles.

Best rock album
The Black Crowes – Happiness Bastards
Fontaines DC – Romance
Green Day – Saviors
Idles – Tangk
Pearl Jam – Dark Matter
The Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds – WINNER
Jack White – No Name

Utter horsesh*t. Better than Jack White? Better than the brilliant Fontaines DC? Totally out of touch.

Best alternative music performance
Cage the Elephant – Neon Pill
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Song of the Lake
Fontaines DC – Starburster
Kim Gordon – Bye Bye
St Vincent – Flea – WINNER

Nope. Fontaines DC should have taken this one. And for fun, let’s look at…

Best rap performance
Cardi B – Enough (Miami)
Common and Pete Rock featuring Posdnuos – When the Sun Shines Again
Doechii – Nissan Altima
Eminem – Houdini
Future and Metro Boomin featuring Kendrick Lamar – Like That
GloRilla – Yeah Glo!
Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us – WINNER

Drake will be very, very unhappy.

Best rap song
Rapsody featuring Hit-Boy – Asteroids
¥$ [Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign] featuring Rich the Kid and Playboi Carti – Carnival
Future and Metro Boomin featuring Kendrick Lamar – Like That
Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us – WINNER
GloRilla – Yeah Glo!

Doubly unhappy.

The Grammys suck. More here.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 39618 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

One thought on “Here are the 2025 Grammy winners for the rock categories that they never show on TV. Prepare to be disappointed.

  • The Grammy’s have been a joke for years.

    Reply

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