Awards season is a great time to reflect on the previous year and either catch up on what we might have missed, or re-appreciate something that’s fallen out of our regular listening playlist. (It’s also a time to say “Hell, yeah!” to winners that take the opportunity to speak out against injustices within the industry. Way to be, Chappell Roan.) Many of the well-deserving songs and albums are available in a Dolby Atmos mix — still waiting for Cowboy Carter to show up with the Atmos badge on any streaming service, though. Here are some of Sunday’s award winning music that can be found in Dolby Atmos through Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Tidal.
Not Like Us — Kendrick Lamar
On the surface, it might not feel like a diss track would be an award contender, but when its by Kendrick Lamar, voters take notice. And rightly so. The track took home all five awards it was nominated for — Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video. The Atmos mix isn’t a huge departure from the stereo mix, mostly expanding the soundscape and giving more space for the sonic elements with more reverb while keeping everything primarily in the front channels.
Short n’ Sweet — Sabrina Carpenter
Both Sabrina Carpenter’s album Short n’ Sweet and the single Espresso picked up awards at the Grammy’s last weekend — Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Solo Performance, respectively. The entire album is available in Atmos, and much of it takes advantage of Atmos (I particularly like the opening piano lick in the final track, Don’t Smile, that nicely captures the in-room sound of the piano hammers and string resonance in the rear height channels). Award-winner Espresso, a fun pop bop, throws elements into unexpected areas that support the fun playfulness of the music and lyrics.
In addition to Sabrina Carpenter’s version of Espresso, the Espresso (Mark Ronson x FNZ Working Late Remix) also won for Best Remix and is available in Dolby Atmos as well.
Chappell Roan
Chappell Roan didn’t win directly for her excellent album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, instead nabbing the Best New Artist Grammy. She’s had a meteoric rise since the album’s release at the end of 2023, and the Atmos mix does a great job of surrounding you with music, particularly with her background vocals that utilize the back and height channels instead of just using them for atmospheric reverb.
All Born Screaming — St. Vincent
I previously called out All Born Screaming as one of my favorite Atmos releases of 2024, and it seems the Grammy’s agreed, awarding Annie Clark (who goes by St. Vincent professionally) Best Alternative Music Album for All Born Screaming, Best Rock Song for its first single, Broken Man, and Best Alternative Music Performance for Flea. Repeating what I’ve said before, the self-produced album is a sonically diverse journey through a multitude of emotions. The winning single, Broken Man, is (in the words of Clark) an “industrial menacing rock” track that systematically builds in intensity throughout.
The Architect — Kacey Musgraves
The Atmos mix for Best Country Song winner, The Architect, is as subtle and gentle as the performance, and takes the idea of atmosphere to heart. Acoustic guitars generally live to the sides, supported by banjo and keyboards that spread into height channels, while Kacey Musgraves vocals occupy the front of the soundstage and subtly move to fill the space depending on the instrumentation.
Additional Grammy 2025 album and song winners to listen to in Dolby Atmos are:
- Alligator Bites Never Heal — Doechii (Best Rap Album)
- BRAT — Charli xcx (Best Dance/Electronic Album; Best Dance Pop Recording for Von dutch)
- Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran — Shakira (Best Latin Pop Album)
- Hackney Diamonds — The Rolling Stones (Best Rock Album)
- Visions — Norah Jones (Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album)
- Trail of Flowers — Sierra Ferrell (Best Americana Album; Best American Roots Song and Best Americana Performance for American Dreaming; Best American Roots Performance for Lighthouse)
- LAS LETRAS YA NO IMPORTAN — Residente (Best Música Urbana Album)
- 11:11 (Deluxe) — Chris Brown (Best R&B Album)
- Neverender — Justice & Tame Impala (Best Dance/Electronic Recording)
- Now and Then — The Beatles (Best Rock Performance)
- That’s You — Lucky Daye (Best Traditional R&B Performance)
- 3:AM — Rapsody Feat. Erykah Badu (Best Melodic Rap Performance)
