For the 2025 ceremony, the Recording Academy announced several changes
for different categories and updates on eligibility rules. No new categories were introduced for the first time in four years. In an urgent letter to the 12,000 voting members of the Recording Academy,
chief executive officer (CEO)
Harvey Mason Jr. urged them to cast their votes with "purpose,
intention, and
integrity" and without "bias, grudge-holding, or careless voting". Discussions were held to either postpone the ceremony and all of its ancillary events or pivot the broadcast to a
fundraiser due to the
series of wildfires affecting Southern California. In a joint statement, Mason Jr. and Tammy Hurt, the chair of the Recording Academy's board of trustees, confirmed that the ceremony would proceed as planned "in close coordination with local authorities to ensure public safety and responsible use of area resources." This edition, however, carried a "renewed sense of purpose: raising additional funds to support wildfire relief efforts and honoring the bravery and dedication of
first responders who risk their lives to protect ours." During the broadcast, some commercial airtime was donated to help small businesses affected by the wildfires. Host Trevor Noah announced this initiative and special guests appeared in the commercials. Featured businesses included Orla Floral Studio of
Altadena with an appearance by
Doja Cat, Two Dragons Martial Arts of Altadena with an appearance by
Charlie Puth, Rhythms Of The Village of Altadena with an appearance by
Anderson .Paak, Paliskates Skate Shop in
Pacific Palisades with an appearance by
Avril Lavigne, and the L.A. Lost Stuffy Project with an appearance by the
Jonas Brothers. Additionally, high school choir students from
Pasadena Waldorf School in Altadena and
Palisades Charter High School in the Pacific Palisades, both of which were damaged in the wildfires, sang backup vocals during the
Stevie Wonder and
Herbie Hancock performance of "
We Are the World."
Category changes •
Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical was moved from the Production, Engineering, Composition & Arrangement Field to the Pop & Dance/Electronic Field. • Best Pop Dance Recording was renamed to
Best Dance Pop Recording. • Best Dance/Electronic Music Album was renamed to
Best Dance/Electronic Album. Its category criteria was amended to establish that albums must consist of at least 50% Dance/Electronic recordings to qualify. •
Conjunto music will now be recognized under
Best Regional Roots Music Album, instead of
Best Música Mexicana Album (Including Tejano). •
Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media was amended to establish a qualification that more than 50% of the music on an otherwise eligible recording must be derived from new episodes or new programming released during the Grammy eligibility year for which it entered. • Best Song for Social Change, a Special Merit Award, was renamed to the
Harry Belafonte Best Song for Social Change Award. It will now be recognized as a CEO's Merit Award, with the finalists and recipients selected annually by a committee composed of a community of peers dedicated to "artistic expression, the craft of songwriting, and the power of songs to affect
social change."
Criteria amendments • All eligibly-certified featured artists with less than 50% of playing time will be awarded a Winners' Certificate for all genre album categories. This rule does not apply to
Best Musical Theater Album or the General Field and Craft categories. • The annual fee media companies must pay to enter a recording in the online entry process was increased to $180. • Criteria for
Best Traditional R&B Performance was amended to "more accurately represent recordings that embody the classical elements of
R&B/
soul music, distinguishing them from
contemporary interpretations of the genre." • Criteria for
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album was amended to expand the category by "broadening its scope and welcoming more entries from the
musical theater community." Its album eligibility criteria was also updated, requiring that albums must contain more than 75% of newly recorded (previously unreleased) performances. • Criteria for
Best Children's Music Album was amended with a requirement for lyrics and English-language translations to be included in entry submissions. An intended audience range was also defined as "
infant to
12 years old". • Submission guidelines for
Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical were amended with the hopes of allowing a "wider representation of the songwriter community", with the minimum submission threshold in which a songwriter is credited as a songwriter or co-writer (not a primary or featured artist or producer) being reduced from five to four songs. The additional number of songs a songwriter may enter in which they are also credited as a primary or featured artist, or any other supporting role was also increased from four to five. ==Performers==