25 Predictions for 2025
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2025 is already off to a wild start. To make sense of what's ahead, the Switched On Pop team has turned music criticism into a game: Pop Music Bingo 2025. We've assembled 24 predictions arranged in a 5x5 grid (with a free space in the middle). When any of these musical moments materialize throughout the year, mark it on your card. Will Drake go country? Could trance music make a comeback? Is the kazoo due for its moment? Get your own randomly generated bingo card and play along as we track these predictions each week on the podcast. Some are bold, some inevitable, some potentially catastrophic - but all reflect larger shifts happening in pop music today.
Supergroup Hits the Top 40: The formula that powered the Traveling Wilburys' "Handle with Care" (#45, 1988) – multiple distinct voices creating something greater than the sum of its parts – is due for a revival. Beyond boygenius's critical acclaim, we're predicting a true chart breakthrough.
Music Videos Return: Remember when MTV actually played music? While today's top 40 hits average just 400 million video views against 1 billion+ streams, we're betting on a visual comeback. Think cinematic statements like Michael Jackson's "Thriller," not TikTok snippets.
AI Charts the Hot 100: After Ghostwriter's Drake/Weeknd deepfake made waves in 2023, a fully AI-generated original song will break through. The question isn't if, but whether it'll acknowledge its artificial origins.
Oligarch Pop Emerges: From Silvio Berlusconi's love songs to Imelda Marcos's Broadway-inspiring album, powerful figures have long craved pop stardom. Someone's about to follow their lead, for better or worse.
The 40-Track Album Arrives: As streaming incentivizes quantity (see: SZA's 38-track "Lana"), someone will push past the 40-song barrier. The new White Album or creative exhaustion? You decide.
Drake Goes Nashville: Post-Kendrick beef, Drake needs a reset. After his surprising corrido with Fuerza Regida, country's storytelling tradition beckons. The 6 God meets the Grand Ole Opry?
Spotify's Billion Club Hits 1000: The acceleration is stunning - 863 songs have hit a billion streams, with 323 added in 2024 alone. Even 1970s classics like Elton John's "Your Song" are crossing the threshold, suggesting streaming is rewriting the rules of longevity in pop.
Spanish Tops the Hot 100: It's been seven years since "Despacito," but Bad Bunny's "UN PREVIEW" success suggests the charts are ready for another Spanish-language #1. Regional Mexican music's crossover moment could be the catalyst.
Spotify Exodus: Following Neil Young and Joni Mitchell's principled departures, three major artists will protest streaming economics. With rates at $0.003-0.005 per stream, the business model faces a reckoning.
Video Game Hit: Gaming surpassed Hollywood's revenue years ago, but its music hasn't quite broken through. After Jack Black's "Peaches" (#56) proved the potential, gaming's rich orchestral and electronic soundscapes are poised for mainstream recognition.
New Genre Emerges: With bedroom producers blending styles and AI tools democratizing production, we're due for a genuinely new sound. Whether it's chiptune's digital nostalgia or something entirely unexpected, genre boundaries continue dissolving.
Afrobeats Peaks: The genre's intricate polyrhythms and melodic innovations, showcased in Tyla's "Water" and Rema's crossover hits, are reshaping pop's rhythmic foundations. Top 5 feels inevitable.
Brain Rot Breaks Through: From the Bloodhound Gang to "Baby Shark," novelty hits reflect their cultural moment. Internet culture's surreal humor hasn't had its defining song yet.
Boy Bands Return: Billboard's analysis shows groups becoming "endangered" on the charts - a vacuum typically filled by fresh faces and tight harmonies. The infrastructure that launched One Direction and BTS is ready for a new generation.
J-Pop Moment: Megan Thee Stallion and Yukika's "Mamushi" proved Japanese lyrics can connect. The last Japanese #1 was Kyu Sakamoto's "Sukiyaki" in 1963, but K-pop's global success has paved the way.
90s Revival: After Blink-182's "One More Time" resonated with both nostalgia and new listeners, another veteran act will find contemporary relevance. The post-grunge era's emotional directness feels particularly ripe for rediscovery.
Trance Resurrection: The hypnotic arpeggios and soaring synthesizers of trance are appearing in unexpected places, from FKA twigs' experimental pop to Addison Rae's mainstream moves. The genre's euphoric maximalism offers an antidote to bedroom pop's intimacy.
Legacy Act Stumbles: Following Katy Perry's "Woman's World," another major comeback falls short of expectations, highlighting how pop's accelerating pace makes career reinvention increasingly challenging.
Alien Concept Album: As artists seek ambitious narrative frameworks beyond personal storytelling, space themes offer rich territory. From Janelle Monae's Afrofuturist android saga to David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust, cosmic concepts have historically marked pivotal artistic evolutions.
Soundtrack Dominates: Post-Barbie and Black Panther, the Michael Jackson biopic soundtrack could redefine the genre, merging catalog hits with contemporary reinterpretations.
Virtual Vocals: A deceased artist's AI-recreated voice charts, forcing us to grapple with questions of artistic legacy and authenticity in the digital age.
Kazoo Makes Waves: While Hendrix used kazoo's distinctive timbre to add textural contrast on "Crosstown Traffic," new production techniques could recontextualize this overlooked instrument's sonic possibilities.
Beef Gets Bigger: Kendrick/Drake's streaming numbers proved the cultural and commercial power of musical confrontation. As streaming platforms reward controversy, expect more high-profile lyrical battles.
The Two-Minute Barrier: As TikTok and streaming algorithms push songs shorter, we'll see a sub-120-second hit. With average song length dropping 22% since 2000, and Jack Harlow's 2:20 "Lovin on Me" proving commercial viability, the era of brevity is here.
Our 25th prediction: Grammy Album of the Year
The 2025 Grammy race for Album of the Year isn't just competitive - it's chaotic. We have Billie Eilish's genre-bending "Hit Me Hard and Soft," marked by instant classics like "Birds of a Feather" (which rode those irresistible '50s progression "ice cream changes" to #2). There's Charli XCX's "Brat," which defined Summer 2023 and proved you can be both messy and confident at the same time. Taylor Swift's "The Tortured Poets Department" broke records and spawned a 31-track "anthology" edition, while André 3000 threw everyone a curveball with "New Blue Sun," an 87-minute instrumental flute album (yes, really).
But our money is on Beyoncé's "Cowboy Carter" finally earning her first AOTY trophy. The evidence is compelling: It's not just that she reclaimed and reimagined country music traditions, opening with Rhiannon Giddens playing the historically significant minstrel banjo on "Texas Hold 'Em." It's not just the star-studded features ranging from Miley Cyrus to Post Malone to Dolly Parton. It's that this album represents a perfect Grammy moment - artistic excellence meets cultural significance meets commercial success.
Of course, Chapel Roan's "Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess" could play spoiler. When producer Reanna Cruz predicted Chapel's rise on our show last December, some doubted - but now her songs are inescapable, with "Pink Pony Club" becoming an instant sing-along classic. Even Jacob Collier's ambitious "Jesse Vol. 4" (featuring literally 100,000 voices on its opening track) could pull a surprise win in the tradition of Jon Batiste's 2021 upset.
Will the Recording Academy finally give Beyoncé her due after infamously snubbing "Renaissance" for Harry Styles? Will they continue their pattern of rewarding newer artists like Billie Eilish? Or will Chapel Roan's undeniable cultural impact win the day? We'll be watching (and debating) until the envelope opens on February 2nd.
What do you think? Let us know your AOTY predictions @SwitchedOnPop.