The 2025 Grammy nominees have come out and, not surprisingly, the Album of the Year category is dominated by huge pop stars. Kamala might not be Brat anymore but the Charli XCX album is up against Beyoncé’s country album, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, and 2024’s best-selling album, Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department. And then there’s OutKast’s André 3000. The rapper-turned-flutist released an ambient, improvisational jazz album late last year and, due to his fame, he’s been playing that form of flute-forward improv jazz in venues bigger than most improv jazz musicians. (To his credit, he’s been bringing an all-star cast of jazz players along for the ride in his backing band, and via his appearances on their albums as well.) And with an Album of the Year nomination from the Grammys, he’s been given a nod that his talented improv jazz friends have definitely never gotten. None of this is to say we think the album isn’t good–we do love it–but sorry it’s also kind of hilarious that its making an appearance here in this Grammy category:

Album of the Year
André 3000 – New Blue Sun
Beyoncé – Cowboy Carter
Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft
Chappell Roan – The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
Charli XCX – Brat
Jacob Collier – Djesse Vol. 4
Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet
Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department

André previously won Album of the Year at the Grammys as a member of OutKast with Speakerboxxx/The Love Below in 2004. He won’t win again this time, but, imagine he does??

The Beatles are also up against Kendrick Lamar this year. Read the full list of nominations HERE.