Supernino, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Hosted by comedian Trevor Noah, and featuring many excellent performances alongside the awards presented, the 68th Grammy Awards was one of the better examples of what an award show can be. The Grammy Awards include 95 separate awards, for everything from songwriting to production, and in almost every genre you can think of. As a result, and despite the three and a half hour runtime of the show, not every award can be presented live. So, alongside most of the categories that got televised, this review includes some of the highlights of the other categories that I think deserve recognition as well. 

Categories Presented Live

Album of the Year

This was an obvious choice, Bad Bunny has been on an incredible streak this past year, and “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” is a life changing album for those who haven’t listened to it yet. There were some other good choices, like Leon Thomas, Kendrick Lamar, or Tyler the Creator, who all crafted excellent albums (although they may have better ones, like “Damn” by Kendrick Lamar), and has stellar production as well. Some nominations felt out of place, including Justin Bieber and Clipse’s albums, which compared to the other albums in this category, are very subpar. Overall, the clear choice (for me) was Bad Bunny and I’m looking forward to the halftime show. 

Best New Artist

Olivia Dean is a great choice, but when you’re nominated alongside Leon Thomas there’s no question for me (personally). Thomas is not only an excellent producer, but has also had an incredible year. Also, R&B is notoriously underrepresented at the Grammys (notice that Best R&B Album didn’t get presented live?) I think another great choice would have been The Marías, because their music may not be the most unique, but it is different from the five some-odd pop artists that were nominated. I am grateful that Addison Rae and Sombr didn’t win (I do not want to touch their music with a ten foot pole) and I just do not think Alex Warren and Katseye made enough of an impact to win this category. 

Best Rap Album

Kendrick Lamar was nominated nine total times this year, and his winning of this category is a given. “GNX” is a genuinely fantastic album, from lyrics to instrumentals and production. This was also a tough category with “Chromakopia” by Tyler the Creator and “Glorious” by GloRilla also being excellent albums. Personally, Rap is always a tough category for me, since I feel like there is never one obviously terrible album, so it’s hard to predict who wins, and in turn justify who won. 

Best Pop Vocal Album 

Lady Gaga is a generation-defining artist, and while “Mayhem” may not have been as popular as some of her others, I think absolutely deserved the win in this category. Some bad choices would have been Justin Bieber or Teddy Swims, because I just do not think their albums measure up in any way to any of the other nominees (Teddy Swims especially, why is he in this category?). Sabrina Carpenter’s “Man’s Best Friend” and Miley Cyrus’ “Something Beautiful” would have also been good picks, but there’s a reason Lady Gaga has been so famous for so long – she never stops making good music. 

Categories You (Maybe) Didn’t Know About

Pop Group/Duo Performance 

This category recognizes group or duo songs, which includes performances of songs that were not written or nominated this year, explaining how Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo won for “Defying Gravity.” As someone who loves “Wicked,” I am absolutely satisfied with this win. Even though these songs have been overplayed, “APT.” and “Golden” were also tough competitors (just because they’re overplayed, doesn’t mean that they’re bad!). “30 for 30” by SZA with Kendrick Lamar slipped under the radar a little bit, but I would have loved to see them win as well. I honestly do not know what is going on with Katseye (the instrumentals are good, but the lyrics are so, so bad!), so I am glad they did not win this category. 

Musical Theater Album

It’s not the Tony Awards, but musical theater does get some recognition at the Grammys. “Buena Vista Social Club,” which took home four Tonys, won for Best Musical theater album at the Grammys. However, I think any musical would have been a good choice for this category, since 2025 was an excellent year for new (and revived) musicals (“Gypsy” and “Maybe Happy Ending” are my personal favorites). Even if you aren’t a person who knows a lot of musicals, give a listen to “Buena Vista Social Club” – it’s phenomenal. 

Classical Instrumental Solo

Listen, classical music may be boring to some, but it deserves recognition too! This year, Yo-Yo Ma alongside Andris Nelsons as the conductor won for “Shostakovich: The Cello Concertos.” This was a tough category, and I would have also loved to see Yuja Wang win (alongside Andris Nelsons, again) for “Shostakovich’s Piano Concertos.” 

Album Cover

A brand new category this year! This awards the actual artwork featured on an album, which went to “Chromakopia” by Tyler the Creator, which is a very good choice considering how consistently strong he has been with visuals across his entire career. Another good choice would have been “DTMF” again, with the iconic white plastic chairs against the backdrop of the tropics of Puerto Rico.