Now that we've shaken off the cranberry-sauce hangover, let's re-ask ourselves: who really broke up the Beatles? Was it Paul? Was it Yoko? Was it Magic Alex? Turns out it's none of the above — that beaten-to-death question and several others are currently circling the drain.

That's because Peter Jackson's new three-part, eight-hour Disney+ documentary, The Beatles: Get Back, exploded the two-dimensional lore of their final year, showing that nothing about the Beatles' latter-day dynamics was easily compartmentalizable. From the wounded glaze in John Lennon's eyes at Twickenham Studios to Paul McCartney's giddy "Woo!" when the cops raid the rooftop show, even the most fleeting microexpressions tend to broadcast a dozen emotions at once.

<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }</style><div class='embed-container'><iframe src='https://www.youtube.com/embed//Auta2lagtw4' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen></iframe></div>

What has this ocean of fly-on-the-wall footage amounted to? For one, a fount of jubilant social-media expressions from countless viewers hiding from deranged relatives at Thanksgiving. "I'm finding the simple process of watching several uninterrupted hours of human interaction without cell phones entirely arresting," musician and journalist Elizabeth Nelson tweeted, awestruck. "They just stare out into space and smoke."

Now we can see the full picture — the deluge of love and joy and dread and confusion that only bootleggers had previously been privy to. Where do we go from here, though? Is The Beatles: Get Back only useful if you want to know more accurately what four people did a half-century ago? Or can it be more instructive than that — a masterclass in artistic collaboration, in coaxing people on different wavelengths to make magic?

Even with these questions, let's make no mistake: The Get Back sessions, which eventually led to the Beatles’ final album, Let it Be, were magic.

John Lennon at Apple Studios, January 1969​. Photo: Ethan A. Russell / © Apple Corps Ltd.

While Phil Spector's rococo embellishments in post-production made Let it Be the black sheep of the discography, let's remember that this is the album that gave us  "Two of Us," "Across the Universe," "The Long and Winding Road," "Get Back" and the hymnal title track. The album sounds far better than ever on this year's Super Deluxe Edition, putting it within spitting distance of its far more focused and generally better-loved predecessor, Abbey Road.

Not only this: the rooftop concert, which is captured in fabulous, multi-camera detail in Get Back, showed how a band can bow out stylishly, poignantly and memorably — even if they didn't know for sure if it was the end of the line back then.

So, yes, the music that NME slammed as "a cheapskate epitaph, a cardboard tombstone, a sad and tatty end" in 1970 was a success — a thunderously significant one.

To figure out how these four childhood friends — who were rapidly growing apart and questioning the world-conquering entertainment module they'd constructed — achieved what they did, it's worth examining three components of their interaction in Get Back.

More importantly, they show how viewers today can apply the Beatles' strategies to whatever group they belong to, whether it’s a congregation or a corporation.

Paul McCartney at Apple Studios, January 1969​. Photo: Ethan A. Russell / © Apple Corps Ltd.

Accepting Leadership (Even When You Weren't Asked)

The overhanging black cloud at the top of the Get Back sessions is the lack of a clear leader. The group’s manager, Brian Epstein (whose responsibility for the band's success cannot be overstated), had died at only 32 of an accidental overdose. "Daddy's gone away now, you know," McCartney remarks at one point. "We're on our own at the holiday camp."

By then, Lennon, the group's natural leader from the jump, had basically abdicated his role — for some understandable reasons. His marriage had dissolved. His new partner, Yoko Ono, had suffered a miscarriage. His childhood trauma was seeping back in. He was wandering deeper into a heroin romance. (No, this isn't addressed, probably because this is Disney+.)

<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }</style><div class='embed-container'><iframe src='https://www.youtube.com/embed//UocEGvQ10OE' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen></iframe></div>

Nobody asked McCartney to become their musical director, and sometimes, the band-wide irritation that he elected himself to that position is palpable. But it says something about his pragmatism and selflessness that he would make the call for the greater good.

McCartney isn't simply a hectoring micromanager throughout Get Back — he's open to the primal vibrations of the universe, pulling songs from the ether. It’s mesmerizing to watch him find the skeleton of "Get Back" in real time, stripping away extraneous elements and identifying the groove and vocal melody.

At first, George Harrison and Ringo Starr look distressed, as if they'd gotten calls about separate family emergencies. But as the tune takes shape, they change their tune — and begin adding to McCartney's nascent creation.

Really, Get Back is the most revealing look yet at how McCartney understood the mechanics of songwriting in and out — watch him at the piano, laying some wisdom on young film clapper-loader Paul Bond. "The great thing about a piano is that — there it all is," he says. "There's all the music ever."

All in all, without somebody to show up on time, nag Lennon to write new material, and, overall, keep the trains running on time, this misshapen, classic album wouldn't exist at all. The four freezing lads on the roof would vanish from our collective memory, and we'd have to find some other Turkey Day diversion this year.

Batting Down Bad Ideas (And Trusting Your Gut)

Many Beatles fans directed their ire at baby-faced, cigar-chomping director Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who captured this footage in 1970 for his own album doc. As author Steve Silberman tweeted, his "pervasive nagging and vapid scheming clearly had a corrosive effect on the Beatles."

While Lindsay-Hogg isn't on trial here (the man did give us The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, after all), Harrison swats down the filmmaker’s more out-there ideas, from sailing to Libya to performing at a hospital for children with broken legs. (Lennon, who delighted in skewering people with disabilities in his poetry and art, perks up at the latter suggestion.)

Even though Lindsay-Hogg called the shots to a degree as the director of the planned TV special, the ever-salty Harrison opted not to mince words. "I think the idea of a boat is completely insane," he remarks. "It's very expensive and insane." 

Soon after, Harrison walked out of the sessions and the band — in turn, leaving the ball in his court as to how to proceed with the sessions, which involved leaving the drafty and vibe-less Twickenham for Apple Studios, their cozy abode where they made their masterpieces. 

It's also worth noting that the Beatles' ability to quickly edit and hone each others' ideas was undimmed even when they weren't on the same page. This is apparent in an array of scenes, from avoiding the "corny" notes in "Don't Let Me Down" to Lennon tweaking one word in Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" ("wind" becomes "mind").

Is there a situation in your daily life that calls for quick, decisive action and trusting your first instincts? The Beatles made myriad mistakes in their decade, but boarding that ocean liner wasn't one of them. If Harrison hadn't spoken up, might the project have taken a harebrained and cash-hemorrhaging direction?

Ringo Starr at Apple Studios, January 1969​. Photo: Ethan A. Russell / © Apple Corps Ltd.

Knowing When To Put Pencils Down (And Bowing Out In Style)

What if the Beatles simply faded from existence without the culture-shifting concert on the roof — four slightly bedraggled men envisaging the end of the line, yet having an absolute ball?

While nobody knew if that would be their final performance or not, it's beyond argument that the brief concert was a pitch-perfect move that aligned with who they were musically, visually and emotionally. It wasn't that calculated of a move — up to the eleventh hour, they weren't sure if they'd go up there. But, again, decisiveness won out.

After a final session captured at the tail-end of Part 3, the Beatles set the project aside, opting to return later in the year for Abbey Road, an album that had the patina of their finest works, like Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Perhaps that's the way to wind down any creative endeavor when it's running out of gas: doing it in style. By doing so, the Beatles fulfilled the old axiom of leaving the audience wanting more, for 51 years and counting. Just look at their Spotify numbers alone — when they burned out, their star became a culture-dominating supernova.

And even after eight hours of young, wealthy men who "stare into space and smoke," it's clear we'll never get enough of them.

We've Thrown Everything We Could At John Lennon's "Imagine." The Song Nonetheless Endures 50 Years Later.

Editor's note: This article was updated to include the latest information about Kendrick Lamar's 2024 album release 'GNX,' and up-to-date GRAMMY wins and nominations with additional reporting by Nina Frazier.

When the world crowns you the king of a genre as competitive as rap, your presence — and lack thereof — is palpable. After a five-year hiatus, Kendrick Lamar declaratively stomped back on stage with his fifth studio album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, to explain why the crown no longer fits him.

Two years later, Lamar circles back to celebrate the west on 2024's GNX, a 12-track release that revels in the root of his love for hip-hop and California culture, from the lowriders to the rappers that laid claim to the golden state.

“My baby boo, you either heal n—s or you kill n—s/ Both is true, it take some tough skin just to deal with you” Lamar raps on "gloria" featuring SZA, a track that opines on his relationship with the genre.

The Compton-born rapper (who was born Kendrick Lamar Duckworth) wasn't always championed as King Kendrick. In hip-hop, artists have to earn that moniker, and Lamar's enthroning occurred in 2013 when he delivered a now-infamous verse on Big Sean's "Control."

"I'm Makaveli's offspring, I'm the King of New York, King of the Coast; one hand I juggle 'em both," Lamar raps before name-dropping some of the top rappers of the time, from Drake to J.Cole.

Whether you've been a fan of Lamar since before his crown-snatching verse or you find yourself in need of a crash course on the 37-year-old rapper's illustrious career, GRAMMY.com answers nine questions that will paint the picture of Lamar's more than decade-long reign.

Who Discovered Kendrick Lamar?

Due to the breakthrough success of his Aftermath Entertainment debut (good kid, m.A.A.d city), most people attribute Kendrick Lamar's discovery to fellow Compton legend Dr. Dre. But seven years before Dre's label came calling, Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith saw potential in a 16-year-old rapper by the name of K.Dot.

Lamar's first mixtape in 2004 was enough for Tiffith's Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) to offer the aspiring rapper a deal with the label in 2005. However, Lamar would later learn that Tiffith's impact on his life dates back to multiple encounters between his father and the TDE founder, which Lamar raps about in his 2017 track "DUCKWORTH."

How Many Albums Has Kendrick Lamar Released?

Kendrick Lamar has released six studio albums: Section.80 (2011), Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City (2012), To Pimp a Butterfly (2015) DAMN. (2017),Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (2022), and GNX (2024). Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, To Pimp a Butterfly and DAMN. received both Rap Album Of The Year and Album Of The Year GRAMMY nominations. 

What Is Kendrick Lamar's Most Popular Song?

Across the board, it's "HUMBLE." The 2017 track is Lamar's only solo No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (he also reached No. 1 status with Taylor Swift on their remix of her 1989 hit "Bad Blood"), and as of press time, "HUMBLE." is also his most-streamed song on Spotify and YouTube.

How Many GRAMMYs Has Kendrick Lamar Won?

As of November 2024, Kendrick Lamar has won 17 GRAMMYs and has received 57 GRAMMY nominations overall, solidifying his place as one of the most nominated artists in GRAMMY history and the second-most nominated rapper of all time, behind Jay-Z. Five of Lamar's 17 GRAMMY wins are tied to DAMN., which also earned Lamar the status of becoming the first rapper ever to win a Pulitzer Prize.

His most recent wins include three awards at the 2023 GRAMMYs, which included two for his album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, and Best Rap Performance for "The Hillbillies" with Baby Keem. 

Does Kendrick Lamar Have Any Famous Relatives?

He has two: Rapper Baby Keem and former Los Angeles Lakers star Nick Young are both cousins of his.

Lamar appeared on three tracks — "family ties," "range brothers" and "vent" — from Keem's debut album, The Melodic Blue. Keem then returned the favor for Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, featuring on "Savior (Interlude)" and "Savior" as well as receiving production and writing credits on "N95" and "Die Hard."

Read More: Meet The First-Time GRAMMY Nominee: Baby Keem On Inspiring Rap's Next Generation, Why "Producer Artists" Are The Best & The Likelihood Of A Kendrick Lamar Collab Album

Why Did Kendrick Lamar Wear A Crown Of Thorns?

Lamar can be seen sporting a crown of thorns on the Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers album cover. He has sported the look for multiple performances since the project's release.

Dave Free described the striking headgear as, "a godly representation of hood philosophies told from a digestible youthful lens."

Holy symbolism and the blurred line between kings and gods are themes Lamar revisits often on Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. He uses lines like "Kendrick made you think about it, but he is not your savior" and songs like "Mirror" to reject the unforeseen, God-like expectations that came with his King of Hip-Hop status.

According to Vogue, the Tiffany & Co. designed crown features 8,000 cobblestone micro pave diamonds and took over 1,300 hours of work by four craftsmen to construct.

Why Did Kendrick Lamar Leave TDE?

After five albums, four mixtapes, one compilation project, an EP, and a GRAMMY-nominated Black Panther: The Album, Kendrick Lamar and Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) confirmed that Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers was the Compton rapper's last project under the iconic West Coast label. 

According to Lamar, his departure was about growth as opposed to any internal troubles. "May the Most High continue to use Top Dawg as a vessel for candid creators. As I continue to pursue my life's calling," Lamar wrote on his website in August 2021. "There's beauty in completion."

TDE president Punch expressed a similar sentiment in an interview with Mic. "We watched him grow from a teenager up into an established grown man, a businessman, and one of the greatest artists of all time," he said. "So it's time to move on and try new things and venture out."

Before Lamar's official exit from TDE, he launched a new venture called pgLang — a multi-disciplinary service company for creators, co-founded with longtime collaborator Dave Free — in 2020. The young company has already collaborated with Cash App, Converse and Louis Vuitton.

Has Kendrick Lamar Ever Performed at The Super Bowl?

Yes, Kendrick Lamar performed in the halftime show for Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles in 2022, alongside fellow rap legends Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Eminem, as well as R&B icon Mary J. Blige. Anderson .Paak and 50 Cent also made special appearances during the star-studded performance. As if performing at the Super Bowl in your home city wasn't enough, the Compton rapper also got to watch his home team, the Los Angeles Rams, hoist the Lombardi trophy at the end of the night.

Three years after his first Super Bowl halftime performance, Lamar will return to headline the Super Bowl LIX halftime show on Feb. 9, 2025 — just one week after the 2025 GRAMMYs — at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. 

Is Kendrick Lamar On Tour?

Yes. Kendrick Lamar is currently scheduled to hit the road with SZA on the Grand National Tour beginning in May 2025. Lamar concluded The Big Steppers Tour in 2022, where he was joined by pgLang artists Baby Keem and Tanna Leone. The tour included a four-show homecoming at L.A.'s Crypto.com Arena in September 2022, followed by performances in Europe,Australia, and New Zealand through late 2022. 

Currently, there are no upcoming tour dates scheduled, but fans should check back for updates following the release of GNX.

Having professed his love for the Rolling Stones with numerous documentaries and concert films, Martin Scorsese switches his attention to their one-time fiercest rivals as the producer of Beatles '64.

Out. Nov. 29, the Disney+ original centers on the year when the Beatles replicated their UK success on the other side of the Atlantic, with their iconic performance in front of 73 million "The Ed Sullivan Show" viewers the undisputed catalyst.

Of course, Beatles '64  is far from the first doc on the Fab Four to boast such an Oscar-winning pedigree. Both Peter Jackson and Ron Howard have essentially bowed down and declared “We're not worthy” with screen displays of fandom in recent years. In fact, since the group dramatically went their separate ways in 1970, countless documentarians — some who lived through it, others who had to learn it — have tried to place the success of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Star in a wider context while finding new and interesting ways to tell their remarkable story.

So which are the documentary equivalents of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road (or whichever entry in the Liverpudlian' unrivaled back catalog is your ultimate)? From behind-the-scenes snapshots and musical deep dives, to intimate character portraits and star-studded retrospectives, here's a look at 10 documentaries any Beatles obsessive should have on their must-watch list. 

'Let It Be' (1970)

Eschewing the usual pop documentary conventions, the Oscar and GRAMMY-winnning Let It Be simply points the camera at the Beatles during the recording of their same-named final studio effort and lets the action naturally unfold. There are occasional glimpses of the tensions you'd expect from a band about to distintegrate; a fraught discussion about the guitar line on "Two of Us," for example, in which Harrison has to reassure McCartney that he's not being annoying (the guitarist's brief mid-sessions departure, however, is entirely omitted), and the moment which director Michael Lindsay-Hogg pithily described as Lennon dying of boredom. 

But the mood in the camp improved tenfold when the sessions moved from the decidedly frosty Twickenham Studios to the more inviting Apple HQ. Those studios became the site of an iconic rooftop concert in which the band delivered a triumphant, if resolutely windy, live farewell. Released just seven months before their official split, this was the Beatles at their rawest. 

Read more: 5 Lesser Known Facts About The Beatles' 'Let It Be' Era: Watch The Restored 1970 Film

'The Compleat Beatles' (1982)

What this two-hour ABC documentary lacks in correct grammar, it makes up for in fascinating behind-the-scenes footage and insightful commentaries from talking heads who experienced Beatlemania first-hand. Fellow Scouser Gerry Marsden, loyal Merseybeat journalist Bill Harry, and Cavern Club DJ Bob Wooler all have great stories to tell in the Malcolm McDowell-narrated special. But it's their first manager Allan Williams who steals the show with refreshingly unfiltered reminisces about their early Hamburg years. 

Viewers will also come away with a new-found respect for Harrison’s encouraging mother, an appreciation for the Beatles’ studio craft (producer George Martin comments how their abundance of creativity often left him exhausted), and a greater understanding of the sheer chaos that awaited the Fab Four faced whenever they took to the stage. And after seeing the trippy visuals created by director Patrick Montgomery, you'll never listen to "Tomorrow Never Knows" in quite the same way again.

'It Was Twenty Years Ago Today' (1987)

Named after the famous opening line from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, this 105-minute documentary explores how the historic concept album helped to usher in the second Summer of Love. First screened on ITV in the UK and then PBS on the other side of the Atlanic, It Was Twenty Years Ago Today invites some of the counterculture movement's most prominent names (including LSD advocate Timothy Leary, Yippie activist Abbie Hoffman, and poet Allan Ginsberg) to provide evidence. Ginsberg even puts his own unique spin on each of its 13 songs.

In contrast, McCartney and Harrison remain humble about their apparent ability to unify their generation — although both admit subscribing to the theory that "All You Need Is Love." A live performance of said track at the Monterey Pop Festival it was specially penned for only adds to the life-affirming vibes of this engaging alternative history lesson.  

'Imagine John Lennon' (1988)

Narrated from beyond the grave by the late Beatle, this all-encompassing doc was commissioned by his widower Yoko Ono, explaining why it delves into Lennon the man just as much as Lennon the musician. Candid interviews with his first wife Cynthia and his first-born Julian suggests the former wasn't always the ideal family guy. But unlike Albert Goldman’s hit-job biography which also emerged in late 1988, every facet of Lennon's complex personality is explored. Little-seen footage of an encounter with an inquisitive drifter, for example, proves he had a remarkable spirit of generosity.

Other Fab Four obsessives, meanwhile, will be most interested in holy grail moments such as an early rehearsal of "Imagine" and acoustic demo of then-unreleased "Real Love." The surviving Beatles, who didn't contribute to the film but gave their blessing, appeared to be just as wowed with what director Robert Solt constructed from over 100 hours of archive material. "A good lad he was," McCartney remarked about his ex-bandmate after one particularly emotional screening. 

"The Beatles Anthology" (1995)

First conceived in the 1970s as a feature film which would conclude with all four Beatles reunited on stage, this documentary project was revived in the mid-1990s as a TV series where all three surviving members reflected on their remarkable career. Interviewed by pianist Jools Holland over the course of three months, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr — then all in their fifties — provide a more subjective outlook on their remarkably impactful decade together, but their differing perspectives make for fascinating viewing.  Lennon, who was arguably the project's keenest voice, still gets his say in archival form.

Elsewhere, Martin, road manager Neil Aspinall, and press agent Derek Taylor help paint a more definitive picture. Of course, it was the two previously unfinished songs, "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love," that helped kickstart a new wave of Beatlemania which perfectly aligned with the movement known as Cool Britannia.  

'The Beatles Revolution' (2000)

Coinciding with the release of the Beatles' chart-topping #1s compilation, this turn-of-the-century ABC doc highlighted how the Fab Four's impact extended far beyond sales figures and Billboard positions. Anoushka Shankar argues that their Indian sojourn helped to popularize Middle Eastern mysticism. Bill Clinton claims their iconic appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" helped the nation recover from the assassination of JFK. Director and screenwriter Milos Forman even credits them with bringing down the fall of communism! 

Whether you agree with such bold statements or not, this two-hour televisual love letter — hosted by "The View's" Meredith Vieira — provides a fascinating insight into the Liverpudlians' cultural stranglehold. And it would take the hardest of hearts to not be moved by Mike Myers' recollections of crying at A Hard Day's Night, "Because I liked these guys so much and I wanted to go have fun with them."

'George Harrison: Living in the Material World' (2011)

Before producing the latest Beatles' doc, Scorsese dipped his toes into Merseyside waters for this engaging biopic of the band's unsung hero. Named after his 1973 solo album, Living in the Material World celebrates Harrison's contributions to the Beatles' lore — whether penning standards such as "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun" or steering their magical mystery tour to India.

The filmmaker is equally interested in the guitarist's life outside the quartet, from pioneering the all-star benefit gig with The Concert for Bangladesh to his pivotal role in producing films such as Withnail & I and The Life of Brian. Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, and Jeff Lynne are just a few of the iconic talking heads who queue up to sing Harrison's praises, but it’s the interviews with his wife Olivia and son Dhani Harrison that lend Living in the Material World its heartfelt emotional core. 

'Eight Days A Week: The Touring Years' (2016)

Ron Howard's labor of love only spans from the Beatles' early Cavern Club beginnings to their deafening final live show at Shea Stadium. But the Fab Four crammed more touring into those four years than most of their peers would in four lifetimes. Indeed, the Best Music Film GRAMMY winner, which also raked in an impressive $12.3 million at the global box office, documents the Liverpudlians at their busiest and indeed their most public.

Alongside all the footage of their airport-hotel-stage repeat ad nauseam existence, Eight Days a Week also reflects on all the controversies they caused along the way, from their ill-fated trip to the Philippines to Lennon's claims they were "bigger than Jesus."

It certainly explains why the quartet decided to get off the treadmill at the peak of their powers. But thanks to electrifying live performances of "She Loves You," "Twist and Shout," and "Please Please Me," it also explains why they became such a phenomenon in the first place. 

"Get Back" (2021)

Adopting the restoration techniques of his wartime doc They Shall Not Grow Old and the mammoth running times of his Tolkien epics, Peter Jackson gave the Beatles' Let It Be sessions a new lease of life with this eight-hour treasure trove of archival footage. Unlike Lindsay-Hogg's 1970 effort, Get Back shows the origins and the aftermath of Harrison's short-lived exit from the group.

However, the tone of the three-part series — which has the support of all surviving Beatles and Beatles' widows — is more joyous and jovial. McCartney magically conjures up the title track on a whim, while Starr casually offers Ono some chewing gum, contradicting the accepted narrative that Lennon's other half was the bane of the band's later years. The five–time Emmy winner, which also presents the rooftop farewell in all its 42-minute glory, is that rare companion piece which proves to be just as vital as the original.

Read more: There's Not Much Left To Reveal About The Beatles' End. Let's Use The 'Get Back' Doc As A Manual For Moving Forward. 

"McCartney 3,2,1" (2021)

"Dear Prudence" was written about Mia Farrow’s younger sister. "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" was recorded in front of the creator of the Moog. The piccolo trumpet on "Penny Lane" was inspired by a televised performance of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos. These are just a few of the fascinating nuggets of information disclosed in Apple TV+'s joyously nerdy deep dive into McCartney's back catalog. 

In conversation with longtime fan Rick Rubin, the bassist makes for hugely engaging company across six half-hour episodes which shine new light on countless songs that have become part of the popcultural fabric. It's not just all talk, either. When the producer strips back  "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," exposing its bassline in all its surprisingly sludgy glory, even McCartney is taken aback at the sound that emanates. But perhaps the biggest surprise is the pitch-perfect impression that Macca delivers while recollecting a memorable backstage encounter with Little Richard.

Believe it or not, it's already that time of year again: the 2025 GRAMMY nominations have been revealed.

After a year that saw a pop renaissance and continued dominance by women across genres, the 2025 GRAMMY nominees followed suit. Beyoncé is this year's most-nominated artist, adding 11 more to her GRAMMY resumé (more on that later). Pop's newest reigning queens, Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan, solidified their thrones; they each celebrate six nominations, and are the only two artists nominated for Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best New Artist. 

In fact, six of the eight leading nominees are women. Female artists dominate both the Record Of The Year and Album Of The Year Categories, as well as over a dozen other Categories Best Pop Vocal Album, Best R&B Performance and Best Latin Pop Album.

But that's just one exciting aspect of this year's nominations. As you dive into the full 2025 GRAMMYs nominee list, take a look at some of the most notable feats and firsts from the 2025 GRAMMY nominations — and be sure to tune into Music's Biggest Night on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025!

Beyoncé Adds To Her GRAMMY Legacy

With 11 nominations, Beyoncé isn't just the most-nominated artist at the 2025 GRAMMYs — she's now the most-nominated artist in GRAMMY history. The 11 new nods bring her total to a whopping 99 nominations!

Queen Bey is already the artist with the most GRAMMY wins of all time with 32, a record she achieved upon her album RENAISSANCE winning Best Dance/Electronic Music Album at the 2023 GRAMMYs. 

Artists Are Nominated In Fields/Categories For The First Time

Along with a new GRAMMY record, Beyoncé also adds a new GRAMMY Field to her repertoire. She received her first nominations in the Country & American Roots Music Field, and five at that: Best Country Solo Performance ("16 CARRIAGES"), Best Country Duo/Group Performance ("II MOST WANTED" Featuring Miley Cyrus), Best Country Song ("TEXAS HOLD 'EM"), Best Country Album (COWBOY CARTER), and Best Americana Performance ("YA YA").

Post Malone also tallied the first Country & American Roots Music Field nominations of his career, earning nods for Best Country Duo/Group Performance and Best Country Song for his Morgan Wallen duet, "I Had Some Help," and Best Country Album for F-1 Trillion.

One of Malone's many F-1 Trillion collaborators, Luke Combs, notched his first nomination in the Best Song Written For Visual Media Category for his chart-topping Twisters anthem "Ain't No Love In Oklahoma."

Meanwhile, R&B titans Alicia Keys and John Legend both celebrate nominations in new Categories as well. Keys is nominated in the Best Musical Theater Album Category for the first time (Hell's Kitchen), and Legend received his first nods for Best Children's Music Album (My Favorite Dream) and Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella ("Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Jacob Collier featuring Legend & Tori Kelly).

Charli xcx Continues Her Brat Summer

Pop's longtime cool girl Charli xcx also adds several new Categories to her GRAMMY nomination tally, but her reason to celebrate is a little bigger than that: they're her first nominations as a solo artist.

Charli xcx's previous two GRAMMY nominations came in 2015, and they were for her Iggy Azalea collaboration, "Fancy." Perhaps to fans' surprise, her own work had never received a nod — but brat changed that immensely.

One of the most-nominated artists with seven, Charli xcx earned her first nominations in the Album Of The Year (brat), Best Pop Solo Performance ("Apple"), Best Pop Dance Recording ("Von Dutch"), Best Dance/Electronic Album (brat), and Best Music Video ("360") Categories. She's also nominated in the same two Categories in which "Fancy" were 10 years ago: Record Of The Year ("360") and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance ("Guess" Featuring Billie Eilish).

Album Of The Year Marks Notable Firsts

Three of Charli xcx's fellow Album Of The Year nominees reach milestones with their respective nominations. Taylor Swift received her seventh Album Of The Year nomination thanks to THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT, becoming the first woman artist to receive seven nominations in the Category. 

Billie Eilish notches her third Album Of The Year nomination in a row with HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, making her the first artist to have their first three albums nominated in the Category.

Jack Antonoff also achieved a back-to-back AOTY feat, as it's the second year in a row that he has been nominated for his work with two separate artists in the Category. His latest Album Of The Year nods are for Swift's THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT and Sabrina Carpenter's Short n' Sweet. (Fittingly, Swift was one of the two artists last year too, as Antonoff was nominated for AOTY for his work on Midnights as well as Lana Del Rey's Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd.)

Veteran Acts Earn Nods For The First Time In A Long Time

Several artists and creators celebrate their first GRAMMY nominations this year, including big-name stars like Sabrina Carpenter, Doechii, Carin Léon, Chappell Roan, Shaboozey, and Morgan Wallen. What's more, 32 of those first-time nominees have two or more nominations.

But while the Recording Academy is always excited to honor new nominees — check back to GRAMMY.com in January for the annual Meet The First-Time GRAMMY Nominee series — one of the most interesting stories of the 2025 GRAMMYs centers on those who received nominations for the first time in over a decade.

Perhaps the most unexpected names to see on the list are the Beatles. The Fab Four are nominated for the first time in 28 years thanks to "Now And Then," what Paul McCartney has dubbed "the final Beatles record." The song earned nods for Record Of The Year and Best Rock Performance, which brings their career nominations count to 25; prior to the 2025 GRAMMYs, the Beatles have won seven GRAMMYs.

The longest time between nominations this year goes to the Black Crowes, who received their first nod in 34 years for Happiness Bastards, their first album in 14 years. They earned their first Best Rock Album nomination, as they'd only ever been nominated once previously, for Best New Artist in 1991.

Interestingly, the Rock, Metal & Alternative Music Field spawned a few long-awaited nominations for veteran acts. Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth fame scored the first nominations of her career with her second solo album, The Collective, which is up for Best Alternative Music Album, and its lead single, "BYE BYE" is up for Best Alternative Music Performance.

Pearl Jam celebrated their first nominations since 2011 with their 12th studio album, Dark Matter, which received a nod for Best Rock Album as well as Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance for its title track.

They're in company with their fellow '90s punk rock gods Green Day, who earned nods in all three Categories thanks to their latest album, Saviors. Marking Green Day's first nominations since 2014, Saviors is up for Best Rock Album, while singles "The American Dream Is Killing Me" and "Dilemma" are up for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song, respectively.

Elsewhere, Usher earned his first nomination for his own work in 10 years with a Best R&B Album nod for Coming Home, and Eminem earned his first nod for Best Rap Album (a Category he's won six times) in 10 years with The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce).

Collaborations helped Erykah Badu, Michael McDonald and Monica snag their first nominations in more than a decade, too. Badu's team-up with Rapsody, "3:AM," earned a nod for Best Melodic Rap Performance, the singer's first nomination in the Category and first overall since 2009. McDonald tallied his first nomination since 2004 thanks to his Lalah Hathaway duet, "No Lie," which is nominated for Best Traditional R&B Performance.

Monica received her first nomination since 2011, which also marked a full-circle moment. Her collab with Ariana Grande and Brandy, "The Boy Is Mine," earned a nod for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance — 26 years after her duet with Brandy of the same name won a GRAMMY for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal.

Will any legends go home with more golden gramophones? Will Beyoncé further her victory lap? Will there be several first-time winners? Tune into CBS on Feb. 5, 2025 to find out!

The Record Of The Year Category honors some of the year's biggest recordings — and at the 2025 GRAMMYs, the nominees are hits by a mix of newcomers and superstars.

Throughout the past year, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter, Charli xcx, and Chappell Roan proved why they're at the top of pop's current class. The Beatles and Kendrick Lamar both cemented their respective legacies, while Beyoncé and Taylor Swift continue to challenge their own musical boundaries.

With a range of unforgettable music moments, there's no telling who will take home the golden gramophone for Record Of The Year — which is awarded to the artist and the producer(s), recording engineer(s) and/or mixer(s) and mastering engineer(s) — at the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards. But one thing is for sure: the eight nominees make for quite an exciting contest.

Check out the nominees below and read the full 2025 GRAMMYs nominations list ahead of Music's Biggest Night on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025.

It can take years for an artist to work on their masterpiece. In the Beatles' case, the journey of "Now And Then" took 45 years. John Lennon originally wrote the demo in the late '70s. It's a mournful, piano-backed confession: "I know it's true/ It's all because of you/ And if I make it through/ It's all because of you."

The song remained unfinished long after Lennon's tragic 1980 passing, but — in a powerful act of love — his bandmates completed it for him. Paul McCartney enlisted Giles Martin (the son of Beatles' former producer and longtime collaborator George Martin) as the song's co-producer, using Lennon's original 1977 demo, George Harrison's guitar melodies from the 1995 Anthology sessions, and Ringo Starr's drumming and backing vocals from 2022. "Now And Then," which marked the Beatles' 35th top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100, is a tearful close to the band's legacy. 

"Obviously, it hasn't been, but it sounds like John's written it for Paul now, in a very emotional way," Martin told Rolling Stone. "It's a bittersweet song, which is very John. But with a combination of happiness and regret." 

McCartney never gave up on the song, which is a testament that true friendship never dies.

Beyoncé — "TEXAS HOLD 'EM"

After shimmying underneath a disco ball for 2022's GRAMMY-winning RENAISSANCE, Beyoncé wanted to keep the dance party going on 2024's COWBOY CARTER — except this time around, she traded Studio 54 for a honky-tonk. But "TEXAS HOLD 'EM," the album's joint lead single alongside "16 CARRIAGES," is much more than an instructional hoedown.

The 32-time GRAMMY winning icon has long incorporated African American history in her music, and "TEXAS HOLD 'EM" is no different. The single, like many tunes on COWBOY CARTER, is rooted in liberation. Country music is the backbone of America, but its roots in Black culture are often hidden. With "TEXAS HOLD 'EM," Beyoncé lifts the veil off the genre's true history by celebrating both her Houston heritage and the Black country artists that paved the way for her.

The song's message is clear, but it's balanced by playful melodies, Beyoncé's signature stacked harmonies and a plucking banjo (played by Rhiannon Giddens, an advocate for the reclamation of country music instruments by Black musicians). While Beyoncé is no stranger to chart-topping hits ("TEXAS HOLD 'EM" is her ninth solo No. 1 single on the Hot 100), she made history as the first Black woman to score a No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.

Sabrina Carpenter does whimsy so well. Chalk it up to her Disney Channel roots, but the singer's innate ability to craft an earworm is why she's skyrocketed as one of the biggest pop stars of the new generation. "Espresso," the lead single from 2024's Short n' Sweet album and unofficial song of the summer, encapsulates Carpenter's irresistible charm.

"The song is kind of about seeing femininity as your superpower, and embracing the confidence of being that b—," she told Vogue in April. 

That confidence is found all throughout "Espresso," from her cooing vocals to her cheeky songwriting ("I can't relate to desperation/ My give-a-f—s are on vacation"). Topped off by an irresistibly catchy, undulating chorus, "Espresso" helped Carpenter reach several career milestones that kickstarted a year full of them — including her first GRAMMY nominations.

Charli xcx has long been one of the coolest girls in pop, and her sixth album brat cemented that fact. On "360," the album's second single, the British star not only acknowledges her own cool factor, but of those around her. Produced by longtime collaborator A. G. Cook, the song trades in the producer's signature exaggerated hyperpop sonics for more minimalistic synths that complement Charli's auto-tuned vocals.

"I went my own way and I made it/ I'm your favorite reference, baby," Charli xcx exclaims on the cocky opening line before comparing herself to friends like model/musician Gabbriette and actress Julia Fox. "360" is a cheeky reflection of the ever-growing digital era, giving fellow internet "It" girls an anthem for the ages.

Billie Eilish — "BIRDS OF A FEATHER"

The beauty of Billie Eilish's artistry is in her vulnerability. For the nine-time GRAMMY winner's third album HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, she pushed herself into her deeper territories with the assistance of her brother and go-to collaborator FINNEAS.

Second single "BIRDS OF A FEATHER" best exemplifies the album title's meaning in both its tenderness and desperation. It was initially intended to be a traditional love song, but given the siblings' unorthodox track record, they couldn't resist making it slightly untraditional: "I want you to stay/ 'Til I'm in the grave/ 'Til I rot away, dead and buried/ 'Til I'm in the casket you carry," Eilish sings on the opening verse in her signature whisper. 

Even with the juxtaposing lyrics, the song's airy production and wistfully gauzy synths still make for a beautiful, adoring statement piece. And the heartfelt sentiment paired with Eilish's breathy vocals quickly made "BIRDS OF A FEATHER" the biggest hit from HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, already garnering nearly 1.5 billion Spotify streams as of press time.

Branding Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" as merely a diss track would be doing it a disservice. The 17-time GRAMMY winner's tune is not just a rap song, but a cultural phenomenon. A seething finale to his (very public) feud with Drake, "Not Like Us" is a triumphant win for both Lamar and rap music as a whole.

Atop a buzzing sample of Monk Higgins' 1968 "I Believe to My Soul" cover, Lamar delivers slick wordplay and calls out Drake's presumed cultural appropriation of Southern rap: "You run to Atlanta when you need a few dollars/ No, you not a colleague, you a f—in' colonizer."

Following its release, the song took on a life on its own: tennis icon Serena Williams (Drake's alleged former lover) crip walked to the track at the 2024 ESPY Awards, Megan Thee Stallion and Janet Jackson incorporated it into their concerts, and many national sports leagues used it in their game broadcasts.

Drama aside, "Not Like Us" — which also scored a Song Of The Year nomination — is a celebration of West Coast hip-hop. Lamar, a proud Compton native, enlisted Los Angeles-born DJ Mustard to produce the track. The chopped-up sample is inspired by Oakland's "hyphy" rap subgenre, while Lamar exaggerates his already-animated cadence, paying homage to late Los Angeles rapper Drakeo the Ruler. While "Not Like Us" is a targeted diss, it's also a reminder of California's historical impact on rap — and Lamar's place within that legacy.

Chappell Roan grabbed the world's attention with her bombastic interpretation of baroque pop and her knack for highlighting queer romance. "Good Luck, Babe!," April's breakout hit following her 2023 debut LP, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, ushered in a new chapter.

The song discusses compulsory heterosexuality, as Roan sings about a woman she's dating who tries to deny her feelings for Roan: "You can kiss a hundred boys in bars/ Shoot another shot, try to stop the feeling." 

"I knew exactly what I wanted. I wrote it in three minutes," Chappell Roan told Rolling Stone of the song's creation, which she co-wrote alongside Daniel Nigro and Justin Tranter. "I felt so much anger. I was so upset. It all came out and I didn't add anything when I wrote it all done. It was a perfect storm."

The anger definitely explodes on "Good Luck, Babe!," with Roan channeling '80s divas like Kate Bush and George Michael. The singer's goal was to make a "big anthemic pop song," and "Good Luck, Babe!" soared beyond all expectations.

Taylor Swift Feat. Post Malone — "Fortnight"

Despite nailing a formula that has made her one of the biggest pop stars of all time, Taylor Swift is still willing to take risks.

"Fortnight," from the 14-time GRAMMY winner's The Tortured Poets Department, serves as both the LP's first single and opening track. The chart-topping smash introduces the album's moodier tones, telling the story of a woman in an unhappy marriage who is now the neighbor to her ex-lover and his new wife. 

Atop '80s-inspired electropop synths courtesy of longtime collaborator and co-producer Jack Antonoff, the lyrics are unexpectedly dismal for Swift: "I took the miracle move-on drug, the effects were temporary/ And I love you, it's ruining my life." Featured artist Post Malone then sweeps in with his melancholic harmonies, giving more emotional weight to Swift's brilliant storytelling.