On Friday morning (November 8), the Recording Academy revealed its 2025 Grammy nominations — and Shaboozey, one of 2024's biggest stars, scored five nods to add to his record-breaking year.
Shaboozey's five nominations are across multiple genres, including three wins (Best Country Song, Best Solo Performance and Song of the Year) for “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” the Billboard Hot 100's historic 16-week run. The star of Virginia also earned a nod for best new artist, while “Spaghettii,” his genre-bending collaboration with Beyoncé and Linda Martell, earned a bid for best melodic rap performance.A remix of “A Bar Song” helmed by David Guetta also received a nomination for Best Remixed Recording, though that category only honors the remixer, not the artist behind the original track.
Over the course of 2024, Shaboozey has soared to astonishing heights with his American, hip-hop-infused take on outlaw country. With “A Bar Song,” he became the first black artist to top the Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs charts simultaneously. “A Bar Song,” which cheekily interpolates J-Kwon's 2004 single “Tipsy,” has spent 16 weeks atop the Hot 100, just three weeks ahead of Lil Nas X's “Old Town Road” and Billy Ray Cyrus as the longest-running Hot 100 chart-topper of all time. In addition to “A Bar Song,” Shaboozey also scored two 2024 Hot 100 hits with Beyoncé: “Spaghettii” (No. 31, featuring Linda Martell) and “Sweet * Honey * Buckiin” (No. 61 ). Upon its initial release, “A Bar Song” usurped Queen Bey's “Texas Hold 'Em” atop the Hot Country Songs chart, making the collaborators the first black artists to earn back-to-back No. 1s in the chart's nearly 70-year history.
With a load of Grammy nominations to cap off a life-changing year, Shaboozey — who's currently in Lexington, Ky., supporting Jelly Roll on his Beautifully Broken tour — took a few minutes to speak with Bulletin board about his latest accolades, how he celebrates, and how it all affects his approach to making the music go on.
Where were you when you first saw the nominations?
I was on the tour bus. I'm on the road with Jelly Roll right now. I was supposed to play basketball with him, but I think he was sleeping on another bus.
Who did you call first?
Probably FaceTimed Mike Trotter Jr. [from The War and Treaty] because he texted me first. He complimented me as a friend and mentor, he was always the best. Then I called my manager. I tried to call Jelly, but like I said, I think he was asleep. Then I called my mom and my brother. And then Abbas [Pauti]my other manager. And then Teddy Swims called me! She was crying. I feel like they definitely snub him [for more nominations]. She just has one of the best voices, such a classic, timeless voice. Honestly, if he was nominated [more]it would be the “Teddy Swims Appreciation Show”! [Laughs].
What do you usually do to celebrate with your family and friends?
The last time I actually went to my house was probably in March, a few days ago Cowboy Carter came out It's funny because I was at Tommy Richman's birthday party. THE [Cowboy Carter] the announcement hadn't even gone out and I was just hanging. I don't really get a chance to slow down and celebrate. My mom's birthday is early next year, so we'll probably throw her a big birthday party.
Were there any surprises for you looking at the nominations?
I mean, the Beatles song AI. I said, “Okay… Are we doing this?” [Laughs] I felt like [record of the year] It would have been nice to grab it, but I'm very grateful for the six I got. And that's not even counting the ones our name has been associated with, like Beyoncé's [Cowboy Carter] record. It's a big year for both of us, honestly.
You've been nominated across mainstream, country and rap – what does it mean to see your name and work welcomed across genres?
It's bittersweet for sure. There is so much talent in the country music scene and there are so many well written songs that I felt I deserved this performance. Country music is not hungry for talent. The beautiful thing about country music – especially some of the people who have been doing it for so long – is that so many people could have been out in that category. I heard a song by Sam Barber and Avery Anna that's so beautiful, Zach Bryan put out an amazing record, Zach Top too. I wish there was a way to introduce everyone, but that's the nature of the awards.
You and Beyoncé are now one step closer to possibly being the fifth and sixth black artists to win a Country Grammy. How do you even begin to wrap your head around that?
It's crazy, especially to do it with someone like Beyoncé who is such a legacy artist. I feel like I'm on the right track to do the same. I can finally cross it off my list. I can say I'm nominated for a Grammy for the rest of my life. I really think this is just the beginning.
I've learned so much just doing the tour and doing these shows. Now, with more resources from the label, I feel like I can really get out there and start making music without pressure. A lot of people work to get a No. 1 song. I can get past that at this point in my career, I can start focusing on making the music that really matters to me. Not to say that the music I've made doesn't matter, but I can really get into my artist bag. It will be a lot of fun.
As you dig deeper into this 'artist bag', how does it look to you?
By being able to collaborate more, the phone book gets a little bigger in terms of writers, producers, and session players to work with. And the time you can spare. All my work was recorded mainly in production rooms. Some of it was done in Nashville, but most of it was done at my producer's house in Van Nuys [California] – not the most picturesque country scenery! Due to budget constraints, we didn't want to build something that would kill our pockets. Now, I have the opportunity to say, “Do I want to go out to Montana for a few weeks? Or Nashville? Or the Electric Lady?' These things seem more like a possibility, whereas before they were just a dream or an afterthought.
Have you had a chance to speak with the co-writers and co-producers of 'Tipsy'?
I talk to them every day. Sean Cook, one of my new producers, did most of the songs on my last project, Cowboys live foreverand Nevin [Sastry] did most things in one before that, Lady Wrangler. They were the two producers on “A Bar Song” so it was great to be able to connect one of my early friends with one of my recent collaborators and they hit it off so well. We all got it together. For them to both believe in me and see the immediate profit and exposure and stay loyal and put in the hours – and I'm really special, so I over-arrange. For me, [I continue working on] albums shortly after they are supposed to be delivered. Sometimes, producers can suffer from producer fatigue – but in those moments, we made “A Bar Song”.
I hope people learn from this. Don't stop being creative, don't stop believing in your ideas and have people around you who will help you and encourage you to explore your ideas and not kill them.
“A Bar Song” is two weeks away from breaking the all-time record for most weeks atop the Hot 100. Are you gunning for it or just letting the song do what it does?
That's kind of crazy how much the song carried on its own. We don't even do anything and they're like, “Hey, you're aiming for a 17 week now!” [Laughs] Some people will do a few different remixes or do the instrumental and a cappella and all these different versions. We reached out to a lot of people trying to do a remix early on, but we couldn't find anything that made sense. That “A Bar Song” is still doing what it's doing is crazy.
Other than “A Bar Song,” what song would you most like to perform on the Grammy telecast?
There's the 'Good News' record we've been teasing, it would be great to perform at the Grammys – especially if it performs as we expect it to and really resonates with the world. But everyone wants to be uncomfortable now! I was asked to pitch in the World Series and I had just made the Boston Celtics. We also do CMA. We've been telling people that we want to showcase and showcase other songs, and everyone has been very receptive.
What do these Grammy nominations mean for Shaboozey who first moved to Los Angeles a decade ago to pursue music?
It's just amazing. A dream come true. The Grammys are the pinnacle of music. It's something you watch from the outside. There are songs for the Grammys, people talk about them all the time. I'm sure I've been mentioning going to the Grammys or winning a Grammy since I was 17 years old. To now have another ticked off my bucket list is a blessing. The most exciting part of all of this is being able to listen to your music and say, “Damn, I'm not doing a cap anymore. I actually got that Grammy I talked about in that song I did in 2014!” Event mate. Now I can actually talk about sh–!
It's nice to see that there is still hope out there for young artists. A lot of the nominated artists, we see these names every year. It's nice to have new names there. I want to make sure it's not the last time my name is on there.
How many shots do you take to celebrate these nominations?
Hey man, we'll see! When I see Jelly Roll tonight, it will be all love. We're going to go out there and have a great time. I take pictures every day now, this whole tour has been one big party.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/country/shaboozey-reacts-2025-grammy-nominations-interview-1235823989/
