Our Terms & Conditions | Our Privacy Policy
The Grammy Awards celebrated its 67th installment in 2025.
getty
This year’s Grammy Awards, which took place on February 2nd in Los Angeles, marked the 67th installment of the annual award show. However, the Best Dance/Electronic categories are relatively new.
In 1998, the famed award ceremony introduced Best Dance/Electronic Recording, making this year the 27th time the award has been given. It wasn’t until 2005 that Best Dance/Electronic Album was added. Artists who have won Grammys for the Best Dance/Electronic categories include Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Skrillex, Diplo and Dua Lipa. Recently, in 2024, the Recording Academy added the Grammy Award for Best Dance Pop Recording in an effort to combat a long-standing issue where dance-leaning pop artists were up against those who make more authentic dance music. In this article, the Best Dance/Electronic categories are primarily examined as they represent numerous genres within dance music’s landscape as opposed to one.
This year’s nominees for Best Dance/Electronic Recording were:
Disclosure – “She’s Gone, Dance On”
Four Tet – “Loved”
Fred again.. and Baby Keem – “Leavemealone”
Justice and Tame Impala – “Neverender”
Kaytranada (feat. Childish Gambino) – “Witchy”
Justice and Tame Impala took the accolade for their track, “Neverender.”
This year’s nominees for Best Dance/Electronic Album were:
Charli XCX – Brat
Four Tet – Three
Justice – Hyperdrama
Kaytranada – Timeless
Zedd – Telos
Charli XCX was crowned this year’s winner.
So, what does this all mean for dance music? To understand what this tells us about the genre’s current landscape, it’s necessary to unpack the records themselves.
What to Know About the Recordings
The five songs nominated this year are vastly different from one another. Disclosure’s “She’s Gone, Dance On” house track takes audiophiles through bouncy basslines, glitchy-sounding synths, a drop that explodes with energy, groove-inducing beats and a sample of a 1978 song by the late Italian composer Ennio Morricone. These sounds, in all, create an uplifting sonic atmosphere. “She’s Gone, Dance On” sounds like summer. It sounds like driving with the top down on a perfect day. It sounds like hitting the dance floor with your friends—and that’s exactly what happened with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce when Dom Dolla dropped the track at Coachella last year, making the earworm go viral.
“Loved” by Four Tet is the complete opposite. It begins with isolated drums, followed by soft tones. Then twinkling synths enter before gentle, whimsical soundscapes come into the listener’s ear. Dark and crackling tunes take center stage, taking over the rest of the sounds. The record then continues to build on its masterful production. The song is welcoming, dreamy and full of beauty, keeping in step with Four Tet’s style of creating music that is texturally varied, experimental and abstract.
Inversely, “Leavemealone” by Fred Again.. and Baby Keem is a heater, one that gets people grooving as hard as they can. It weaves a diverse tapestry of sounds, which includes fluttering synths, dance-floor-ready basslines and Baby Keem’s chopped-up, re-pitched and repurposed rap vocals from his 2019 song “Bullies” and his 2021 record “South Africa.” “Leavemealone” is a song meant for a club, warehouse or music festival, thus entering all the essential live music spaces in dance music.
“Neverender,” jointly produced by Justice and Tame Impala, is the opening track from the former’s 2024 studio album, Hyperdrama, which was also nominated for a Grammy this year. The disco-influenced record layers Tame Impala’s dreamy vocals with soaring, smooth and groove-inducing production. Tame Impala has previously been nominated for three Grammys, with “Neverender” securing his first win. The French duo has previously been nominated for seven Grammys, for which they scored two wins.
The last nomination for the category is “Witchy” by Kaytranada and featuring Childish Gambino. Kaytranada—known for fusing traditional hip-hop and R&B with dance music—brings his signature silky, sultry and groovy production, while Childish Gambino comes in with sublime singing. The tune proves to be a masterclass in taking two different music styles and making a cohesive song.
What to Know About the Albums
Much like the recordings, the albums also prove diverse as they represent numerous genres within the broad spectrum of dance music. Take Charli XCX’s Brat album, for instance: the 15-track body of work has been described by the singer and songwriter as a “club record,” adding that she believes she was “born to make dance music.” Although described as a club record, Brat boasts much more than that one style. The album seamlessly flows through different moods, touching on vulnerability, insecurity and, most importantly, true brat mentality. Overall, it is certainly an LP created for the club.
Conversely, Three by Four Tet takes a different approach. While he can play everything from melodic tunes that provide a sense of longing to dropping “Country Riddim” at Coachella, the LP is a reminder that he’s steadfast in staying true to his distinct sound. Tinkering tunes, elated beats, percolating sounds, beautiful production, celestial soundscapes and more are heard on the long play. Indeed, Three shows audiophiles that while Four Tet continues to innovate his production, he stays true to the style that brought him acclaim years ago.
Hyperdrama shows that the dynamic dance duo can skillfully transcend genres while always sticking to their signature sound. No matter the style, Hyperdrama is undeniably a Justice album. The 13-track body of work shows the project’s ability to add prog, metal, indie and new wave to its established vintage funk, house and disco foundations.
It’s slick. It’s carefree. It’s sultry. In all, Kaytranada’s Timeless proves to be masterfully produced, marking another successful album by the sonic storyteller. The record is built for the dance floor but also chilling at home. It features a number of impressive collaborators, including Channel Tres, Tinashe, Anderson .Paak and Childish Gambino. Despite the different styles that these collaborators bring to their respective songs, the album is cohesive in sound.
Zedd hadn’t released an album in 9 years—but that changed in 2024. His goal with Telos, his third studio album, was to create something timeless. The LP is part organic, part orchestral and part electronic—a dramatic switch from his two previous albums, which one could categorize as EDM. Telos is full of collaborations, most notably with John Mayer, Muse and Jeff Buckley.
What It All Means
Now, let’s break it down.
Justice and Tame Impala prevailing in the recording category for “Neverender” proves Justice’s impact on dance music. The duo’s illustrious career features them blending their French touch with other genres, such as indie, rock, house and electroclash. “Neverender” is another impressive genre-bending track by the duo, as it combines their style with Tame Impala’s psychedelic flair. Justice’s continued ability to slip in and out of genres shows their broad appeal as sound designers.
And that’s exactly the point: their broad appeal, especially when you add Tame Impala into the mix.
MONTERREY, MEXICO – APRIL 23: Gaspard Auge, Xavier de Rosnay of Justice, French duo of electronic music, perform during a concert at Auditorio Citibanamex on April 23, 2024 in Monterrey, Mexico. (Photo by Medios y Media/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Justice’s 2025 tour is stopping in 15 countries, and it’s nothing short of a big deal. Take their sold out two-night run in New York City in 2024, for instance. People were lining up to get into the show as early as 8:30 p.m., even though the show started at 10 p.m. and the French duo didn’t get behind the decks until 1 a.m. Justice is undeniably one of the greatest and most influential acts within dance music.
Tame Impala is equally famous in his own regard. The Australian one-man band is known for selling out stadiums and headlining some of the world’s biggest music festivals. In addition, he has millions of Spotify listeners and billions of streams on the music platform. As of February 4th, 2025, he is listed on Spotify as the 203rd most popular artist in the world.
Having Justice and Tame Impala on one record certainly makes for a superstar collaboration. When compared to the four other nominees in the recording category, “Neverender” not only has the broadest appeal sonically to listeners, but it also features two artists who can be argued as the most famous of the bunch.
When looking at the album category, the situation is similar as Charli XCX appeals to the most number people. She, like Justice and Tame Impala, caters to numerous genres, allowing her to cast a wider net of fans when compared to the other nominees for the category.
So, why does this matter?
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 02: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Charli XCX performs onstage with influencers Gabriella Wright, Harrison Patrick Smith, Richie Shazam, Gabbriette, Julia Fox, Greer Cohen, Salem Mitchell, Quen Blackwell and Alex Consani during the 67th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 02, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by JC Olivera/WireImage)
WireImage
It matters because it shows how, historically, particularly in the recording category, only artists considered at the top of the “underground” have claimed the title. The word “underground” is used very loosely here because this includes producers such as Daft Punk, Chemical Brothers, Basement Jaxx, Jamie xx and Kraftwerk—none of whom are underground. They are quite the contrary because those not familiar with dance music can agree that they are acclaimed.
While the Best Dance/Electronic Recording category has represented the true underground by nominating Fatboy Slim, he is still a very renowned name within dance music. When it comes to the best album category, Louie Vega was once nominated, and it may be argued that he is a better representation of the underground than Fatboy Slim. But despite the representation of the “underground” and the real underground, pop always prevails. (It’s important to add that the real underground includes many artists of color, and diversity has historically lacked at the Grammys, but that is a separate discussion).
When you have artists like Lady Gaga, Madonna, Beyoncé, Cher, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears on the lineup, it’s hard to compete, with the argument being that a winner may be chosen based on how commercially successful the record is. This is why a separate category, Best Dance Pop, was created for recordings last year. Mixmag reports that the Dance/Electronic screening committee voted Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul” out of the category for the 2023 Grammys, deeming it was better suited under Pop, but the national screening committee, the second and final committee to vote, put it back in Dance/Electronic. Even now with Best Dance Pop, artists from that category can be nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album since Best Dance Pop Album doesn’t exist. This is what happened this year with Charli XCX as she was represented in Best Dance Pop Recording and Best Dance/Electronic Album—straddling the two categories.
If pop-leaning dance albums have historically won, so much so that a new category had to be created, then is it fair for pop dance albums to be put up against dance albums? That, I believe, depends on the album. For Charli XCX, I think her LP did indeed deserve that spot. In addition, I don’t see the other artists’ records as club-ready for the dance music space.
Los Angeles, CA – February 2, 2025: Charli XCX, winner of the Best Dance Pop Recording Award for “Von Dutch,” at the 67th Grammys Awards held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
It’s important to note that I am not saying that Charli XCX’s Brat and “Neverender” by Justice and Tame Impala won on a popularity vote. Mentioning their broader appeal is historically relevant because it shows what kind of artists the Grammy committee considers worth nominating, which appears to be partly based off how familiar the general population is with the artist. Should an award show be for the hit tracks of the year, or should it be about what it has done for the genre? It is undeniable that Justice has had a major impact on dance music (once again, they do deserve their award), but have other nominees in the past done the same for the genre? I don’t think that can be said for artists like Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears as their influences have been within the world of pop and not dance. Hence, why a new category had to be created.
If the new category hadn’t been created, then would Four Tet have been nominated for both categories this year and would Aphex Twin have been nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Recording last year? It’s hard to say, especially when considering that the latter did win Best Dance/Electronic Album in 2015. But experimental and innovative music that challenges and pushing the scene forward hasn’t historically always been represented at the awards show. Should the Grammys be about that, though? Should it award the forward-thinking producers, or at least represent what is currently happening in the scene?
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 23: Kieran Hebden, aka Four Tet, performs at ‘The Common Good And NTS Presents: In Aid Of Syria Relief UK’ at Styx on October 23, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Matthew Baker/Getty Images)
Getty Images
When looking at what’s currently popular in dance music, there are genres that didn’t make the cut. For example, hard techno and melodic techno are blowing up at the moment, but those artists weren’t nominated. Does that mean their music isn’t produced to the Grammy’s standards or that its not as widely recognized by the general population? I think the latter.
It’s not that the Grammys is entirely wrong in nominating artists topping the charts. Brat and “Neverender” are both masterful records that deserve their accolades, but the nominees don’t always represent what is happening in the scene (and many nominees tend to be white men, but the lack of representation for marginalized groups at the Grammys is another article).
What the Grammys has been telling us since 2023, though, is that crossover acts reign.
READING, ENGLAND – AUGUST 24: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Fred Again performs live on the main stage during day two of Reading Festival 2024 at Richfield Avenue on August 24, 2024 in Reading, England. (Photo by Simone Joyner/Getty Images for ABA)
Getty Images
Beyoncé won both categories in 2023, showing the power of a pop star entering the club music space. Fred again.. won in the album category and was one of the artists on the track that won for recording in 2024, with the former being more notable to this article as he fuses live instruments with dance music. This year’s winners, as previously explained, transcended genres. Is the Grammys right in telling us that crossover music has been popular within the genre the last few years? Actually, yes.
Since the pandemic, more people have been entering the world of dance music, which is partly attributed to pent-up demand to go out again after lockdown. There have also been people who have gotten into the scene due to the explosion of artists like Fred again.., who is known to fuse live instruments with dance music. This year’s winners hold that same power as they reach fans from numerous musical spaces.
So, what does this all mean? It means that crossover music is still part of the discussion when it comes to what is currently happening in dance music. But is it the entire conversation? I don’t think so.
Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.
Aggregated From –
Comments are closed.